Bootstrapping a Niche E-Commerce Company: Modded Euros CEO Sean Dawes (Part 2)

Sramana Mitra: I try to trace the journey chronologically. Tell me what you did after coming out?

Sean Dawes: Towards my senior year, panic set in about what I was going to do. I realized that I was going to be making $12 an hour and have student loan debt. I ended up working in real estate because my aunt was running a real estate firm. I ended up getting my real estate license just to have a backup in terms of cash. In 2008, the real estate market was still not great. I was brand new in the industry. It was hard to generate business.

Bootstrapping a Niche E-Commerce Company: Modded Euros CEO Sean Dawes (Part 1)

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

This conversation is a comprehensive discussion on how to bootstrap a niche e-commerce venture with a lean team and effective use of inventory financing.

Sramana Mitra: Let’s start at the very beginning of your journey. Where are you from? Where were you born, raised, and in what kind of background?

Sean Dawes: I was born and raised in Philadelphia. I haven’t gone too far away from my hometown as my company is based out of West Chester, Pennsylvania, which is 20 or 30 minutes outside of Philadelphia.

Best of Bootstrapping: Bootstrapping with Services

As I started analyzing various paths to success via bootstrapping, a second formula also became absolutely obvious: doing services projects and then formulating a product through that process. We gave this a name: Bootstrapping with Services, and published a book on the subject:

Entrepreneur Journeys Bootstrapping Using Services (Available for order from Amazon Kindle)

Over 99% of entrepreneurs who seek financing get rejected. The seed capital gap leaves many entrepreneurs struggling to get their businesses off the ground. Bootstrapping, a tried and true method to self-fund a business, is a must to bridge this gap in seed funding. And offering a service is one of the best ways to bootstrap.

>>>

Best of Bootstrapping: How iHeartRaves CEO Bootstrapped a Niche e-Commerce Company to $20 Million

Niche e-commerce still produces compelling success stories. Read on to see how CEO Brian Lim built iHeartRaves.

Sramana Mitra: Let’s start at the very beginning of your journey. Where are you from? Where were you born, raised, and in what kind of background?

Brian Lim: I was raised in LA County. My parents immigrated here to escape communism in China and Cambodia. I grew up very poor. We bootstrapped our company back in 2010 with $100 and turned it into a $20 million a year company.

>>>

Best of Bootstrapping: Seed Investors Who Like Bootstrapped Businesses

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

I would like to encourage bootstrapping entrepreneurs to start thinking about certain investors as bootstrapping partners. These investors, typically, LIKE capital efficient businesses.

They do not want to force feed capital into companies, unlike certain larger funds.

Their fund sizes are small, and they are set up to make money off smaller exits. [Re: Bootstrapping to Exit]

>>>

Best of Bootstrapping: How Algo.ai CEO Amjad Hussain Bootstrapped using Services from Michigan

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

I am always thrilled to see great entrepreneurship in various parts of the world that are off-center. Well, Algo.ai CEO Amjad Hussain’s journey is a great one from Detroit.

Sramana Mitra: Let’s start at the very beginning of your journey. Where are you from? Where were you born, raised, and in what kind of background?

>>>

Best of Bootstrapping: Bootstrapping with a Paycheck

As I started analyzing various paths to success via bootstrapping, one became absolutely obvious: holding onto a job and doing a startup part time. We gave this a name: Bootstrapping with a Paycheck, and published a book on the subject:

Entrepreneur Journeys Bootstrapping With A Paycheck (Available for order from Amazon Kindle)

>>>

Best of Bootstrapping: How Under30Experiences Bootstrapped to $5 Million

Under30Experiences CEO Matt Wilson has built a fan business using content marketing to sell travel experiences to a millennial demographic. Very cool!

Sramana Mitra: Let’s start at the very beginning of your journey. Where are you from? Where did you grow up and in what kind of background?

>>>