Taking the Long Way Up: Reasons Not to Take On Investors

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It had taken me so long to find investors up to that point, and I was sick of waiting to build something. I wanted to move fast and start generating revenue.

Elastic was so successful, we were able to spin an entirely new business from it, Close. With Close, we sold the CRM software we had built for our own internal sales team. Suddenly, we went from being a “sales-as-a-service” business to being a true “software-as-a-service” company.

I wanted to see how fast we could scale this time, so I tried to fundraise—again—for Close. (What can I say? Old habits die hard.)

When Close didn’t grab the attention of investors either, I decided to keep going full-steam ahead with our bootstrapped business. We were already gaining traction without additional capital, so it just made sense to keep reinvesting our profits back into the business.

As a founder, you need to ask yourself what you’re actually bahrain telegram data chasing: a business or an investment.

Bootstrapping might require more patience, but it can build a more resilient, sustainable business.
Imagine the journey to the top of the mountain. You can start at the bottom, hiking switchbacks and climbing, feeling the ache in your legs as you make your way up slowly and finally reach the peak. Or—you could have a helicopter drop you right at the top. After all, the view would be the same, right?

I like to think of bootstrapping your business as taking the long way up. It’s more difficult, sure, but you learn as you go. You build endurance and strength trudging up the rocky terrain. Taking the “simpler” route is enticing and it may feel pretty good at the top, but your sense of accomplishment is artificial, and you haven’t learned or built those muscles.

Similarly, taking on huge investment can lead to a false impression that your business is successful. It can hide (or delay) the answers to very basic questions: