Bootstrapping 101
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This document provides a framework for bootstrapping a business idea with low risk. It discusses defining a product idea that is business-to-business, recurring, and turnkey with lots of competition. The next steps are to validate the product idea by researching problems online and talking to potential customers. Finally, it outlines a blueprint for guerrilla product sales through content marketing, aggressively pursuing initial customers, email, and borrowing other audiences. The overall strategy is to understand core business problems, build an MVP to solve them, market through the solution rather than selling the product directly, and offer low-hanging fruit to reduce adoption friction.
Bootstrapping 101
- 2. THE DREAM • Eventually we realize that we don’t own our income. • Our most valuable asset is our time — both to us and our employers / clients. • Ergo, we want to separate time from money.
- 3. F O R M O S T, I T ’ S A PIPE DREAM. • “Make money while you sleep!” • “Make $XX,XXX from home!” • “Move to San Francisco and apply for YC!”
- 4. My goal tonight is to present a low risk framework for augmenting / replacing your income.
- 8. SO WHO IS THIS GUY? • Ran a consultancy in Norfolk, “We Are Titans” — maxed at 11 FT employees. • Got tired of client work. Bootstrapped a SaaS called Planscope. • Have since written two books, teach a number of workshops, and speak on consulting / bootstrapping. • In less than 2 years, run rate of $10-40k/month with NO OUTSIDE MONEY.
- 15. STEP 1 DERIVING AN IDEA
- 16. “Disrupt. Game changer. TechCrunche’d. Scale.” –EVERY WANTRAPRENEUR EVER (AND MOST OF MY FORMER CLIENTS)
- 17. P L AY I N G T H E S TA R T U P L O T T O . • “Wouldn’t it be cool IF…” • We mostly read about the successes, but not the failures. • Low likelihood to succeed, but high pay-off if you do. • A+B
- 18. DEFINING THE PERFECT B O O T S T R A P P E D P R O D U C T… • Business-to-Business • Non point-in-time (e.g. weddings, events, job finding) • Naturally recurring (PM, accounting, scheduling) • Turnkey (doesn’t require a network effect)
- 19. DEFINING THE PERFECT B O O T S T R A P P E D P R O D U C T… ( C O N T ) • Lots and lots of competition • Customer pays more than they cost • Money maker • Money saver
- 20. STEP 2 V A L I D AT I N G
- 21. V A L I D AT I N G Y O U R P R O D U C T • Your product is the bridge between “OMG this sucks” and :-) • Product validation requires understanding the net effect of removing problem X from a set of companies • By focusing on the problem (e.g. making client communication more transparent) you’ll be naturally constrained to ship only what matters.
- 22. Q U I C K W I N S F O R V A L I D AT I N G • Stalk Internet forums for common themes, shared language, and raw pains. • Google around for “Why X sucks” (X being a well- established player.) • Go door to door asking “Will you write me a check for this?” NOT “Would you use this?” (Universal truth: people don’t like making other people feel bad. They will, however, refuse to pay for stuff.)
- 25. STEP 3 MAKING AN INCOME
- 26. THE BLUEPRINT FOR GUERRILLA PRODUCT SALES • Create an audience. Be the hero who slays Problem X. • Produce content around the problem and solutions, with all arrows pointing toward your product. • Aggressively hunt down your first 50 customers. (See Robert Graham’s great book on cold calling for startups.) • EMAIL.
- 27. THE BLUEPRINT FOR GUERRILLA PRODUCT SALES (CONT) • Think about the friction that someone needs to overcome to use your product. How can you offer a low hanging fruit? • Borrow other people’s audiences. See: Constant Contact, guest blogging. • Offer concierge onboarding. • Collect as much qualitative AND quantitative data as you can.
- 28. WRAPPING UP WE’VE COVERED A LOT OF TA C T I C S . L E T ’ S TA L K S T R AT E G Y.
- 29. • Understand and verify core problems that affect a businesses’ ability to thrive. • Build a MVP that solves (or partially solves) that problem. • Market through the solution, don’t sell the product. • Offer low hanging fruit or impulse buys if your product requires big workflow changes.
- 30. @brennandunn brennan@planscope.io ! See my funnel in action: freelancersweekly.com