bootstrapping

Register · Neutral Neutral — appropriate in most situations, both spoken and written, without sounding too casual or too stiff. CEFR C1

Post

Figurative meaning

building a company without outside investment, funding it from personal resources and revenue

Why this phrase?

From pulling yourself up by your own bootstraps — the Baron Munchausen tale of self-lifting.

Example

“Bootstrapping kept the founders in control and out of the valuation treadmill.”

Dictionary details

Alternate forms

bootstrap

Tags

Expressions connected by reviewed component words or topic tags.

seed money Neutral · CEFR B1

the initial capital used to start a business

burn rate Neutral · CEFR B2

the speed at which a company spends its cash reserves, usually measured per month

runway Neutral · CEFR B2

the amount of time a company can keep operating before its money runs out

default alive Neutral · CEFR C1

describing a startup whose normal growth will make it profitable without needing more funding

a rip-off Informal · CEFR B1

Something that is far too expensive for what it is.

ballpark figure Informal · CEFR B1

a rough estimate, not an exact number

Source methodology

Meanings, register, CEFR, and examples come from the reviewed dictionary record. Expression notes may describe a reviewed present-day word picture or a background note; they are not presented as verified etymology.

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