A bootstrap startup is a company built without outside equity investment, funded by founder savings, early revenue, and reinvested profit. Also called a bootstrapped startup, the term comes from the phrase "pull yourself up by your bootstraps" and refers to the financial self-reliance of the model, which allows the founders to retain full ownership and control of the business.
Bootstrapped companies trade slower growth for full ownership and decision authority, and the path often leads to a [Lifestyle Business] rather than a venture-scale exit. The founders own 100 percent of the equity (no dilution from investors), set their own pace, and pick their own customers and timelines, but they also fund every dollar of growth fr...