If you think you need venture capital to start your business, think again. I've launched *a lot* of tech companies over the past 30 years and only one of them started with a VC check.
* IGN (web publication, 1996)
Started it at my first real employer. Convinced my boss we should launch a new product. UPSIDE, launched it within months, eventually it became huge, spun out and went public. DOWNSIDE, I didn't know what equity was when I was 23. But one of my coworkers did and she negotiated for equity on a similar project at same company and made bank.
* BuzzSite (web aggregator, 2000)
Started it after leaving IGN. Bootstrapped. A friend owned a very small dev shop and built the MVP. I convinced some friends still in college to be editors for minimum wage. UPSIDE, launched within months, owned all of it. DOWNSIDE, I never did any customer discover and wasted about ten grand.
* Minerva Games (serious games company, 2005)
Started it after the games studio I worked for went bankrupt. Put a second mortgage on my house (DO NOT DO THIS), bought the studio's assets and hired several former coworkers. UPSIDE, was able to take over a contract landed before studio closed. DOWNSIDE, once again, I never did any customer discovery and never landed another contract. But I did launch MyBlogLog as a side project.
* MyBlogLog (social network, 2005)
Started while working on Minerva. Got together with friend who now owned a larger dev shop. Launched within weeks. UPSIDE, launched fast, we owned it all, sold early for meaningful money. DOWNSIDE, none. Fairytale story.
* Gnip (big data aggregator, 2007)
The one company I started with a VC check. After leaving MyBlogLog, I pitched a VC on a half-dozen ideas, found one he liked and went off to the races. UPSIDE, working capital! DOWNSIDE, I hired six rockstar developers and they argued for over a year about how to build the best queuing system. Eventually laid off most of the company and launched a new, dead-simple system a few months later.
* OneTrueFan (social network, 2010)
Got the MyBlogLog band back together. My friend and two other developers built something in a few months and released a beta. UPSIDE, we had VCs literally sending us pictures of checks made out to OneTrueFan. DOWNSIDE, we eventually took funding despite not feeling like the idea was baked enough, and wasted all the VCs' money.
* PicsWithPeeps (mobile game 2023)
Worked with a small dev shop that I had previously worked with on various projects. UPSIDE, launched an MVP in a few short months, all equity deal, learned the game wasn't as fun as initially envisioned. DOWNSIDE, none. Fail fast and move on. Found the dev shop some new paid work to say thank you and sorry.
If there are any commonalities here, it's the following:
1) Customer discovery is stupid important.
2) Find friends who code and get them excited.
3) Investment capital isn't required to launch a startup.
#startups #fundraising #bootstrap