Entrepreneur

When to Say No to Venture Capital

Instead of seeking financing, Ryan Smith spent four years bootstrapping to get his company off the ground. Here's why.
Hurry up and wait: Ryan Smith of Qualtrics.

Ryan Smith knew he wanted to build a company he could grow over the long haul. So rather than race to find financiers in 2002, the co-founder and CEO of Qualtrics spent four years bootstrapping his enterprise survey provider from his dad's basement.

That low overhead helped the Provo, Utah, startup reach profitability almost immediately. As the company

You’re reading a preview, subscribe to read more.

More from Entrepreneur

Entrepreneur3 min read
What’s the Real Damage?
Miri Offir knows how to talk to people in crisis. After serving in the Israeli military, she came to the U.S. in 2003 and took a secretary job at the post-disaster recovery franchise 911 Restoration. She worked her way up—eventually becoming the comp
Entrepreneur2 min read
Japan
These past few years have been witness to an extraordinary economic renaissance in the world’s third-largest economy. From cost-cutting and sluggish to dynamic, growth-orientated, and rocket-fuelled by active investment, healthy inflation, and a high
Entrepreneur5 min readCorporate Finance
How to Build the Next Huge Thing
Want to start, fund, and sell a major company? Spencer Rascoff has some advice on that—because he’s seen it from all sides. As a founder, he first cofounded the travel-booking site Hotwire, which he sold to Expedia. He then cofounded Zillow, which he

Related Books & Audiobooks