Bootstrapped SaaS Founder Strategy

Hit $1M ARR last month. No funding. No board. No bullshit. People ask: "When are you raising?" Never. Here's why: Year 1: The VC Path I Didn't Take 3 VCs wanted to invest. Term sheets on the table. $2M at $8M valuation. I said no. Why? The math didn't make sense for the business I wanted to build. The VC Math: - Raise $2M, give up 25% - Spend on growth: $30K/mo on ads, $200K+ on sales team - Need to 10x to make investors happy - Exit pressure in 5-7 years - Build for acquisition, not customers The Bootstrap Math: - Keep 100% ownership - Spend what we earn - Grow 30-40% year over year - No exit pressure - Build for customers, profitability follows What happened instead: Year 1: $180K revenue, broke even month 8 Year 2: $520K revenue, 35% profit margin Year 3: $1.1M revenue, paying myself $240K/year The freedom bootstrapping gave us: - Turned down bad-fit customers (couldn't do this burning VC cash) - Invested 6 months building API because customers asked - Took August off (whole company) - Gave team profit sharing (40% of profits distributed) - Made product decisions based on user value, not growth metrics I'm not anti-VC. For some businesses, it's the right path. But I'm building a $5M/year business I own 100% of, not a $50M business I own 10% of. Same outcome. Different journey. Total control. The best funding source is customers who love your product.