# Bootstrapping

Concept · [Fundraising and equity](https://ecosystem.samcarlton.com/fundraising)

Also called: bootstrap, bootstrapped, self-funded, self funding

Building a company with your own savings and the money customers pay you, instead of money from investors.

**For example:** A [founder](https://ecosystem.samcarlton.com/founder) keeps her day job, builds a booking tool on weekends and uses the first customers' [payments](https://ecosystem.samcarlton.com/payments) to cover costs.

## Connects to (7)

- [Runway](https://ecosystem.samcarlton.com/runway): How many months your company can keep going before the money in the bank runs out, if spending stays the same.
- [Revenue](https://ecosystem.samcarlton.com/revenue): All the money customers pay your business, before any costs are taken out.
- [Venture capital](https://ecosystem.samcarlton.com/venture-capital): Money that professional investment firms put into young companies in exchange for equity.
- [Non-dilutive funding](https://ecosystem.samcarlton.com/non-dilutive-funding): Money a company receives without giving up any ownership.
- [Grant](https://ecosystem.samcarlton.com/grant): Money given for a stated purpose that does not have to be repaid and does not buy any ownership.
- [Indie hacker](https://ecosystem.samcarlton.com/indie-hacker): Someone who builds and runs a small software business on their own or with a tiny team, usually without outside investors.
- [Indie Hackers](https://ecosystem.samcarlton.com/indie-hackers): An online community where founders share how they build profitable, often self-funded, businesses, with posts, interviews and revenue…

> This glossary is plain-language orientation, not legal or financial advice. Before you decide on a company structure, a contract, taxes or a fundraising deal, talk with a lawyer or an accountant.

Map view: https://ecosystem.samcarlton.com/bootstrapping