9 Bootstrapping Lessons from my Interview with Arvid Kahl
Published: 2021-11-24 23:40:22

The cool thing about having an entrepreneurial-related podcast is that I get to speak with very knowledgeable people inside the startup and bootstrapping world.

Arvid Kahl is a multi-talented business professional working as an expert software engineer, a successful entrepreneur, and an energetic writer. And here are the 9 lessons I got from [our interview:](https://wannabe-entrepreneur.com/episodes/164/)


#### 1- Go for an Audience First Approach

The audience-first approach is a much more **effective way of gaining success in your venture.**

It involves finding a niche or a problem prevalent in an existing target market and creating a product for it.

It is imperative that you understand whom you are creating products for, what their critical problems are, and how your product can solve those problems. 

#### 2- Listen To People Rather than Assuming

Every bootstrap founder needs to **research the market before starting the project.**

You should carefully **listen to what the people say** rather than making assumptions about their needs and preferences on your own. 

#### 3- Look Around your Circle for Ideas

In our chat, Arvid shared a great **exercise to find potential products** you want to build: 

Start by looking at your **own expertise and skills**: 

*What is your background?* *Do you have any hobbies?* *What is unique about you?*

Then look around in your **family and social circle**:

*Is there any problem in their lives that you could fix with a product/service?*

Write down everything you discover and **rate them based on your interest for the topic and the potential of the idea.** 

This practice can also help you to identify an audience and a potential market opportunity. 

#### 4- Serve People You can Relate To

Choose a target market or a community of potential clients that you understand and can relate to. 
A new, unexplored set of people are hard to cater to as a company. 

#### 5- Become an Adaptive Generalist
Becoming a generalist means having knowledge of multiple disciplines rather than sticking to one specific expertise. 

Use the diversity of skills to intersect and face the challenges that come your way. 

#### 6- Understand the Downsides and Upsides
In a bootstrap venture, **you must understand that there are no guarantees of success.** You may lose everything you have. There are several risks and stresses that you will be exposed to. 


On the upside, **you will have all the control of the company.** You can hire whomever you want, do whatever you want, and sell the company as per your own decisions. 

*There will be no massive debts and no one to share your profits with.*

#### 7- Be Patient 
**An entrepreneurial venture does not become successful in a day.** It can take months and even years. 
You can only hope to get sustenance and keep working hard till the profits start soring. 

#### 8- Personalize Your Brand 
**People relate better with people rather than brands.** 

Give your brand a human identity, like your own self, to make it more attractive for potential clients. 

#### 9- Consider Your Failures as Assets 

Failures are part and parcel of entrepreneurship. Instead of burying them in deep sand, make them a learning source for your future endeavours. 

This was just a short overview over what Arvid said in the interview. If you found these tips interesting I really advise you to [listen to the full interview.](https://wannabe-entrepreneur.com/episodes/164/)