The Bootstrap - Building Startups from Scratch

What influences the decision to bootstrap a startup as opposed to going down the fundeaising route, and if you decide to go that waty, how do you do it? My guest for this episode, Tom Bruining, stepped out of a long histopry of working in funded startups and decided to do just that. Along with his co-founders, Tom started HowdyGo, a product that allows you to easyilu Capture real, interactive product demos

To share that journey ...

Most founders don’t see themselves as sales people, and many either try to avoid taking on that role altogether, or offloading it as soon as possible. What is the best way for founders to approach sales when its not a comfortable pair of shoes, how do you know when it’s time to transition away from founder-led sales, and how do you do it?

To help me unpack this host Scotty Allen is joined by Gavin Tye. Gavin is the founder of sa...

When you hear the word crowdfunding you might think about that Kickstarter you backed for that groovy new gadget that you may or may not have ever received, or the GoFundMe that you donated to help someone going through something terrible, but until recently you may not think of it as viable option for funding your startup.

One person who done much more than think about it is Kane Jackson, Kane is the cofounder and CEO of Maslow...

At the start, every business is a bootstrapped business. Founders inject their own capital and/or sweat to get things rolling, and then work out what funding model or models is most likely to work for their idea.

It’s easy to want to skip through the hard bits and get to the moment where cash is raining down from the sky, but there are things about bootstrapping that give you insights into building businesses that you don’t get ...

Bootstrapping a startup is not for the faint of heart. If you really commit to the journey, there are plenty of lows and setbacks to face before you reach a high - if you ever do.

We know the success stories, but not always the pivots and failures that came before them. So what is building a startup really like in 2024?

Our guest for this episode is right in the thick of it. Jo Agresta is the CEO and Founder of Abodey, the Ul...

Software as a service, or SaaS, has been responsible for much of the explosive growth of tech as we know it. What is it like to found and build in the world of SaaS startups? How does your approach as a founder have to change if you know you’re going to be entering the world of Software as a Service?

To help us unpack this we're joined by Kirk Drage, tech veteran and founder and CEO of LeapSheep. 

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The Bootstrap i...

You may have heard the term "Impact Startup" and wondered what it really means. In broad terms, an impact startup is a business that is designed to solve major societal problems, But what does that look like in reality? What are some examples of impact startups and how do you start?

To help us unpack this, we're joined by Annette Rose, founder of the Impact Startup

Kids Get Money is a fun, easy to use online program that g...

Getting a startup up and running seems to come with an endless to do list, and while some things are exciting, others are just plain necessary. 

Knowing when you need to formalise the legal structure of your business, what to choose and how to do it can be overwhelming, so we’ve invited Talt Anast from Allied Legal to help us work out w2hat is what

Allied Legal is a Melbourne-base firm that focuses legal solutions and ad...

There's no end to the list of things a founder needs to think about at the start of the startup journey. Operations  might be seen as something that comes later, but laying the groundwork in the early days, without overdoing it, can lead to a much easier path to scale.

Tiffany Ashdown, experienced Operations Manager and Co-Founder / COO of The Product Bus, joins us to discuss.

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The Bootstrap is a production ...

Do Startups have an Ageism Problem?

We recorded our discussion with Kirstin Hunter prior to the WGEA gender pay gap report release, but the discussion couldn’t be more timely.

One element of the WGEA report showed that the pay gap for women increases by age range. While you might look at that stat and say it shows the gap is closing generationally, it’s a stark reminder of the additional barriers that older women face in the ...

Building the right team is an essential part of early stage startups. Finding a balance of skills, experience, and personalities can truly be a make or break factor.

To discuss the best ways to approach talent acquisition when you’re bootstrapping, I’m joined by Steve Grace, founder and CEO of The Nudge Group, a specialist recruitment company focusing on the startup space.

The Bootstrap is a production of Swivol Media and Th...

From the outside, achieving investment in your startup feels like a peak achievement, but the reality is its the start of a much steeper climb that has its upsides and its downs. Someone who knows this journey very well is Nick Chang, who has founded and successfully exited more than one company, and this episode he joins us to help shed some light on what you mightn't know about being funded,. 

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The Bootstrap is a ...

As a product focused startup podcast, it’s impossible to spend too much time talking about market positioning. What is it and what simple and affordable strategies can bootstrapping founders use to find it, reassess it, and find it again? 

To unpack that I’m joined by Michelle Picoto,  Michelle is the Co-Founder of Deepstar Strategic. She's spent the last 17 years driving business growth through positioning, messaging...

On this episode, we're joined by Kim Kerton from Good Side of The Bed - and the host, creator, and producer of Unemployed & Afraid - a small business podcast for the brave self-employed with 100 episodes.

Kim is also a creative and commercially minded podcast strategist, helping brands and business owners build themselves big podcasts.

There’s a lot to learn from Kim’s entrepreneurial journey, which started at the age of...

We're back for 2024 with brand new episodes starting this week! In our first show of 2024, we're joined by Jane Del Rosso of The Business of Food to talk about "Taking the Entrepreneurial Leap".

When do you know it’s time to take the lead and follow your entrepreneurial dream? Can you leave it too late? What are the pitfalls to look out for? We talk about this and much more. We also look at how so much of the product mindset and...

While The Bootstrap is on a production break,we're bringing you select episodes of another podcast we produce - Starting Line.

Starting Line episodes are founder journey stories, and we've chosen six episodes from that series that exemplify the bootstrapping journey in a range of industries.

This episode, we talk to Lisa Reiner of Curvature Clothing about her pathway to entrepreneurship and her mission to bring inclusively si...

While The Bootstrap is on a production break,we're bringing you select episodes of another podcast we produce - Starting Line.

Starting Line episodes are founder journey stories, and we've chosen six episodes from that series that exemplify the bootstrapping journey in a range of industries.

This episode, we talk to Anthony Kwok - Co-Founder of Zilio - about his experience in bringing a revolutionary idea in virtual clothes f...

While The Bootstrap is on a production break,we're bringing you select episodes of another podcast we produce - Starting Line.

Starting Line episodes are founder journey stories, and we've chosen six episodes from that series that exemplify the bootstrapping journey in a range of industries.

This episode, we talk to Tania Stacey - Co-Founder of East Forged, about her entrepreneurial journey and her mission to bring Nitro Iced...

While The Bootstrap is on a production break,we're bringing you select episodes of another podcast we produce - Starting Line.

Starting Line episodes are founder journey stories, and we've chosen six episodes from that series that exemplify the bootstrapping journey in a range of industries.

This episode, we talk to Jeremy Fleming of Stagekings about his business journey, and navigating the Covid pandemic when events ground ...