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Ask HN: When bootstrapping a startup, what are some ways to keep the lights on?

8 pointsby sherm8nabout 8 years ago

7 comments

codegeekabout 8 years ago
Plain and Simple. Charge from Day 1 and don't give stuff for free unless it absolutely makes sense. Also, keep costs low as much as possible. Don't get AWS if you can get a $5/Month DigitalOcean droplet. Don't spend money on ads etc. unless you know exactly HOW it works. Focus on building inbound marketing i.e. people finding you organically.
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Mzabout 8 years ago
I just tripped across this and I thought it would interest you:<p><a href="https:&#x2F;&#x2F;www.moonlightwork.com" rel="nofollow">https:&#x2F;&#x2F;www.moonlightwork.com</a><p>I also run a google group called Business Bootstrappers and you are welcome to join:<p><a href="https:&#x2F;&#x2F;groups.google.com&#x2F;forum&#x2F;m&#x2F;#!forum&#x2F;business-bootstrappers" rel="nofollow">https:&#x2F;&#x2F;groups.google.com&#x2F;forum&#x2F;m&#x2F;#!forum&#x2F;business-bootstrap...</a>
ak39about 8 years ago
Keeping your day job until the opportunity cost outweighs the monetary value of your day job.
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marksmywordabout 8 years ago
The easiest way would be to do most everything yourself and keep your overhead as low as possible besides the cost of hosting. Get a cheap server from <a href="https:&#x2F;&#x2F;www.digitalocean.com" rel="nofollow">https:&#x2F;&#x2F;www.digitalocean.com</a> for example but keep in mind its not cheap to manage it especially if you do it yourself and it ends up getting hacked. Go for management bundled into the server from <a href="https:&#x2F;&#x2F;www.iozoom.com" rel="nofollow">https:&#x2F;&#x2F;www.iozoom.com</a> to keep your costs down.<p>Start an affiliate type website selling other peoples products and earn commission. Get logo and site designed from <a href="https:&#x2F;&#x2F;www.fiverr.com" rel="nofollow">https:&#x2F;&#x2F;www.fiverr.com</a>, learn about seo and online marketing at forums like <a href="https:&#x2F;&#x2F;www.warriorforum.com" rel="nofollow">https:&#x2F;&#x2F;www.warriorforum.com</a>. Once you get a better understanding of online marketing you can promote your site for little to no money at all.
paytheosabout 8 years ago
I&#x27;ve seen a lot of smaller outstaffing companies like moonlightwork.com offering remote employees and it&#x27;s a good way to keep your costs low. The lights will go out quickly if you get developers at $50-$100 an hour and upwork is hit or miss and you can waste a lot of time. Toptal seems good but not cheap. Check out intellabridge.com they have good mid-level remote developers you can hire for $18-$20 an hour and they specialize in designing and building MVPs.
tedmistonabout 8 years ago
Hire slowly... don&#x27;t hire until it&#x27;s a real pain point and the runway for 6+ months is there.
dyejeabout 8 years ago
Alot of startups will do consulting work while they bootstrap their product.
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