Bootstrapping a Startup, a Developer’s Tale

Most developers will be brimming with ideas, some of which end up as side-projects. But what happens when you decide to turn one of these side-projects into an actual business? A product that you charge people money to use and that you hope will one day become your full-time gig?

What follows is a cautionary tale, warts and all, from someone who has been there, done that and got the t-shirt. Hear from a fellow developer: what it’s like to build and launch a product in your spare time; how your developer brain can actually work against you; why your idea might be doomed from the start; and ultimately, how to make the right choices to maximise the chance your bootstrapped startup will be a success.

Transcript

1. Bootstrapping
   as a Developer
   Tekin Suleyman - @tekin - http://tekin.co.uk
   

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2. What is Bootstrapping?
   "Classic bootstrappers: entrepreneurs who
   are working their butts off to start a great
   business from scratch with no
   (or almost no) money."
   Seth Godin
   

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3. Bootstrapping as a
   Developer
   

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4. Why Bootstrap?
   

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5. Why Bootstrap?
   

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6. Why Bootstrap?
   

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7. Why Bootstrap?
   

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8. Crowd.fm
   

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10. Crowd.fm
    • June 2009 - First commit
    • July 2010 - First event
    published
    • Feb 2011 - 5 active beta
    users
    • May 2012 - Launch
    • June 2012 - 1st paying
    customer!
    • June 2013 - 10 paying
    customers...
    

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11. Build Something You
    Can Sell
    

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13. Build Something You
    Can Sell
    Software != Business
    

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14. The Problem With
    Ideas...
    Have an idea → Build it → Profit!
    

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15. The Problem With
    Ideas...
    "… and yet by far the most common mistake
    startups make is to solve problems no one
    has..."
    Paul Graham
    

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16. The Problem With
    Ideas...
    

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17. Heisenberg’s Observer
    Effect
    

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18. The Problem With
    Ideas...
    

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19. The Problem With
    Ideas...
    http://crd.fm/2oz
    How to Negotiate the
    Long, Slow, SaaS Ramp
    of Death
    

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20. Choose The Right
    Customers
    

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21. Don’t target Consumers!
    

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22. Choose The Right
    Customers
    

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24. Choose The Right
    Customers
    

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25. Economics of Pricing
    $$$
    Number of Customers
    Revenue Fixed costs Variable costs
    

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26. Economics of Pricing
    $$$
    Number of Customers
    Revenue Fixed costs Variable costs
    

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27. Choose The Right
    Customers
    Customers that are willing and
    able to spend money!
    

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28. Choose The Right
    Customers
    

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29. Choose The Right
    Customers
    Build an Audience
    Content Marketing
    

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30. Building an Audience
    "We were able to launch KISSMetrics and get
    over 100,000 monthly organic visitors in less than
    a year, just through blogging and creating
    infographics. We didn’t build 1 link manually…
    we just spent our time and money on content
    marketing."
    KissMetrics
    

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31. Building an Audience
    

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32. Bootstrapping as a
    Developer
    • Do the hard stuff
    • Solve the right problem
    • Choose the right customers
    

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33. Bootstrapping as a
    Developer
    Build Something
    You Can Sell!
    

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34. Bootstrapping
    as a Developer
    Tekin Suleyman - @tekin - http://tekin.co.uk
    

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