Should You Bootstrap or Fundraise? It Depends — But One Thing Always Matters
- Merve Kagitci Hokamp
- May 8
- 4 min read
As a startup coach and Loyal VC advisor I spend a lot of time with founders.
Some are knee-deep in pitch decks. Some are wondering if they should raise at all. Some are hitting walls — again — and wondering if they’re just not cut out for this.
It’s a tough time in the startup world. Funding has dried up. Valuations are down. Even some
VC firms are laying off.
So the question comes up a lot lately:
Should I be raising?
Or maybe even more urgently:
Am I fundable?
There’s no one-size-fits-all answer. But if you’re a founder navigating this climate, here’s what you need to know.
1. Not All Startups Should Fundraise
And that’s not a bad thing.
There’s a dangerous myth that if you’re not chasing VC funding, you’re not a “real” founder. That if you’re not on the fundraising circuit, you’re not serious. That you need to be building a unicorn or don’t bother showing up.
That’s wrong.
Some businesses are built to scale fast and go global. Others are intentionally built for sustainable growth, healthy margins, and founder freedom.
And yes, some incredible companies choose to bootstrap from day one — and thrive.
Take Basecamp. No outside capital, ever. Still highly profitable, with a loyal customer base and a clear point of view. Buffer famously published their bootstrapping journey publicly, hitting millions in ARR before ever taking a cent of outside money.
If your business caps out at €5M/year, lets you hire a great team, serve a loyal niche, and live on your terms — that’s not a “lifestyle business.” That’s a business.
You don’t need a term sheet. You need clarity.
2. Product-Market Fit Is Non-Negotiable when Fundraising
Whether you’re raising or bootstrapping, one thing matters above all else:
You need a real problem that real people will pay you to solve.
Before Rent the Runway became a household name, they tested their idea manually on college campuses — no tech, no platform, just pop-up shops with borrowed dresses. Customer demand proved the concept.
Your MVP should be cheap, fast, and raw. If your idea only works once someone hands you a few million — it’s not an MVP. It’s a PowerPoint.
Focus on the front-end experience. Simulate the back-end systems. Collect strong, directional feedback before you build anything scalable.
Because you can’t afford to scale something that nobody wants.
That’s true in any funding climate.
3. Camels > Unicorns (Most Days)
Unicorns get headlines. Camels survive the desert.
A16Z’s piece on the rise of camels in emerging markets explained the metaphor well: camels are companies built for resilience. They conserve resources, stay lean, and weather storms.
Look at companies like Mailchimp — bootstrapped from the start, focused on profitability, and eventually exited to Intuit for $12B.
The smartest founders I coach aren’t chasing hype. They’re building businesses that can thrive without it.
→ Lean teams
→ Profitable growth
→ Long runways
→ Core customers who actually pay
They know success isn’t defined by how fast you grow — it’s defined by whether you’re still around in five years.
And they’re okay being underestimated — until they aren’t.
4. What Investors Are Actually Buying
If you do decide to raise, let’s get one thing straight:
Investors aren’t buying your product. They’re buying your story.
Your story is how you communicate belief, traction, credibility, and future vision — all in one narrative.
Yes, they care about your metrics. Yes, they want to see your CAC, LTV, retention, and team.
But what really makes the difference is:
→ Can you help them believe in the problem?
→ Can you show them why now is the time?
→ Can you show them why you are the team to back?
You don’t need to perform. But, you do need to be compelling.
Clarity beats charisma. Precision beats puff.
Don’t forget: 90% of startups fail (Startup Genome, 2023). The ones that don’t know to communicate what they do and why it matters — early, clearly, and often.
Storytelling isn’t just branding.
It’s positioning.
It’s differentiation.
It’s your edge.
Final Thought: Control What You Can
There’s a lot you can’t control right now:
→ The market
→ The VC landscape
→ Economic shifts
→ Funding cycles
But what you can control is how you show up. How you frame your progress. How you tell your story.
And sometimes — that’s what tips the scale.
—
I help organizations and individuals build culturally intelligent, values-driven leadership—rooted in real stories.
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