Hey bootstrappers,

>> If you’re not having fun, what’s the point?

After the indulgence of the festive break, you might consider scaling back a little. 

Fewer cakes. A bit more jogging. And a strict new year budget. 

All respectable resolutions, but I’d hold fire on canceling all the fun. 

As this week’s founders show, fun is a simple, direct route to building something people will happily hand you their money for. 

It might be a game that reunites people after lonely lockdowns…

A playful incentive program that motivates salespeople during the mid-week slump…

Or a do-it-yourself baking kit that reconnects people with the foods they love…

Fun might only be a three-letter word but it opens a universe of opportunity – and millions of dollars in revenue. 

Many new year resolutions involve cutting back, but I wonder what would happen if you just spent more time doing what you love?

Or at the very least, helped others do the same.

I challenge you to find out. 💪

Fabien discovered his love for baking late in life, but still managed to turn it into a successful startup that gives people the joy of freshly-baked croissants with simple home-baking kits.

How a Pandemic Baking Project Turned Into a Fully Fledged Business Bringing in $300,000 ARR

“Food is not just about the taste or filling your belly, but it’s all of the emotions involved, and the smells, and the sharing.”

Andrew Phelps happened to build one of the best employee incentive programs his clients had ever seen. Since then, his business has built dozens of mobile-game-like experiences that motivate teams to do their best.

This Startup Gamifies Incentive Programs, Is Changing How the Biggest Names in the Business Sell – Maybe Forever

“What is most engaging for people online? The answer of course is social media and mobile games. Then we broke it down further. What do mobile games do to make things stay engaging? We took those principles and started making simple games for sales teams.”

Greg Dybec and Joe Santiago leveraged their social media followings to create a trivia card game that tested both brains and bravery and are now on track to earn $250,000 in 2022.

How These Two Social Media Stars Created a Card Game That Went Viral on Kickstarter

“It all comes back to the product no matter what industry you’re in. You can make something shiny on the outside and people could buy it, but if it sucks, they’re not going to talk about it. We thought a lot about every game that sells. This person’s going to have it in their home. That’s the best marketing you could ask for.”

 - Greg Dybec, Pay the Price

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?