Don't be dependent on credit or investors.

As an entrepreneur, as long as you have cash you get to stay in business.

It can come from customers or investors. Perhaps both.

If you run out of cash, you go out of business. Simple.

My philosophy has always been not to be dependent on credit or investors, to instead build a RevOps growth engine to produce profitable revenue and ample cash reserves. This has never failed me.

As a venture studio, it's our practice to install a comprehensive Revenue Generating Engine (RevOps) into each venture, then and only then, fund to scale.

Our LPs love this. We derisk the chances of a bad outcome for everyone.

Here's a short-list of companies who achieved significant success through bootstrapping before eventually taking on venture capital (VC) funding:

Mailchimp: Initially a side project, Mailchimp was bootstrapped for several years before it accepted any outside funding. The company grew significantly by reinvesting its profits back into the business.

Basecamp (formerly 37signals): This web application company was famously bootstrapped and profitable from its inception. They focused on building simple, effective tools like Basecamp and Ruby on Rails.

TechSmith: Known for products like Snagit and Camtasia, TechSmith bootstrapped for a long time before taking any external funding.

GoPro: The action camera company started with its founder making cameras from scratch and selling them out of his van. GoPro was bootstrapped for its initial years before taking on outside investment.

Atlassian: The Australian software company, known for products like Jira and Confluence, was bootstrapped for about eight years before taking on any venture capital.

GitHub: Before it was acquired by Microsoft, GitHub operated largely on a bootstrapped model, reinvesting its earnings to fuel growth.

Spanx: The apparel company founded by Sara Blakely was bootstrapped with her personal savings and remained independent for a significant time before taking on outside investments.

Lynda: Before being acquired by LinkedIn, it grew for nearly two decades without any venture capital.

Pro Tip: When you partner with God, EVERYTHING becomes possible. Never limit His plans to your limited thinking. 

Whether you take in VC or not, not having a solid RevOps blueprint in place isn't an option. And your pitch deck graph for allocated sales and marketing funds isn't a strategy, it's just a pretty picture.

We're planting oak trees not unicorns.

Just Sayin'

-Gerald