Bootstrapping Small Businesses

The cluster focuses on advice for starting profitable businesses with little to no external funding, emphasizing small-scale, bootstrapped ventures over VC-backed ones, and debating whether low-capital ideas qualify as real businesses.

📉 Falling 0.3x Startups & Business
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#5927
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Keywords

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Sample Comments

visakanv Jan 17, 2014 View on HN

There's no reason why you need to start with a profitable business that utilizes all your resources; you could always put together something smaller that doesn't take up all your time!

hajimuz Apr 20, 2025 View on HN

Build your own profit business, no matter how small it is, as earlier as possible.

gamblor956 Dec 19, 2019 View on HN

If you can't afford $800/year, you don't have a business. You have a hobby.

DFHippie Jan 27, 2021 View on HN

Low margin business without the capital to invest?

banned1 Oct 9, 2017 View on HN

"Let's"? Maybe you can start your own company with your own funds and do that?

break_the_bank Oct 4, 2018 View on HN

"The simple concept to remember is: if you need $13M to start this business, it's a business you can't start right now; it's instead an opportunity for larger businesses"True. I should look at the smallest thing that I can do that can provide value and that can somehow pivot into a bank.Good luck with your startup :)

xj9 Mar 15, 2019 View on HN

there are lots of ways to start a successful business that don't involve millions of dollars of seed money. you don't have to grow into a multinational conglomerate to be a sustainable enterprise, you know. if you have to huge for your business to make sense at all, maybe you just have a stupid idea. statistically, it is more likely that you are wrong than that you are a zuck-level-genius.

minalecs Oct 13, 2010 View on HN

I think you need to ask your self if you are going for a lifestyle business or a fundable business. In terms of starting a lifestyle business I think you should have no issues, and will possibly do well. If you are looking to someday get funding, more than likely its an unfundable idea.

gnulinux Dec 4, 2023 View on HN

If you can't afford $30 a month, do you really have a business?

brightball Apr 12, 2022 View on HN

Should they? Every business doesn’t have millions of dollars in cash to burn trying to find product market fit. Most start from nothing or personal savings, perhaps partially from the salary of a spouse.When you start a business there’s an expectation that you’re probably not taking a paycheck from it for a few years while you try to attract customers to provide steady cash flow.While doing this, you somehow have to find a way to hire people to help you grow.If it doesn’t work out, the