Indeed, An Almost Entirely Bootstrapped Job Search Giant, Gets A Monster Exit

Bootstrapping (adj): a self-sustaining process that proceeds without external help.<p>Not bootstrapping: $5M in VC.<p>There is no "partially bootstrapped," you either are or aren't. Can somebody update the headline?

Wow, great story! That said, I really wouldn't say that getting a $5 million round is bootstrapping..

Wow! Of all acquisitions to come out lately, this makes me most happy. Who needs seed money when you have the best product out there.<p>Congrats to Indeed and their whole team.

Looks like a major win for Fred Wilson. It is testament to the value he brings when a company doesn't need to raise money (and probably is not even looking) - but takes your money anyway.

The author doesn't know the price.<p><pre><code> The acquisition price wasn't announced but you can bet it was for close to, if not more than, $1 billion</code></pre>

This is some really sloppy headline-writing right here. Not only is the company not bootstrapped, but in the context of job search, it seems to imply that Monster (the job listing website) was a party to the deal.

Since when does taking $5M in VC mean bootstrapped? Well, judging from the comments, it seems that many perceive bootstrapping only applies to the early stages of the company. But I find that hard to stomach as someone who is also bootstrapping a company. When you bootstrap, you use your own revenues to finance growth. Getting investors is an alternative to that strategy. I don't see how you can both bootstrap AND have investors.<p>Looking at it differently, maybe they didn't need the capital, but they took it. You don't just accidentally get $5M from Union Square... term sheets happen. Lawyers are involved. Cap tables are adjusted. That doesn't happen when you bootstrap. It happens when you use other people's money to finance growth. AKA not bootstrapping.<p>That being said, it seems they did this particularly intelligently and Union Square was a fabulous choice for everyone involved.

Indeed is one of my business' main revenue streams, so I was relieved to see that they'll be kept as a wholly owned subsidiary. The rumor last night was that LinkedIn was going to buy Indeed, and that scared the crap out of me.

Having used Indeed during tough times I am happy for their success. It's a great search engine and without it I'm certain that my job-searching productivity would not have been as high as it was back when I was looking - which is crucial when trying to pump out as many (good quality) applications as you can to increase your chances of an interview.<p>I love their product and it's still the first site I visit when I'm curious about what's available in different areas. Congrats to the team!

The title is still misleading. Upon reading it, I was wondering why on Earth the SF Gate was writing about the value of Twitter's web UI toolkit...