Jean Derely on WooRank's early days:
We couldn't get anyone to invest in WooRank when we got started, and despite this seeming like the hardest path at the beginning, it might well be the best thing that could have happened to us.
(...)
The first benefit is that there weren't external pressures on us (from investors) to achieve specific levels of profits, or to develop WooRank in a way that was not necessarily in our customers' or our own long-term best interests.
(...)
Another consequence of not having early investment is that we've had the flexibility to cultivate the company culture as we ideally envisioned it. This includes giving team members additional incentives and a great work environment - and despite long working hours at the beginning, to give the team the necessary professional freedom to maintain a healthy work/life balance. Who knows if this would have been possible with the pressure of measuring up to our investors' wishes weighing us down?
Control over your company's destiny is definitely a huge benefit of bootstrapping. Another benefit that shouldn't be discounted is the financial side: all the profit is yours to keep, and to take out of the company right now if you so wish, without having to wait for a payout day sometimes in the future.
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