612: (Solo) Funding vs Bootstrapping - The Real Tradeoffs EVERY Founders Needs To Know

The Foundr Podcast with Nathan Chan

Nathan Chan

Marketing, Business, Entrepreneurship

4.8 • 662 Ratings

🗓️ 9 December 2025

⏱️ 12 minutes

🔗️ Recording | iTunes | RSS

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Summary

Should you raise money or bootstrap your business? It’s one of the biggest questions every founder faces — and the wrong decision can shape the entire future of your company. In this episode, I share the lessons I’ve learned from speaking with hundreds of founders about funding, and what I’ve personally applied in building Foundr and my ecommerce brand, Healthish. You’ll learn when it makes sense to take on capital, when to stay independent, and how to make this decision from a position of strength — not pressure. Here’s what you’ll take away: • The real trade-offs between funding and bootstrapping (speed vs. control) • Why money amplifies what already exists — and can’t fix bad unit economics • What investors actually look for: traction, margins, and market size • 5 questions to ask before raising: Do I need funding to scale or survive? Is this a $1B opportunity? Do I have product-market fit? • Real founder stories — including Toy Guru’s Shark Tank collapse and BigCommerce’s billion-dollar exit — that show both paths in action • Creative alternatives to equity funding: Kickstarter, grants, partnerships, and strategic capital If you’re stuck wondering which path to take, this episode will help you make a clear, confident decision based on your goals — not hype. This is a brand new solo series I’m testing, and I’d love your feedback. Email me directly at [email protected] — I read every reply. Hope you enjoy it. SAVE 50% ON OMNISEND FOR 3 MONTHS Get 50% off your first 3 months of email and SMS marketing with Omnisend with the code FOUNDR50. Just head to ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠https://your.omnisend.com/foundr⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ to get started. HOW WE CAN HELP YOU SCALE YOUR BUSINESS FASTER Learn directly from 7, 8 & 9-figure founders inside Foundr+ Start your $1 trial → ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠https://www.foundr.com/startdollartrial⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ PREFER A CUSTOM ROADMAP AND 1-ON-1 COACHING? → Starting from scratch? Apply here → ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠https://foundr.com/pages/coaching-start-application⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ → Already have a store? Apply here → ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠https://foundr.com/pages/coaching-growth-application⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ CONNECT WITH NATHAN CHAN Instagram → ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠https://www.instagram.com/nathanchan⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ LinkedIn → ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠https://www.linkedin.com/in/nathanhchan/⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ FOLLOW FOUNDR FOR MORE BUSINESS GROWTH STRATEGIES YouTube → ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠https://bit.ly/2uyvzdt⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ Website → ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠https://www.foundr.com⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ Instagram → ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠https://www.instagram.com/foundr/⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ Facebook → ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠https://www.facebook.com/foundr⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ Twitter → ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠https://www.twitter.com/foundr⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ LinkedIn → ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠https://www.linkedin.com/company/foundr/⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ Podcast → ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠https://www.foundr.com/podcast⁠

Transcript

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0:00.0	Hey Founder Fam, I want to talk to you about something super exciting. We're officially partnered with Omniscend, the email marketing and SMS platform built specifically for e-commerce founders. We've been recommending OmnisCent to Founder students for a while now because it just works. Whether you're launching your first store or you're scaling the seven figures, it really helps you automate your marketing and get real results.
0:24.0	Did you know on average, Omnysend customers make $68 for every $1 they spend, which is an insanely good return on investment.
0:32.6	And because you're part of the founder community, you get 50% off your first three months with the code Founder 50.
0:39.3	Just head to Omnicend.com forward slash founder without the E to get started.
0:45.1	All right.
0:45.9	Now let's jump back into the show.
0:48.6	Hey guys, Nathan here.
0:50.4	Welcome back to another episode of the Found to founder podcast. These are solo episodes
0:56.8	where I share my learnings of building founder over the past decade. Today I want to tackle
1:01.9	one of the biggest questions that early stage entrepreneurs always ask. Should I raise funding
1:07.6	for my business or should I bootstrap? Hear the stories.
1:11.9	Learn the proven methods and accelerate your growth and future through entrepreneurship.
1:17.8	Welcome to the founder podcast with Nathan Chan.
1:23.9	Now, I get DMs about this constantly.
1:27.0	People see Shark Tank deals where founders handover,
1:31.3	you know, 20, 30, 15, even upwards of 50% of their company just to get capital. And on the flip
1:39.1	side, I also see these big bootstrapped success stories and people think you know maybe I should just do
1:46.5	it alone and the truth is both paths work but they come with very different trade-offs around
1:53.3	ownership speed pressure control vision and the size of the opportunity of what you're building
1:59.3	and what I see at founder in our community
2:02.2	is both can be painted in a great light, but there's pros and cons that need to be weighed up
2:08.3	before you go any further. So I want to break it down because I never forget, you know, I was speaking
	...

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