Entrepreneur

When to Say No to Venture Capital

Instead of seeking financing, Ryan Smith spent four years bootstrapping to get his company off the ground. Here's why.
Hurry up and wait: Ryan Smith of Qualtrics.

Ryan Smith knew he wanted to build a company he could grow over the long haul. So rather than race to find financiers in 2002, the co-founder and CEO of Qualtrics spent four years bootstrapping his enterprise survey provider from his dad's basement.

That low overhead helped the Provo, Utah, startup reach profitability almost immediately. As the company

You’re reading a preview, subscribe to read more.

More from Entrepreneur

Entrepreneur3 min read
Making the Midlife Leap
Sometimes, building the life you want requires a big risk. That’s what Keri Gardner realized when she cashed in $100,000 of her retirement savings to buy a franchise. It was November 2020, and she had just been laid off from her executive role at a h
Entrepreneur5 min readCorporate Finance
How to Build the Next Huge Thing
Want to start, fund, and sell a major company? Spencer Rascoff has some advice on that—because he’s seen it from all sides. As a founder, he first cofounded the travel-booking site Hotwire, which he sold to Expedia. He then cofounded Zillow, which he
Entrepreneur9 min readPopular Culture & Media Studies
15 Side Hustles You Never Knew Existed
If you don’t get squirmy around creepy-crawlies, try breeding insects! Crickets, Dubia roaches, and mealworms are all easy to cultivate, and lizard-owners never stop needing to feed their reptiles. Jeff Neal learned this in 2016, when he bought his d

Related Books & Audiobooks