Weekly bootstrap post on BD Tech Daily

I'm thrilled to participate in Business District's Tech Daily newsletter with a post every Friday.

Bootstrapping is often contrasted with the VC model of entrepreneurship and much of the discussion centers around avoiding funding from investors. This commonly used definition falls far short of the true essence of bootstrapping. Through an ongoing study of numerous bootstrap masters and working with my fellow-bootstrappers, I have come to understand it in a very different way. Phrases like: right action right time; constraint creates innovation; use everything; power of 2; demo/sell/build - all hint at what is really going on. Bootstrapping is simple yet mysterious, obvious yet subtle, tactical yet enduring. Neither cookie-cutter nor funding-driven, it is a third way of entrepreneurship involving the modern heroes' journey. Bootstraps might start out looking similar to other businesses, but quickly evolve into unique entities. They might even take funding, but it will be to scale rather than develop the business. Their "competitive advantage" lies in the accumulated steps taken in their thousand mile journey.

In the coming weeks and months we will embark our own journey of discovery. If I do my job right you will examine and question your current assumptions about entrepreneurship and bootstrapping and find your own answers at the end of the yellow brick road.

In the mean time, you might start by picking up a book from my recommended list, reading the Bootstrap Austin wiki, or attending my upcoming Texchange "debate" with Tom Ball on Sept 19th .