Customer Reviews

Bootstrap Finance: The Art of Start-Ups

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This is an eight and a half page Harvard Business Review article that provides highlights from a "study of 100 of the 1989 Inc. '500' list of fastest growing U.S. start-ups." The highlights consist mostly of quotes from entrepreneurs interviewed for the study, used to support the author's "seven principles" (listed in the description). Less than half of the article is actually spent on expanding on these principles (with the other half on the virtues of bootstrapping). There are a few useful paragraphs, but don't expect to find much detail on implementing a bootstrap strategy. If you're just looking for affirmation that bootstrapping has its advantages and that it is actually the way most companies are funded, then you'll find what you're looking for.

The most critical resource of a startup is time. Is the entrepreneurs time better invested in finding money or finding customers?

This is a critical decision, this seminal article makes a strong case that to maximize the chance of success, go for the customers. The best way to finance most startups is through sales.

Most new business planners say go for the money, which of course requires their services.

This article is well worth the small investment of time and money to read the article, I encourage startups to take a look either at this article or at Bhide's book, The Origin and Evolution of New Business, which has been called by the publisher of Inc Magazine the most important book ever written about startup.

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