Business Mentoring: From Raising Money to Bootstrapping

September 3, 2015 // GoSmallBiz
From Fundraising to Bootstrapping

Raising money for your business can become a full-time job. Just ask TJ Muehleman, the co-founder of Standard Code and We&Co.

Along with his co-founder Jared Malan, TJ started We&Co several years ago, based on his passion for the hospitality industry. To grow the business, they decided to raise money. “We called every wealthy person we knew in Atlanta,” he says, and ultimately they raised half a million dollars. Many of those investors are still important mentors who have helped them in valuable ways.

But the strategy to grow by raising money came with its own set of issues. Raising money is a full time job, they found—not just the time actually spent raising money, but time spent managing investors. Even with incredibly low-key investors, it was still a major commitment of time.

So when TJ and Jared started another company, Standard Code, they took a different route. This time, they bootstrapped. “Bootstrapping is right for me,” TJ says. By using funds from inside the company to grow the business, they have grown the business in a more organic way. What started out as just a means to an end, a one-time project that would help generate money to fund We&Co, has instead taken off on its own. After just two years, the business is profitable and has 10 employees—fully bootstrapped.

In this session, you’ll learn:

  • The relationships you need to build before raising funds
  • How investors require time from entrepreneurs
  • How bootstrapping works

See the 10-minute mentoring session below:

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