

Ask HN: What lessons can bootstrappers learn from Zero to One? - discuss

After reading this book (and some good articles on it, like https:&#x2F;&#x2F;medium.com&#x2F;@paulmillr&#x2F;zero-to-one-summary-8dbda22e1559), I&#x27;m wondering what lessons you think that bootstrappers can apply from it.<p>- &quot;It is better to risk boldness than triviality vs &#x27;stay incremental and iterate.&#x27;&quot; How can bootstrappers be truly bold &#x2F; do big ideas, especially ones with no big cash pile to work with? Are there examples of this happening recently?<p>- &quot;Competition is bad. Focus on areas you can monopolize. Don&#x27;t disrupt.&quot; This one seems at least somewhat plausible. Carve out a niche, especially one where larger players aren&#x27;t all that interested &#x2F; aren&#x27;t paying attention to &#x2F; don&#x27;t have the expertise &#x2F; aren&#x27;t good at branding or getting attention, then lock it down. Would Craigslist have served as a good example of this when they started (their offline competition existed, but they were irrelevant.) Any others fit this bill?<p>- &quot;Sales matters just as much as product.&quot; Can bootstrappers succeed on this one, or do they have to focus on things with network effects (since things like enterprise sales have long cycles)?
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davidw
* Bootstrapping is not really for big ideas.

* You don't have the resources as a bootstrapper to create new markets, most likely. Competition, or an identified need, are probably something you want.

* Sales definitely matters for bootstrapping, and you don't want to deal with network effects, most likely, as there is more of a first-mover advantage, which VC-funded competition could take advantage of.

