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 Good reminder to put first things first, make sure people will buy the product before building it Apr 25, 2008
Greg Giantforte has a different take on starting up a business. His advice is not to first build the mousetrap, but to call a bunch of potential customers. If you have an idea for a business Greg's suggestion is to ask people:
"Would they buy a better mousetrap?"
"How would they use the mousetrap?"
"What features do they want in a mousetrap?"
"How much would they pay for the mousetrap?"
By spending a couple weeks doing market research before developing a product you have a much better idea exactly what customers want and what they would pay. If you don't find enough interest you've only lost a couple weeks, instead of months and thousands of dollars developing the mousetrap.
Bootstrapping Your Business: Start And Grow a Successful Company With Almost No Money by Greg Gianforte and Marcus Gibson is a quick read, packed with lots of good ideas.
I have been fascinated by out Paul Graham's thought that cheaper computers means startups are much cheaper. This trend continues to accelerate for example Google recently announced App Engine as a service to reduce operating costs for Web startups.
If you are interested in starting up your own business then check out Bootstrapping Your Business.
1 of 3 found the following review helpful:
A good follow-up from Rob Ryan's "Smartups" Feb 14, 2007
If you're a fan of Rob Ryan's excellent book "Smartups," then you're familiar with the name Greg Gianforte. Rob (of Ascend Communications fame) uses Greg and his RightNowTechnologies in many of his really great examples. One thing Greg does that Rob made special mention of is the 'sales spec sheet.' As Greg explains the concept "I called hundreds of companies and asked to speak to the customer service manager. I described the software that I had dreamed up and faxed them the specs--just a page, nothing more. Then I asked them whether they'd be willing to buy this product for their company's website."
That small practice was literally the birth of RightNow. In 'Bootstrapping,' Greg and co-author Marcus Gibson start with that point and expand from there. The book's authors take a unique position - if your goal is to figure out how to raise money...this isn't the book. 'Bootstrapping' is about how to cobble together a go-live strategy _without_ having to raise money.
Because the software business won't resonate with everyone, the authors have examples from caterers, printers, dry-cleaners, organic grocers and other businesses to which the 'average' reader can relate. These are types of businesses you frequent in your everyday life.
9 of 13 found the following review helpful:
 a mediocre book Sep 08, 2006
I am surprised to see so many people think highly of this book. I have a startup for a new software product and am trying to bootstrap (to raise VC money you still need paying clients).
I read this book some months back and was disappointed. Two false things stuck out even now:
1) dont prototype, pre-sell your idea. This may work for service type companies, but may not work for products. Why? as you build the prototype, you will innovate and the end product will be unrecognizable from the idea at the start. This was my case. I had to build my prototype. The customer doesnt know what he wants until it is laid out in front of him.
2) exploit your employees. He didnt say it explicitly or would have been sued for age discrimination, but he says, hire people without much experience, and full of energy ie. young. Then make them work long hours for cheap. I have seen a big name (top three) consulting company deliberately do this strategy and burn their people out. Sorry, that is not how I plan to build my business!
The best book for startups is Kawasaki's "Art of the Start". Skip this book.
2 of 10 found the following review helpful:
 Totally inspired Jul 03, 2006
Mr. Gianforte,
I read the article you wrote regarding Bootstrapping, and have also read reviews and excerpts from your book, and I must say that I am now totally stoked as I move forward in bringing my ideas for a web-based product to fruition.
A childhood friend came to me with an idea for a web-based tool that he is developing himself and asked me to be his partner. We have been in development for the past year, and have debated back and forth on seeking investor capital or not seeking investor capital because we have been approached on three occassions by someone that heard what we were doing and wanted to invest in us. Even though my partner is writing each and every line of code, and this has taken some time, it has given us the opportunity to check out our competition, lay a solid foundation of contacts, and formulate a marketing plan so that when we hit the streets, we will hit the streets with a huge bang, hopefully loud enough to be heard in Montana.
Some days I get discouraged and today was one of those days until I read your article, and thought about some of the points you make on how VC can actually create a sense of laziness or cool the burn to succeed just a little because you have cash behind you.
Well,,,,I am no longer discouraged!! I feel the direction we are going is what is going to make us strong.
Thanks for the inspiration.
Take care!!
Phil M.
3 of 8 found the following review helpful:
It's a great book Jul 01, 2006
This book is perfect for the person looking to start a new business. It is an introduction to the concept of bootstraping, not a step by step guide to starting a business. If you need a step by step guide to starting a business, you probably need more help than you can get from a book anyways. After reading this book, I used the concept of bootstrapping to start my own business that would have other wise been out of my reach. The book teaches a thought process outside of the traditional business approach, not only to starting a business, but for running a successful business for years to come. The review about the book not having any applicable information about running an online business, is way off. That guy missed the point of the book, this concept can be applied to any business. I highly recommend this book.
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