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Comment by a1371

2 years ago

I played the VC game. We were attending every opportunity to give 10% of our business for $200K. No one would bite. Gradually, it felt it was easier to land customers than VCs. Then there came a moment that I wish for every founder. Our revenues started not only paying the bills, but also fueling growth. It felt as if a veil was lifted from my eyes. Now, it feels like all those pitches were a waste of time.

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a1371

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scrollaway  2 years ago

If you hang out on HN long enough, it's easy to fool yourself into thinking that you need VCs to fund your startup and there's no way your business will survive without it.

Very important to remember that when you go into fundraising mode, you are dedicating a bunch of time to doing this, and that the time you will spend doing it is time you will not spend building your product or focusing on your customers.

200k is pre-seed level. When I raised a 500k pre-seed for my latest startup, I explicitly avoided VCs (too much effort), went only to angels. Pitching to them taught me what I should focus on, and when I understood the potential of what I was building (and saw the enthusiasm to go with it), I cut the fundraise short at 100k: No more time to waste, I had to build.

Also worth mentioning that constraints are good. Having too much cash to build your MVP is like having no deadline. A fire under your ass (in the form of bootstrapping) can force you to be creative and focus on immediate revenue.

mrangle  2 years ago

Essentially, the market forced you onto the track that it wanted you to be in. Which, as you found out, is a good thing (and the only possibility).

As the best time for VC investment is generally at the inflection point of the exponential growth curve. When revenue can't keep up with what it costs to supply the ever faster growing demand. Which, for many companies, will be shortly before an outright acquisition. And usuaully 5-10 years, minimum, after slow customer growth. Assuming a good business but not necessarily a unicorn in terms of market position.

But at that point wily founders may instead look to keep their company and seek a loan.

abc123abc123  2 years ago

Amen!

I tried VC:s and didn't work (I pitched Netflix before Netflix and was told laws would crush it). Then I tried bootstrapping and getting customers and the veil was lifted from my eyes! Cannot recommend it enough. Don't waste time with VC:s, put that time into getting customers. If you are successful you can always sell the business to someone later on if/when you decide to retire or try something new.

featuregag  2 years ago

And if you make your success public enough in the right circles? Those same VCs will be throwing their panties at you. It’s the game.