How I would start a business in 2025.
This idea has been sitting in my heart for a while now—I think it’s finally time to put it out into the world.
The truth is: I’m a bootstrapper.
The Bootstrap playbook
Most of the things I’ve built in my professional life started with no money—or I was already selling before I even set up shop. I’ve always been on the lookout for opportunities to make a buck, and if I liked the craft, I kept at it. In the early days, I sold creative services while chasing my dreams.
When I sold my first mobile app to Volkswagen, I had no idea what I was doing. I owned a BlackBerry, yet sold them an iPhone and Android app. For two intense months, I was learning on the fly, reacting to everything around me. It was mentally tough. But one thing was clear: I couldn’t code what I had sold. So I figured it out. Desperation mode was on.
I’ve raised money for two ventures, and once I co-founded a business where we all chipped in some of our own cash. But still—my default mode is bootstrapping.
So, what’s the point here?
I believe there’s never been a better time to bootstrap a business—starting as a service provider, evolving into product development, and eventually scaling.
If I had to start something today, this would be my playbook. And I’ve recently met founders doing exactly this—getting incredible results.
To be honest, I think this model optimizes life. It offers more joy through the inevitable suffering. It’s more aligned with a balanced, fulfilling lifestyle. I deeply respect those walking this path.
So I want to share with you how I would bootstrap a tech company in 2025. I've been thinking about it for weeks, and figured—why not share it with the handful of people who might read this?
The Bootstrap Context:
No outside investment. Founders only put in what they need to survive for 3–6 months.
I’m Daniel. And Daniel’s good at spotting patterns and connecting dots. He loves exploring ideas and learning with others. He has a strong network and meaningful relationships. In this story, Daniel is the visionary co-founder and the one who builds the relationships.
Daniel recruits three co-founders:
Co-founder #1 – Product development + client interaction
Co-founder #2 – Developer
Co-founder #3 – Developer
Design, branding, and marketing? Outsourced. I’d ask talented friends for favors, promising future payment. I’d borrow ideas and frameworks from companies I admire. Lots of copy-paste in the beginning.
Now we’re four mates, and it’s time to go to market.
But Daniel… what are you actually selling?
Great question.
I’d start with services. Likely consultancy. Targeting mid-market and large companies—clients who can afford to pay and help us breathe. I’d approach leaders and ask, “What’s not working?”; “Have you gotten a problem that’s hurting your business” -Then request 30 minutes to pitch a solution.
Ideal conversion rate: reach out to someone and pitching the solution: 20%.
(yeah, you will need to reach out to lots of people!)
Assumption #1: I have access to these decision-makers—because relationships matter, and I’ve built them over time.
Let’s say we complete a couple of projects and have two or three more in progress. Cash is flowing. The team is learning and growing. We’re solving problems we’ve never faced before.
At this point, we begin to ask:
Are there patterns in the projects we’ve taken on?
Have we gained specific knowledge about an industry or domain?
Are these problems common? How big are they? Is there real money in solving them?
This moment is critical. It’s like assembling a puzzle. The full picture isn’t clear yet, but you start noticing clusters—pieces that fit together. You sense the shape of something valuable.
Maybe 60% of your projects are in fintech. Maybe 85% of them use the same dev framework. Maybe 3 out of 4 projects had a CFO as the key decision-maker.
Special Comment:
By now, with five projects under your belt, you’re ideally reusing and evolving your tech. Every new engagement helps you build out your product. You’re solving real problems for real clients and building your product at the same time.
Assumption #2: With each client engagement, the company compounds market insight, develops its network, and accelerates product development.
The four co-founders love working together. They’re aligned and complementary. After a year, the team is 10–15 people strong—smart, curious, collaborative.
Year one is a success. There’s cash in the bank. Founders still draw modest salaries, but the business is growing. Clients are happy. There’s a healthy pipeline of new clients and new buine.
Now comes the year two challenge: accelerate product development. The goal is to start deploying our tech across most client engagements. Now we’re talking about a real product—built with and for clients—ready to scale.
We begin to transition from a service company to a product company.
From my heart.
Yes, I drew this picture—and this incredible race to build a killer product. But I’d be naive to ignore the massive role AI can play here. In fact, I have to be honest with you (and thanks for reading this far): AI is a game-changing tool-tech-mode-everything.
And the truth is... I don’t know. I can’t predict if AI will make this 2% better or 99% mind-blowing. It’s beyond my comprehension right now.
But here’s what I do know for sure: the ride is better together. There ain't no sunshine when you're alone, bro. Let me make my case—four people are better than one.
So, the simple answer to your question:
YES. AI can change everything.
Assumption #3: The company can develop a scalable product within 18–24 months.
Assumption #4: The company has chosen a big enough problem inside a large enough sector/industry. It can start with a niche solution but there must be a second act for the business.
Side note: Some people call this model building a < product with design partners >- which I love the idea for enterprise solutions, simply because they will help you build the most accurate solution for the clients you want to onboard.
If things go according to plan, we’ll have:
A proven product,
Built alongside ideal customers,
Inside a market we understand deeply,
With founders who’ve earned money and stayed lean,
And a culture built around curiosity, resilience, and real value creation.
TL;DR: The Bootstrap Flow
Complementary people come together to solve real problems
They sell services: “Give me your problem, I’ll solve it”
With more clients, they learn faster and a product begins to emerge
Services + product development intensify; cash flows in
Product matures → company solves problem through tech
Product is ready to ship → time to scale
If this resonates—or doesn’t—I’d love to hear from you.
👉 daniel@weheartimpact.com