2 builders who never spoke to each other

Fund the build by selling something you deliver now

Workshops, reports, training days and client contracts can pay for the product you actually want, without an investor. Money taken up front is capital that costs no equity and no interest, and it arrives while the product is still an idea.

The method

1. 01

   Fund your product's development by selling teaching products - paid workshops, on-site training, research PDFs - instead of waiting for the product itself to pay the bills.

2. 02

   A single cohort-based course can raise more cash than a small angel round, without giving up equity.

3. 03

   Treat prepayment as your funding round: money taken before delivery is capital you never have to give equity or interest for.

4. 04

   Negotiate client work so you keep the code and the right to resell it, and the first customer funds a product you can sell repeatedly

What it returned

• 2003

  While building Basecamp in 2003, 37signals sold a 45-page E-Commerce Search Report for $99 and a one-day workshop at $395 a seat.

• $120,679

  Groove's six-week course sold out every spot and brought in $120,679; Nathan Barry seeded ConvertKit with $50,000 earned from his design books.

• 3

  Model 3 preorders brought Tesla $10 billion within two days, characterised as a $250 million interest-free loan.

• $10,000

  A $10,000 contract for an interpreting agency left him owning a copy of the code with resale rights outside their direct competitors

Sources

• Unconventional bootstrapping: round 1Justin Jackson · justinjackson.ca · Where Basecamp got their money · undated
• How to cheat at online businessNathan Barry · nathanbarry.com · Finding a painful problem · 2013-08-06
• Presales: Saving Time, Money, EffortDru Riley · trends.vc · 🔮 Predictions · 2020-12-14