Had a great conversation with a founder who’s taking a hybrid approach to capitalizing his company. He raised a small amount of initial capital and used it to build the early version of his product. He’s been acquiring customers and fine-tuning the product based on feedback, in search of a product–market fit. Instead of raising more capital, he has his customers sign one-year agreements and pay for the entire year up front. The company is cash-flow positive and can stay afloat without raising again as long as it continues to acquire customers. The founder is thinking about raising a large round to accelerate growth once the business achieves product–market fit.

This founder’s capitalization strategy is interesting, and it’s working well for him. He raised capital to get off the ground but began bootstrapping the company after the investor capital was spent and the product launched. Customer revenue is the cheapest and best source of funding for a company. The challenge is getting enough of it to fund investments in future growth, which this founder is doing with annual up-front customer payments.

I like this founder’s approach, and I’m looking forward to watching his journey. I’m sure he and his team will find more creative ways to build a big business!