Bootstrapping
Also called Bootstrapped and Self-Funded
Building a company using your own money and the revenue it generates, rather than raising outside investment. Also called self-funding.
Why it matters
Bootstrapping keeps you in control and forces the discipline of making money early, but it limits how fast you can grow. Whether to bootstrap or raise is one of the biggest early choices, and it depends on the business and the founder's goals.
For example
Zerodha grew into one of India's most valuable startups on its own revenue, never raising a rupee of outside capital.
Go deeper
Related terms
Also in Starting Up
See how founders actually handle this on Growing and marketing, part of the Starting Up hub.
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