rwalling

I don’t see signs of this yet. We’re still seeing the same level of companies with traction come through each time we run an application process for TinySeed (accelerator focused on bootstrapped SaaS).

But realistically, there are a couple camps in bootstrapped SaaS. Folks who want to build an audience (often by “building in public” on social media), then hope they can monetize it. And folks who focus on non-audience-driven marketing and sales.

We only fund the latter, so take my comment with that context.

Bravo, @paraschopra What an incredible journey. I remember when you launched. I hadn't realized it was 16 years ago!

I'll hit you up privately with an invite to tell your story on Startups for the Rest of Us. It's a fitting place for a bootstrapper like yourself.

100% I would move out of the bay area if I had the means and I was bootstrapping.

I grew up in the East Bay, but I bootstrapped my companies in New Haven, CT and Fresno, CA, both much cheaper to live than the Bay Area.

It happened that my wife was getting her PhD, which is why we moved to those cities, but I commented often that I was grateful that we lived in such low cost of living cities while I was trying to conserve cash and get my companies off the ground.

I run MicroConf, and each year we run a survey and a report called The State of Independent SaaS, where we survey 600 or 700 bootstrapped or mostly bootstrapped SaaS founders. One of the questions we ask is about location.

And unlike venture backed companies, which cluster in a handful of cities, Independent/Bootstrapped SaaS founders are located in more than 340 cities around the world, with the most populated city (London) having only 4% of the population.

You can bootstrap from pretty much anywhere. Personally, in your shoes, I would pick a place with great quality of life and great culture, plus low cost of living. Cities like Minneapolis, Charlotte, Raleigh & Durham, Boulder, etc.

Good luck, you have plenty of runway and I wish you the best on this journey.

My more up-to-date follow up to Start Small, Stay Small is The SaaS Playbook. Aimed at people who are bootstrapping or mostly bootstrapping.

Thanks for the kind mention in this article. I’m going to be honest, I started blogging and writing books (and now podcasting) because I was SO TIRED of the vague business advice I saw on the internet.

A couple weeks ago I saw a founder ask: “What podcasts should I listen to for practical advice on bootstrapping a SaaS?” And people responded with suggestions like Tony Robbins, GaryVee, and the Founders podcast (which summarizes business biographies).

Don’t get me wrong, those resources have their audience and fulfill a need. But that’s not what a bootstrapper needs to hear at that point in time. They need specific advice that’s as prescriptive as possible without crossing the line and becoming overly prescriptive. “Rules of thumb” if you will ;-)

That kind of situation is why I started talking about startups. To take an opinionated stance and be as specific as possible. Which is why I focus on SaaS and not entrepreneurship in general.

In any case, I appreciate the mention and consider myself among esteemed company with the other folks mentioned in your essay.

In addition to the content we (MicroConf) have put out on this topic, and the community we’ve built that allows people to find co-founders, we’re also gearing up a co-founder matching service.

Zero to Exit Start Small, Stay Small The SaaS Playbook

Startups for the Rest of Us podcast YouTube.com/MicroConf

Indie.vc Tinyseed.com

For sure check out MicroConf.com/YouTube and the podcast Startups for the Rest of Us. I’m the host of both, a former developer turned entrepreneur, and both of those are designed for someone in your exact position.

From there you’ll hear about related books, events, groups etc that will benefit you on your journey.

Good luck!

We wouldn’t “easily grow 2x” if we served every type of software entrepreneur.

We used to cater to all software: mobile apps, desktop, WordPress, etc. and we still have many folks in the community who are non-SaaS. But the focus on SaaS was a spark that dramatically increased growth as it allowed us to optimize everything we offer (content, community, masterminds) on the specific problems SaaS folks face.

We don’t restrict folks who can join based on the type of software, so “restriction” is not the right word to use there. It’s just a focus.

And it was a great choice, allowing us to be the best in the world at what we do (rather than serving a broader market, poorly).

Awesome!

Congrats, Matt. I've enjoyed watching your journey for the past decade and am very excited that you're able to go FT on Preceden.

Appreciate the shout, Torte!