Bootstrapping a Technology Product Company from India: Sachin Bhatia, Founder of Ameyo (Part 2)

Sramana Mitra: Who was the first customer who validated the contact center idea.

Sachin Bhatia: She used to run a BPO in New Delhi. She is a very good friend now. I remember my meeting with my three colleagues. We were trying to decide who was going to pick up sales. I was chosen to do it because I talk better than the others. I went ahead and had a meeting and understood the problem.

Bootstrapping a Technology Product Company from India: Sachin Bhatia, Founder of Ameyo (Part 1)

If you haven’t already, please study our Bootstrapping Course and Investor Introductions page. 

Some of us have worked relentlessly for decades to bring about the change in India from a largely services-driven technology industry to one that today produces credible products sold all over the world.

Ameyo is one of the early examples of this shift, and Sachin, an early visionary in this journey.

Best of Bootstrapping: Lawline CEO Bootstraps to $10M

Wonderful story of how Lawline CEO David Schnurman, an online education entrepreneur,  worked through plateaus and scaled his business over the last 15 years.

Sramana Mitra: Let’s start at the beginning of your journey. Where are you from? Where were you born and raised? What kind of background did you have?

David Schnurman: I’m from Brooklyn, New York, an area called Park Slope. It’s a beautiful area. I grew up there until I went to college in Washington DC where I met the love of my life, who’s here with me in Barcelona. We met in college and then I moved back to New York.

Eventually, she found me. She’s originally from Florida. Before you knew it, within ten years of being in New York City, Manhattan, we moved back four blocks away from where I grew up. That’s where we lived ever since until I moved to Barcelona last year. We have three kids. We have twins who are eleven years old and a six-year-old.

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Best of Bootstrapping: Pura Vida Founders Bootstrap to $130M

Pura Vida CEO Co-founder Griffin Thall and his partner have turned an investment of $200 into a $130 million company. Amazing execution!

Sramana Mitra: Let’s start at the beginning of your journey. Where are you from? Where were you born and raised? What kind of background did you have?

Griffin Thall: I grew up in LA. I went to school at San Diego State. After graduating from college in 2010, my business partner and I went on a trip to Costa Rica. We were there for five weeks to travel, surf, and explore.

On the last week of our trip, we stumbled across two bracelets vendors – Jorge and Joaquin. They were selling bracelets to tourists just like what you see throughout every third-world country. We bought a couple of bracelets, and we brought them back to our room that night.

We looked at them and said, “Hey, I think we could sell these to our friends and families back home. We can bring them more business opportunities.” Fast forward to today, our ten-year anniversary is coming up in a week or two.

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Bootstrapping to $130M: Pura Vida CEO Griffin Thall (Part 3)

Sramana Mitra: What about your team? What kind of team did you need to make this happen?

Griffin Thall: Right now, we have about 40 employees. Everyone is an amazing team member. They are creative and hardworking. A lot of our experienced team members have come from other surf brands or apparel brands.

Bootstrapping to $10 Million: Lawline CEO David Schnurman ( Part 7)

Sramana Mitra: I think I’ve got the story. Is there anything that I should have asked you that I did not?

David Schnurman: I think the part that we didn’t talk about is the part where I realize that the most important thing is the mindset. One of the things that has been amazing for me is recognizing a couple of important things.

Bootstrapping to $130M: Pura Vida CEO Griffin Thall (Part 2)

Sramana Mitra: What was the customer acquisition strategy on each track? 

Griffin Thall: For B2C, we would pass out bracelets to people in college campuses. We would go to street fairs. We would do anything that we could that was the grassroots to grow in marketing.

Bootstrapping to $10 Million: Lawline CEO David Schnurman ( Part 6)

Sramana Mitra: How many people are there now?

David Schnurman: About 25 or so. We have partners, but we try to keep everything that is core to ourselves and then outsource everything else. We have many agencies that we work with from a marketing standpoint to manage AdWords and rebranding.