Bootstrapping vs. VC Money: Why We Chose This Path

In the world of startups, one question always comes up: Should we bootstrap or raise venture capital? For us at Gleap, the answer wasn’t always that clear. In the beginning, we actually wanted to raise. We spoke to investors, pitched our vision, and explored funding options. But the truth is, we never really followed through. We didn’t take pitching seriously enough, and in all honesty, we didn’t really know what we were doing.

So, in a way, bootstrapping chose us. And while we’re proud of that path, it was – and still is – a constant battle.

The Upside: Freedom and Focus

Bootstrapping gave us something money can't buy: liberty. We controlled our vision, our roadmap, and our pace. There were no external expectations, no pressure to hit aggressive growth targets, and no board meetings pulling us away from what we truly cared about – building a great product.

Without investor timelines dictating our moves, we could iterate based on what our customers needed, not what would look best on a pitch deck. This freedom allowed us to stay lean, focus on product quality, and build a company culture rooted in sustainable growth rather than sprinting toward the next funding round.

Another major upside? Time. Raising money is a full-time job. From crafting pitch decks to endless meetings with investors. As soon as you raise a seed round, you’re already thinking about your Series A. And the bar for that round is so much higher. Raising money indeed becomes a full-time job, pulling founders away from product, team, and customers. We just never wanted that for ourselves.

The Downside: Limited Resources, Limited Reach

But bootstrapping comes at a cost. With less money to spend, you inevitably face trade-offs. Every hire, every marketing push, and every tool you invest in is scrutinized. While VC-backed startups might scale their teams and campaigns overnight, bootstrapped companies grow inch by inch, milestone by milestone.

There’s also the risk of missing out on opportunities. With more funding, we could have expanded faster, entered new markets sooner, or invested more heavily in partnerships. And there was the constant fear that competitors, with more resources, might move faster product-wise and create a feature we weren’t able to build in time.

Yet, every time we debated the funding route, one thing held us back: the fear of growing too quickly and losing sight of why we started Gleap in the first place.

Why We Stayed the Course

Interestingly, once we grew and reached significant MRR, the tables turned. Suddenly, VCs wanted to fund us. But by that point, it felt too late. We had built a strong foundation and no longer needed outside capital to sustain our growth. Raising money no longer aligned with our vision.

That’s not to say VC money is bad. For some startups, it’s the perfect fuel to scale quickly and dominate a market. And for us, our opinion might change in the future. But for now, we want to build sustainably, prioritizing product and people over speed.

In the end, bootstrapping wasn’t just a funding decision. It was a commitment to building Gleap on our terms. And while the battle continues, it’s one we’re proud to fight every day.