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Bootstrapping

Bootstrapping

by Joe Colopy

★★★★★ 4.8 · 27 ratings on Amazon
🏆 Bestseller in Development & Growth Economics

About This Book

Your startup can be successful without venture capital. Joe Colopy did it. So can you. In 2002, Colopy co-founded Bronto Software and, over the next thirteen years, grew it to over $40 million in revenue and 250 employees until it was acquired for $200 million. And he did it without a dime of outside capital. Bootstrapping Bronto not only tells Colopy’s story, sharing the hard-won lessons learned from being in the bootstrapped trenches, but also celebrates this alternative path for building a startup. A must-read for every technology entrepreneur contemplating the pros and cons of raising capital, Bootstrapping Bronto presents Colopy’s framework for successfully starting and scaling a startup, emphasizing the importance of hustle, listening to customers, staying flexible, extending one’s financial runway, and staying persistent. Filled with inspiration and real-world examples, Bootstrapping Bronto proves you can start, grow, and sell a high-growth startup, even without venture capital!

Business Entrepreneurship
Joe Colopy

Joe Colopy

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Joe Colopy is a technology entrepreneur and investor. In 2002, Joe co-founded and bootstrapped Durham-based Bronto Software as its CEO to 300+ employees before becoming part of Oracle. Through his work with Bronto, Joe was a past Triangle Business Journal’s 40 Under 40 winner and a finalist for the Ernst & Young Entrepreneur of the Year for the Carolinas.

After selling Bronto, Joe started several entities, including GrepBeat, which reports on the North Carolina tech community; Jurassic Capital, which invests in regional growth-stage software companies; and Primordial, which invests in North Carolina-area early-stage startups.

Earlier in his career, Joe worked at Red Hat and served as a U.S. Peace Corps Volunteer. He earned a bachelor’s degree in Computer Science from Harvard University and an MBA from the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill. He originally hails from Akron, Ohio, but now happily lives in Durham with his wife, four children, dog, and an ever-changing number of chickens.

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