Yesterday ended up being a “bootstrapping” kind of day.
In my class during the day, Clint Smith, co-founder of Emma, talked to my students about his company and its growth. He told my students that bootstrapping is best described as “you don’t get it until you have to have it.” He went on to say that with that comes a trade-off. “It takes longer to get out ahead of your growth.” So patience is a virtue that bootstrappers must have as they build their businesses. Good advice!
Then last evening I met with a new group of local entrepreneurs, called Better Bootstrap, who are getting together once a month to talk about all things bootstrapping. This was their first meeting and about two dozen people showed up — a great initial group.
The group heard from local entrepreneur, Ernie Clevenger, who co-founded a company called Care Here. It has grown from a highly bootstrapped start-up into a very impressive operation. Since they had no money during their launch, they had to find creative ways to bootstrap their company, which establishes in-house medical clinics for employers. This is not the typical kind of business one might think of to bootstrap, but they did, and it has yielded remarkable results.
The group then shared some of their own bootstrapping challenges and got some useful feedback from their fellow entrepreneurs.
The Better Bootstrap group is something that I think could and should serve as a model for other communities. Bootstrapping entrepreneurs, just like any business owners, need help, advice, and wise counsel. The problem is that they often cannot afford to join typical business organizations. This group charges no dues — you just have to agree to try and buy a little food at the restaurant where they hold their meeting.