Have you been thinking about starting your own business? The first question that may come into your mind is how you can fund it. We are here to tell you that bootstrapping could be the answer that you are looking for.
Bootstrapping is a process in which an entrepreneur starts a business, markets it, and grows it by using limited resources, generally their savings. In this, there is no outside investment being used from venture capital firms or angel investors.
Pros of a bootstrap startup
Ownership
As it is just you, a solo entrepreneur, bootstrapping means that you own 100% of your business. Even if you have co-founders, the share of equity will be larger than if you had any outside investors. This means that you will have complete power over the decisions that are made, and even if the revenue is less, you still don’t have to share that with an outsider.
Sense of accomplishment
If you bootstrap your business, you will have the opportunity to look back at it and say to yourself, ‘I made that’. That is a very high feeling of accomplishment that will surely motivate you to achieve more and grow your business.
Control the direction of your business
If you have outside investors, there is some responsibility on you to satisfy their interests as well. Their interests may not be the same as yours, as they might have a different vision when it comes to your business. So, when you bootstrap your business, the only interests you have to satisfy are yours.
Four successful bootstrap startups in India
GrabOn
GrabOn is probably the first company that comes to mind when we think about bootstrap startups in India. It was founded by Ashok Reddy in 2013, with the hopes of changing the way Indians do their shopping. It offers a wide range of coupons and deals on numerous famous brands, which makes it the perfect companion for every Indian shopper.
you can also check this out Different types of startups in India
HappyFox
HappyFox, started by Shalini Jain in 2011 in Chennai, is a multilingual help desk and customer support software solution company. Since its inception, it has evolved to be one of the best ticketing software for IT teams as it converts phone, email, chat, and web requests into tickets and keeps them organised.
It offers services in many languages including English, Arabic, Dutch, Russian, Swedish, Hindi, Czech, and many more.
QuackQuack
Ravi Mittal, the founder of the Hyderabad based startup, QuackQuack wanted to solve the dating problem of the Indian singles. This dating app hosts a large number of verified singles. They claimed to have more than 4 million users in 2019, and that number has been increasing ever since.
Thinkpot
Thinkpot is another good example of a bootstrap startup. It is a design merchandising company that caters to the needs of small and mid-size enterprises (SMEs) and other startup offices, that are looking for good quality artwork at a reasonable price. To ensure that their products remain creative, they work with different freelancers but only assign a specific number of designs to a particular freelancer.