Founder Diaries: Entry 4

Don't Label me or my Startup

Welcome to "Founder Diaries," where the polished narratives of entrepreneurship are set aside for a raw, unfiltered dive into the founder's mind. Each entry captures the real-time reflections, struggles, and epiphanies of navigating the startup journey. Join me as we explore the unscripted side of building, dreaming, and sometimes stumbling, in the relentless pursuit of innovation.

Entry 4

As I bootstrap my software startup, I do keep an eye on the VC and funding in general route as a potential option. You see, I am not against VC or outside funding.

Bootstrapping has its advantages but also has it’s disadvantages. So does Venture Capital funding. In reality, although I am bootstrapping my software startup, I am open to VC funding.

It’s not to say that I would go the VC route, although it would make things easier for me but, it is something I keep an eye on. 

As a result, from time to time I do venture deeper into the VC world by scheduling meetings with them to have a chat, complete their registration forms, engage with them etc. 

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One thing I have noticed is this obsession in categorising your startup in a variety of criteria such as:

• Revenue Model

• Business Model

• Target Audience

• Product Type

• Etc

Now, I do understand why this is done, it makes sense however, it leaves a gap. While for the large majority, startups will fit into these categories, not all will… and it’s this section that not only my startup but countless others will too…

As a consequence, you are placed in a position of ‘under selling’ your startup and not disclosing a lot of valuable information about your startup. As a result, VC’s will not have a full picture of what you are building and will overlook you.

For example, categorising your startup as a subscription model may be true for most startups however, what if you incorporate payments as well?  What if you have an ad system built in as well?  The addition of these two revenue models would massively expand revenue however, you are categorised as only one of the models. This comes after one of my many explorations into the VC world to see what they look for when completing the registration process or speaking to them over Zoom or Teams call.

In my view… It’s short sighted that hampers both sides of the camp, VC’s who cannot get the full understanding of your startup, and you who cannot display the full potential of your startup.

This is why I say don’t label me…

You see I am building a business solutions software which essentially means it’s B2B with a subscription model built into it however, there is an element of B2C with taking shape in a form of a marketplace. The end customers don’t pay for anything however, are able to make transactions through the platform which adds the payment model to the revenue generation aspect. Couple this with the businesses ability to run highly targeted ads would add a third method of revenue generation…

Following the steps of the many VC’s registration process, my startup would be