Larry WeidelMentor and Coach Empowering Million Dollar Earners

The people who bootstrap early on look like they’re behind for a while

10 Aug 2026 · 1 min

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In this segment Larry Weidel praises entrepreneur Josh for self‑funding and bootstrapping his venture instead of seeking external capital. Weidel argues that avoiding early fundraising prevents founders from being pressured by investors or family lenders who watch over their shoulders. By financing the business himself, Josh faced the hard constraints of limited cash, which forced him to learn quickly, iterate efficiently, and develop resilience. Weidel suggests that confronting these challenges early yields long‑term benefits, even if the startup appears slower at first, because the founder gains deeper operational knowledge and avoids the distraction of managing external expectations.

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When people get money, they wind up taking the first idea that comes in their head. What impressed me about Josh right from the beginning when we were talking is he did it himself. The great thing is he self-funded, bootstrapped, and he didn't wait around, spend all of his early time running around trying to get money and to have that people who invested in there looking over his shoulder. And he didn't have that worry. You know, of all the worries Josh has had, he hasn't had the worry of, I borrowed money from mother, father, sister, all my relatives and neighbors, and then I've got— they're looking over my shoulder. It's like the hard part, if you face it earlier on, the more the benefits come into to you down the road because you're forced to learn things. Spent all their money on it. Now the money's gone and they're still not percolating.