Friday, February 10, 2006
Bootstrapping An Internet Startup
You know it's been a while since I last posted but I figured I'd give you guys an update on what's going on in my world. The only question is where do I begin and how much do I actually tell you. Cause I don't want to give away too much and ruin the surprise that is our next big THING. Yet at the same time I don't want to be too stingy with all the stuff we're working on at Labitat.Whoa, what was that?! Dang, it was caution! It totally just jumped out of my arms and into the wind. I guess the seal has been broken.
What are you working on?
We're working on some good stuff that will help us gain insight on niche vertical markets from many perspectives. One of our biggest initiatives is data mining. So we're working on pieces that allow us to gather information that's actually useful to people trying to make a living online and those who don't ever go online. Cause even people that never go online are affected by what happens online... think about our last Presidential election and how a no-name candidate got a ton of funding from an orchestrated grass roots blogger movement.
Who's funding Labitat?
Bwahaaa, that's a good one. We're doing this thing old skool style. Straight up bootstrapping it. What is bootstrapping it you ask? Bootstrapping means that we're not putting any money into the business and that the only money available for salaries, development, rent, health insurance, soft drinks, travel, research, computers, cell phones, internet access and every other expense incurred when running a business is paid for 100% in full by revenue the business generates.
That means if the business doesn't generate any revenue then it's employees don't get paid. You heard me straight. We're not taking on any investment capital (though we've been offered it many a time already) and forcing the business to make money whether it likes it or not.
Isn't it unnecessary to bootstrap when funding is available?
NO, NO, NO, NO, NO!!!!! Bootstrapping a business is the only way I will allow Labitat to build. It's an organic process and those who've never been backed into a corner and told that the business has to make money or they'll lose everything could never understand what I'm saying.
Bootstrapping is like growing your own vegetables. It's not for everyone but there's something so gratifying about knowing you made it work. Just ask Evan. Jan 24 I had to call him and tell him there was a good chance he wasn't going to get all of his paycheck on the 31st because Bank of America was holding a check and not going to release the funds because of a new rule they implemented on all new business accounts. How well do you think Evan and I slept that week? Because it wasn't an option to not pay Evan I was forced to make Bank of America release our funds so we could run payroll. I had to get creative and find a solution to our problem and I did. When the funds are a plenty you don't get those opportunities to build your own confidence and to realize how much you can accomplish when failure isn't an option.
Yes bootstrapping is not easy but even Evan will agree that 6 months from now it was all worth it.
What does Labitat do?
Unfortunately right now I can't give up our services but I can say that we're committed to making a lot of noise and launching no less than 10 new products between now and December of this year. They'll be geared towards online marketing, market research, search analytics, blogger relationship management, hamburgers, surfing and parenting.
More to come.
Will you ever be a regular contributor to Mshift?
Right now my main focus is making sure the Labitat technology platform is solid as a rock and blogging comes after that. It's actually been quite a cleansing experince not blogging every day and I'm thankful for my boy John Gartner and his initiative. I'm also thankful for Evan Roberts and his commitment to the company as well as a couple kick-ass attorneys I know.
I'll be posting from time to time but even when I'm not posting you can be sure I'm pointing the fellas in the right direction.
Thanks to everyone that's been reading. Our stats have been off the chain. We're pushing 30k readers a month from natural search results alone and it's growing every day... thank you to all of you.
Posted By Jason Dowdell at 06:18 PM
Permanent Link: Bootstrapping An Internet Startup
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