How Did Bootstrapping With No Outside Funds Let Dnsimple Stay Focused on Domains and the Domain Name System Instead of Adding More Products?

On Hanselminutes, DNSimple has always been funded by bootstrapping and has never taken outside funds. A company funded that way has the opportunity to stay the course, focus on one thing, and do that one thing well.

DNSimple tried to get into a sweet spot in the middle and keep innovating without spreading out into lots of different things and running out of resources for domains and DNS. The bootstrap path is what made staying on that course possible. A company that is VC funded and then grows, or that goes to public trading, faces an expectation of continued growth. Continued growth can only happen by adding on more products.

The separation between one focus and a wider product list follows from that funding difference. Bootstrapping keeps resources on domains and DNS, while the growth expectation that comes with VC funding or public trading pushes a company to add products.