When I started my first company, I had a really difficult time getting our business to gain traction. I needed a mentor—I was 20 years old, and had (quite literally) no idea what I was doing. My team and I had to figure out everything the hard way: sales, customer experience, hiring—you name it. We grew to be a six figure business in just over 18 months—scaled before we were ready, and it cost us everything. I was gutted, but knew I wasn't ready yet and still had more to learn. I decided to go work for a small startup (6 employees at the time), spent nearly every day working side by side its founder—and helped grow the company over 1mm in revenue. I learned quickly through that experience what it takes to build a business from scratch. Today, I'm building Thrive to help the founders who remind me of me—the people who believe strongly in their business and will do everything they can to see it succeed. There are a lot of things I’d do differently in my first business if given the opportunity, but it taught me more than anything else I’ve ever experienced. Bootstrappers can build businesses that Thrive if they surround themselves with people who have been in their shoes. Anything I can do to help more founders believe that, and build sustainable businesses from scratch, I will. That's the type of support I would have done anything to get when I was 20—and I've made it my purpose to help other founders navigate that journey, too. Because I believe the global economy lives and dies on the success of bootstrapped businesses.

@eric_harrison congrats on the launch! With so many innovative ideas and companies starting up in this unpredictable economy, it's so great knowing that startups have an avenue such as yours for guidance! What a great idea!