Hey bootstrappers,

I interviewed a founder recently who’s sold four businesses on MicroAcquire. 

During the interview, I asked Mohammad why he thought most startups fail. And by fail, I mean never got acquired or made any money. 

I expected to hear the various challenges you might encounter setting up a business – no market, buggy product, overspending, and so on. 

Mohammad’s answer was consistency. He believes most startups fail because founders give up too easily. “Everything is difficult,” he said, “so just choose your difficulty.” 

This week’s founders overcame big odds to build profitable businesses, and they never gave up when things got tough. Maybe they’ll inspire you as much as they did me.

Chris Roper

Managing Editor

Don’t Wait to Pursue Your Ambitions, Says Founder Who Overcame Cancer to Start a Thriving Events Business

Sarah’s creativity was suffocating at the local council where she worked as an events planner. It took a life-changing diagnosis to push her into doing what she’d always wanted.

Sarah Belcher’s life changed in 2016 when she was diagnosed with cancer. She recovered, but it permanently changed her mindset. After a sabbatical from work to travel with her family, Sarah gave up the desk job to start her own events business, starting with the Krazy Races.

Much like the name suggests, Krazy Races is a soapbox derby. Sarah advertised the event on Facebook, got charities on board, and won the support of local businesses. Everyone involved loved it, and Sarah even won an award. But then the pandemic hit like a bucket of cold water.

“Even if I had planned for it, nobody could have imagined how long Covid would last. It taught me an important lesson. I always have in the back of my mind: What if we can’t run next year? Now that we have a solid five-year business plan, we’re more prepared for obstacles.”

Wins 👍

1. Testing demand on social media. Sarah had expected to self-fund Krazy Races, but after teasing the event on social media, companies asked to sponsor it.

2. Maintaining a financial cushion. When the pandemic canceled Sarah’s events, she kept the business alive thanks to savings and her husband’s wages.

3. Vetting sponsors to ensure they’re a good match. Sarah protects the integrity of her brand (and the events) by ensuring sponsors align with her company’s values.

Challenges 🤔

1. Building a business on the fly. Sarah started with no business plan or investment, which put her on the back foot when Covid hit, but her resilience paid off.

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Moving Home and Reconnecting With Friends Helped This Founder Build a $2.4 Million ARR Recruiting Startup

Gino Ferrand had dreamed of building a video game company but couldn’t raise funds to start one. Needing inspiration, he returned to his native Peru where a new idea awaited.

Gino had just $10,000 when he returned to Peru with a broken dream. Rather than wallow in regret, he set up a mobile development company, taking advantage of talented but affordable Peruvian developers. In just two years, he earned enough to develop his first mobile game.

While the game made a little money, Gino realized the bigger opportunity was in connecting Peruvian and other LATAM developers with US companies. None of his friends back in the US could believe the rate at which he could build at such low cost – and all wanted in.

“Outsourcing for years was always in India. Then Ukraine became a huge IT outsourcing hub. But Latin American coders are still untapped. When you hire Latin Americans you can maintain your company culture because they work in the same time zone and their English is excellent.”

Wins 👍

1. Acting on customer demand. When talent supply outpaced the need for his apps, Gino switched lanes to capitalize on it, later building a much bigger recruitment business.

2. Focusing on a single market. Although Gino could expand to other countries, he believes being local differentiates him from the competition in a saturated market.

3. Targeting profitability over growth. Gino credits Profit First by Mike Michalowicz as inspiration for staying bootstrapped and cutting unnecessary costs to stay profitable.

Challenges 🤔

1. Ad expense to attract US companies to the marketplace. The demand for tech recruitment ads was so high that exchanges like Google were a losing strategy in the long term.

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How This Founder Turned His Creative Agency Into a Funnel for His SaaS Business (A Cautionary Tale)

When Zlatko Bijelic had to pull money from his life insurance to pay his staff, he realized running two agencies simultaneously (one financing the second) might not have been the best idea.

Zlatko quit his consulting job for one thing: freedom. He wanted more time with his dog and loved ones. When the money dried up, he started a small web development agency specializing in ecommerce, and despite later making over $1 million in revenue, he felt his freedom slipping.

On a two-week hiatus from the business, Zlatko began thinking of building SaaS products. They were low maintenance and would free up his time. He launched a sister SaaS agency funded by his other one, and when growth slowed, he was stuck with two sputtering businesses.

“I’m going through a hard time with my agency. People don’t talk about money troubles. Full transparency, it’s happening right now. I’m in the chaos. I grew too big, too fast, and now I’m trying to right the ship.”

Wins 👍

1. Switching to a retainer model. Zlatko struggled with cash flow because he was always chasing unpaid invoices – until his podcast guests suggested switching to a retainer.

2. Charging a minimum project scope. Setting a minimum price ensured Zlatko’s team worked on projects worth their time.

3. Promoting from the inside. Zlatko built a strong team whom he could trust, eventually promoting the creative director so Zlatko could take some time off to reorient his goals.

Challenges 🤔

1. Reinvesting his agency’s profits into SaaS. Bad timing and overoptimism led to the ecommerce agency losing steam, forcing Zlatko to leave SaaS to repair his business.

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