Bootstrapping vs. Venture Funding

The next Ultra Light Startups event will be on the topic of “Bootstrapping vs. Venture Funding” (Thursday, December 3, in New York).  This topic is of great interest to me as I work out the financing for my own startup ideas.  On one hand, launching a startup is an expensive undertaking and not everyone has the savings to put towards these expenses.  On the other hand, seeking funding is a time consuming process which distracts from the important goal of building a business -  and there is certainly no guarantee that funding will be available, even if it is sought.

Panelist Mark Davis recently posted about Boostrapping vs. Venture Funding and the related topic of barriers to entry in Three Types Of Scalable IT Companies on his blog.

There are plenty of examples of successful startups in both camps.  In an attempt to work out any patterns that may help to create guidelines for which method is most appropriate in a given set of circumstances, I figured I would start to compile a list of some of the most prominent successes in each category.  Please feel free to nominate additional startups to add to either list.  Also, I’d love to hear any patterns that seem to emerge from these lists which can help guide the decision.

Bootstrapping Success Stories

• Placebase (via GigaOM)
• PlentyOfFish (via NYTimes and WSJ)
• MacRumors (via NYTimes)
• Blue Sky Factory (via EveryJoe part 1, 2, and 3)
• FreshBooks (via GigaOM)
• 37Signals (via TechCrunch)

Venture Funding Success Stories

• Google
• Amazon

Unknown

• Apple
• Microsoft