Hey bootstrappers,

In a recent Twitter poll, we asked you what you enjoyed reading about most in Bootstrappers...

(Didn’t see it? Follow us!)

The winner was growth strategies.

This week’s founders offer growth lessons across three very different startups. 

You’ll discover:

• How one founder “growth-hacked” Google with content automation.
  
  
• Why press coverage and “going viral” doesn’t always equal more sales.
  
  
• How a family business beat supply chain woes to earn millions. 

And more. 

One key growth tip I learned from these founders? It's better to solve than to spend.

You'll understand once you read the stories. 

Until next week. 

– Chris Roper

Matt Ronge and Giovanni Donelli help people turn their tablets into professional design tools, but after a successful launch, were left wondering why sales hadn’t took off.

By Inspiring People To Create, These Founders Built a $4 Million Tech Company

“We learned a ton from our initial launch about how to price our product, what features to add, what to improve, and new markets to go after. We listened to all that input, and over the next six months, we turned a shaky proposition into something we could commit to full-time.”

Matt Paulson’s began sharing investment advice from his college dorm room. Later, as demand grew, he discovered a way to share hundreds of investment articles per day – autonomously.

This Founder Helps Investors Get Ahead of the Market, and His Game-Changing Software Is Netting Him $25 Million a Year

“When I quit my job, I banked everything on MarketBeat’s success. Luckily, I had devised a strategy that would help us scale. Once I’d automated article creation, we published a few hundred articles a day, and Google Finance immediately took notice.”

Gordon Wilson got cheated on a business deal, and then later, his suppliers failed him too. Luckily, the Wilson family rallied together to turn the tide on their fortunes.

This Founder Lost Everything But Made His Comeback With an Eight-Figure Gamble

“In March of 2020, our existing manufacturer had to shut down for a week. We were three months behind at that point. And then the Canadian manufacturer we were talking to shut down completely. We were three weeks away from launching with him and he shut it down.”

“If you’re dependent on a platform, make sure that you diversify as early as you can. If you’re a Shopify plugin, for example, add in support for WordPress or SquareSpace. Don’t be dependent on Shopify because they might create their own version of it.” 

 - Matt Ronge, Astropad

If you've got a great story about your bootstrapped company, we want to help tell it. Fill out this form and we'll be in touch soon. 

What did you think of this week's stories?