Bootstrapping Guide by Jotform — From 0 to 10 million users with $0 funding

Congrats on the launch! Is it all new content or could we see bits and pieces from the previous, well written blog posts? Jotform has an awesome story and I am very excited about reading this compilation anyways. Good luck!

Aytekin, this is brilliant! I have been following your story for a while. Thank you so much for beautifully and simply putting your experiences together in this guide. And it's a lot more than just a bootstrapping guide, though that is the underlying theme across the guide. Let's make it the #1 product of the week!

- Follow your dreams and the money will follow - Hustle until the haters ask if you’re hiring - Work hard, play hard - Sleep is for losers - Rise and grind Motivational startup quotes are everywhere. They shout from Instagram feeds, coffee mugs and status updates. Maybe you have one scribbled on a nearby sticky note. If so, no judgment. These are powerful themes. Everyone wants to feel excited about what they’re doing and creating. We know that hard work can deliver results. And quitting your job to chase a startup dream is a seductive idea. Mainstream media also perpetuates the story that if you log 80 hours a week, follow your passion and “hustle hard,” you’ll create the next Facebook or Amazon. It could happen. But this narrative often leads founders into business before they’re ready. It can also create enormous (and unhealthy) pressure that derails smart, ambitious people. For every entrepreneur who’s clocking three hours of sleep each night and going prematurely grey, I’d like to offer an alternative path. This path led me to build JotForm in one of the most competitive industries around: online forms. Even Google Forms stepped into the ring, and remains one of our toughest competitors. But we persevered — for 15 years and counting. We’re still one of the leading players, with +10 million users and +300 employees, and we’ve done it without taking a single dime in outside funding. This is not a story of overnight success or following my dreams straight to the top of TechCrunch. I’ve built this business slowly, while maintaining my freedom and my personal life. I believe that bootstrapping is a great approach for entrepreneurs. And in this bootstrapping guide, I’d love to share everything I’ve learned from growing my startup from 0 to 10 million users without selling your soul to investors.

There are many books, schools or tutorials on how to build a startup but all of those always include funding at some point, which requires you to sacrifice a part of your work and product. Yet, this one is all about how to do it without getting a funding, zero to hero, I can’t wait to memorize it! Congrats on the launch! 🚀🚀

@aytekintank -- 2 things: 1. This is brilliant! Overall and also coz I can pick specific sections and read just them! 2. Respect!

Congrats for the launch! Thank you for haring your story and your advices. Can't wait to read it @aytekintank

Great work Aytekin. I have been following your blog for the past 3 years and your approach to entrepreneurship has what got me interested in startup in the first place. All the very best for your book release on product hunt.

Great job!! Everyone loves a guide but I believe this one is going to be a useful one, one coming from the someone that has actually walked the walk and continues to do so! Thanks and congratulations on the much-deserved success! I'll definitely be sharing this with my online community of side hustlers, no doubt they'll be appreciating it, as I know many others will also! 💪 Keep it up! - Adam Madden Side Hustle Discover | Founder

I think stories like this one need to get more traction. The hustle culture and overglorification of VC is eventually going to destroy what makes entrepreneurship unique.

Quick question, and maybe you answer this in later chapters: When you built Jotform for your employer, how did you get around it being theirs, since you built the framework for it on their dime? This has, for me been a sticking point at several employers - being either on the verge of creating a game changer, or seeing something I create become a game changer... for my employer.

VCs are good in many ways but nothing beats the creativity of freedom. If you can bootstrap, you gotta bootstrap - coming from somone who had been through multiple rounds with VCs.

"You don’t have to disrupt an industry to succeed. You can still create significant value in categories most write off as finished." Quote of the year

Hi Aytekin, Congrats on the articles released and they are priceless. There is a big difference between knowing the path and walked through the path. Really appreciate for putting the experience and lessons learned all together! Really helpful, have a nice day!

Thanks for sharing your experience, i't almost impossible nowadays to grow that big in SaaS without external funding. Great work!

I remember using your product very very early on. It was simple and as you rightly said, there wasn't anything really like it.....a product ahead of its time. I really loved the simplicity.

Congrats on the launch, can't wait to read it! @aytekintank

Congrats on the launch! 🚀 I think both the story itself and the guide will be helpful to many people around the world! Can't wait to see the impact of it!

Congratulations on the launch! Is this all new material or can we just see excerpts and excerpts from previous?

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Congratulations on the fresh new look!