Book · book (free online)

Getting Real (and the 37signals bootstrapping philosophy)

37signals (Jason Fried & David Heinemeier Hansson) · 37signals.com Free Beginner

37signals wrote the playbook for building profitable software without VC, and Getting Real is free to read online. Their contrarian, constraint-loving approach is gospel for bootstrappers and indie hackers.

  • Charge for your product from day one and stay lean
  • Constraints force you to build only what customers will pay for
  • You can build a great, durable business without outside investment
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It answers 5 questions

  1. Can I really build a successful startup without raising money?
  2. How do I bootstrap a startup with little or no money?
  3. How do I reach profitability (or ramen profitability) as fast as possible?
  4. Bootstrapping vs raising VC, how do I decide?
  5. How do I grow a bootstrapped business without burning cash on marketing?

Read with it

  1. A candid founder conversation on building India's largest brokerage entirely on customer money, with no external capital. The... blume.vc Podcast · podcast episode Bootstrapping his way to build the largest online brokerage in India (Nithin Kamath) Blume Ventures Podcast (with Nithin Kamath)
  2. Paul Graham's essays introduced the idea of 'ramen profitability' and default-alive thinking that underpins modern... paulgraham.com Essay · essay How to Make Wealth / Startup = Growth (essays) Paul Graham
  3. A primary-source, founder-written account of how India's largest and most profitable brokerage actually makes money and thinks... zerodha.com Article · blog post Z-Connect: Business Updates & Why We Do What We Do Nithin Kamath
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