Zikography

The man, The shave, The theology.

November 11, 2011

Bootstrapping by contract

Pretty much everyone in entrepreneurship explains the importance to remain focused when starting a new venture.
Of course they are right, it is extremely important to remain focused if the business is to be successful... There's just too much to get done and the entrepreneur will lose sight of the ultimate goal if he is not focused.
But focus is not enough to get financing, especially in the early stages.  So where does the money come from? Self-funding of course! 
Well that's fair but what about when the project overruns the initial money set aside by the entrepreneur?  A rich or successful spouse notwithstanding, our focused entrepreneur must either take up contracting and effectively lose focus or risk getting into financial trouble. The latter is not a good place to be for a new founder.
The question I ask then is this: if the entrepreneur is taking up contracting for the sole purpose of funding the business, isn't he still focused on his business?