Bootstrap Businesses Reveal Secrets of Their Success at Boulder Startup Week
BOULDER, Colo., May 20, 2015 /PRNewswire/ -- At a Boulder Startup Week panel, SurveyGizmo CEO and Founder Christian Vanek joined founders from Rezora and Funovation to talk to budding entrepreneurs about the value of growing a business without venture capital.
All three companies have experienced success without accepting outside funding, also known as "bootstrapping," putting them at the center of a growing trend among startups and small businesses.
Just 2% of small business sold equity stakes to investors in 2014, according to a National Small Business Association Survey. Over half of those same businesses say capital availability is not a problem for their company.
SurveyGizmo now employs over 70 people, but Vanek financed its first servers with income from a consulting business. During a move across country, Vanek had to carry one of the servers in his trunk. "That part of the application was 'down for maintenance' while I drove," he recalls.
The survey software company recently expanded its operations with a European office. Its three partners, Vanek, Bill Flagg and Scott McDaniel have never taken outside funding.
Eric Mueller, Chairman and VP of Sales/Marketing of Funovation, reminisced about his first paychecks, which were under $5.00.
"It's tough after a year or so, writing payroll checks and feeling that's my money going to that person and I'm getting $2," he said.
Eight years later Funovation, which creates laser mazes for recreational facilities, can now boast 230 installations in 27 countries. Mueller also acknowledged that their early growth was limited by their small reserves of capital, a fact that the business continues to deal with.
Nonetheless, "I'd much rather deal with customer problems than investor problems," Mueller said emphatically.
There are certainly risks associated with bootstrapped business, as a recent survey of founders and chief executives at 460 bootstrapped startups illustrates.
Forty-two percent cited a "lack of capital" as their biggest obstacle to growth, up from about 35% the previous year, according to Mainsail Partners, a San Francisco, private-equity firm that works primarily with bootstrapped businesses.
Even so, Vanek, Mueller and all the panelists expressed no regrets about their bootstrap beginnings.
"I really rely on the employees," said Vanek. "We're a team building this company together."
About the Bootstrap Evangelists:
Learn more about Funovation's laser mazes, SurveyGizmo's online survey software, or Rezora's digital marketing tools.
CONTACT: Andrea Fryrear, +1-720-496-2990, ext723, [email protected]
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SOURCE SurveyGizmo
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