Bootstrapping an E-Commerce Startup from Utah: KURU CEO Bret Rasmussen (Part 4)

Sramana Mitra: What did you learn by way of customer acquisition channels? Which ones were producing against this strategy?

Bret Rasmussen: Search engine was very effective. We could solve a real problem that customers have, so the search engine is a great place when you know what you want. For example, you want shoes for heel pain. That’s become easier to get in front of a customer compared to searching for a lifestyle shoe.

Bootstrapping an E-Commerce Startup from Utah: KURU CEO Bret Rasmussen (Part 3)

Sramana Mitra: Let’s get back to the question I asked. How did you get to the product? Since you didn’t have the expertise, who designed the product? How did you get it to a version one product?

Bret Rasmussen: I worked with a local design firm. While researching on patents, I got a book called Patent It Yourself. I worked on the technology myself. I went to another inventor that had some patents, and he helped me refine the technology.

Bootstrapping an E-Commerce Startup from Utah: KURU CEO Bret Rasmussen (Part 2)

Sramana Mitra: Did you have any expertise in shoe design? Who designed the shoe?

Bret Rasmussen: I had no clue on how to design a shoe or how to make a shoe. I just started networking. There was a local design firm here in Salt Lake that had done shoe design for a handful of brands.

Bootstrapping an E-Commerce Startup from Utah: KURU CEO Bret Rasmussen (Part 1)

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

To succeed in e-commerce today, you need to look for unserved niches with unique products.

Sraman a 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?

Bootstrapping with Services to $20M: Visiquate CEO Brian Robertson (Part 7)

Sramana Mitra: What revenue level are you operating at now?

Brian Robertson: Our revenue is over $20 million and growing at a range of 25% to 40% with our current platform. We are at the point of raising now and growing equity. I wanted to skip the traditional VC phase. I never saw a term sheet that I liked. I always told the VCs that it wasn’t about us. Our clients want us to be in control, so we are going to bootstrap the company and hang on to it for as long as we can. We’re very attractive to growth and private equity right now. 

Bootstrapping with Services to $20M: Visiquate CEO Brian Robertson (Part 6)

Sramana Mitra: How much of your old customer base from MedeFinance came into Visiquate? 

Brian Robertson: Not too many. Mede is still a friend of mine and I’m a shareholder, so we were in a situation that just sometimes happens. Sometimes you have certain relationships that follow you wherever you go. I only needed a couple of cornerstone clients that believed in me and my team.

Rollercoaster on a Bike: Zagster CEO Tim Ericson (Part 6)

Sramana Mitra: Did you keep the 250 customers after generating another $10M on top of what you earned before?

Tim Ericson: Exactly. 

Sramana Mitra: COVID hits. What happens next?

Bootstrapping with Services to $20M: Visiquate CEO Brian Robertson (Part 5)

Sramana Mitra: Let’s go back to 2009. Did you have clients from your previous business that you sold this concept to be able to sign on as your validation partners? How many were they?

Brian Robertson: Yes, we had three or four cornerstone clients.