Jean-Yves Delmotte
$38k MRR. $0 raised. 0 employees. • Co-founder @ BuddiesHR.com • 5x SaaS Founder • YC alum • Aspiring Marathon Runner
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September 9, 2025
I'm richer at $37k MRR than I was when I raised $6m from VCs.
But the real benefit of bootstrapping isn't money, it's:
OWNERSHIP
Most posts I read here on LinkedIn don't really explain why.
So, let me break it down:
1)
When you're VC-backed and raise your first round (for us it was a Seed), the clock starts ticking.
VCs already have a timeline in mind for when the next round should happen, with the growth metrics to match.
As a founder, your priorities get shaped by those rules. Sometimes you end up taking actions that aren't best for the long-term survival of the company but are necessary for hitting short-term fundraising goals.
That's when you realize your company isn't fully yours anymore.
2)
The money you raise is NOT your money.
You feel constant pressure to spend it the “right” way and avoid anything that might look unnecessary.
When you're bootstrapped and profitable, it's the opposite. It almost feels like a game to expense what's allowed and lower your taxes.
Different mindset, and again, it doesn't feel 100% like your company.
3)
You have to send regular investor updates.
Sure, it can be useful—it forces you to reflect on highs and lows, and sometimes you'll get helpful intros. But every single month it's a reminder that you report to someone.
It almost feels like you've got a boss.
Didn't you start your own thing because you wanted to be your own boss?
4)
Some investors (not all, but some) will tell you how to spend their money.
And of course, they won't optimize for keeping your company alive.
Counterintuitive? Not really...
If they invest in 100 companies, they only need 1 winner to make their returns.
So they push you to burn like crazy, hoping you'll be the one that hits 0 to 100m ARR in record time.
If you crash and burn, they move on. But you're left with the stress, the bad decisions, the burnout.
LEARNING
Before raising VC money, understand the rules. Your interests and your investors' interests are not the same.
Hope this was useful. If it was, a like (👍/❤️/👏/💡) goes a long way.
Cheers!
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👋 Hey, I'm J.Y!
I'm the co-founder of BuddiesHR, the #1 suite of Slack apps.
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I post 2x a week (sometimes more) about my journey and share what I've learned along the way.
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53 Likes
September 9, 2025
Discussion about this post
Arjun Panchal
2 days ago
Driving Personal and Professional Success through Connection | Finance, Operations & Accounting | Fractional CFO-COO | Founder @ Latticewrk | 10+ Years Scaling Businesses
J.Y., this is such an inspiring post. Look, nothing against VC money but there's a different kind of fulfillment doing it bootstrapped and building momentum with your own money.
The way you shape your culture and your team is also, completely in your hands and not something that has to be attuned to meeting the metrics VC's expect from you.
Wishing you all the best in your journey, can't wait to see more updates like this. BuddiesHR sounds like a great tool, seeing this for the first time right now!
Andrew Poles
5 days ago
Coaching first-time founders to grow themselves and their companies | 3x Founder | 20 years coaching partners like NASA, Dell, Schwab + 10,000 people worldwide
What it points to is a deeper leadership question: who gets to shape the context you operate in?
Once external capital sets the rules, the founder’s vision can quietly shift from long-term stewardship to short-term scoreboard chasing.
Ownership isn’t just about equity - it’s about the freedom to diagnose what truly matters for the company’s survival and fulfillment, rather than reacting to someone else’s timeline.
Arnaud Belinga 🧊🔨
5 days ago
Co-Founder @Breakcold | The sales CRM for 2025, not 2010.
$30K MRR Bootstrapped = you're already VERY free
$1M ARR Bootstrapped= freedom
$10/20M ARR Bootstrapped = f*ck you money, it's like being a VC-backed unicorn
AND you can always raise later, example:
Veed(io)
- $6M ARR bootstrapped
- $35M Series B with partial cash-out
- 3 years later at $45M+ ARR AND didn't raise more rounds
