Pete Tormey on the Benefits of Attending a Bootstrappers Breakfast

Pete Tormey on the Benefits of Attending a Bootstrappers Breakfast

Pete Tormey moderates the Dublin/Pleasanton Bootstrapper Breakfasts® (along with Richard Moerschell) and fills in from time to time in San Francisco as well. I asked him what he felt some key benefits attendees gained at a breakfast and he sent me a great three minute podcast that I have embedded below. He identifies three benefits he see attendees gaining from the conversation at a Bootstrappers Breakfast:

• Being around other bootstrapping entrepreneurs renews your enthusiasm
• Serious suggestions from other attendees can spark your own creativity in addressing business challenges
• Comparing notes can give you peace of mind knowing that many folks are wrestling with the same issues.

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Hi. My name is Pete Tormey, and I was asked to explain what I like most about the Bootstrappers Breakfast. There are three main benefits to attending a Bootstrappers Breakfast: the enthusiasm, the creativity, and the peace of mind you get from attending when you’re bootstrapping your own business.

The enthusiasm stands out because entrepreneurs are their own breed. They make rules rather than follow them. When you gather a group of them, the energy level is high—these are people who do things, not just talk about doing them. The enthusiasm becomes infectious. People get animated when they speak. They believe in their products, their solutions, or the real problems they’re solving, and they describe things vividly. It makes for a fun and interesting meeting.

The second thing is the creativity. Bootstrappers, like all entrepreneurs, have to be highly creative—that’s the only way to start and fund a business on your own. Ideas flow quickly across the table. Someone brings a specific problem. Even if it doesn’t apply to you, you listen. Business problems are often similar across industries: getting from beta to production, dealing with creditors, figuring out first steps for a new product idea.

Everyone faces these struggles when bootstrapping. When four or five people who have tackled the same issue—like late delivery on a critical first product—share ideas, you see interesting solutions emerge. It’s hard to fully convey in a podcast, but you can watch ideas build: one person suggests something, another adds to it, a third builds further. When I leave a Bootstrappers Breakfast meeting, I usually have a page (or half-page) of notes—things to look into, websites to check, or details to research. Often these spark ideas for my own challenges or highlight things I should pay more attention to.

Finally, there’s the peace of mind. Everyone there has wrestled with bootstrapping issues. Seeing others struggle with the same problems shows you that your challenges aren’t unique. You’re following a normal path. You’re not screwing up. Everyone else has gone through the exact same things. Even if you leave without a full solution, you know you’re on the right track and progressing through the typical business process. That alone brings reassurance.

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