Investors trust founders who risk their OWN money 1st

8 Mar 2026 · 1 min

Watch on YouTube

0:35

In this short YouTube clip, entrepreneur Dan Novaes draws on his personal journey from bootstrapping to crowdfunding to advise founders. He argues that starting by bootstrapping a company teaches the founder about their own entrepreneurial style, proves commitment, and creates a stronger investment narrative because investors are more likely to fund founders who have already put their own money and time at risk. Novaes recommends a three‑step approach: first execute and learn from early mistakes through bootstrapping, then use those lessons to raise external capital. He warns that trying to raise money without this foundation is difficult and wasteful, and ends with a call‑to‑action to follow his channel for free entrepreneurial hacks.

Chapters

I've been through all stages of this journey from bootstrapping all the way to the crowdfunding. And let me tell you that the best way to get here is by bootstrapping your company and learning about the type of entrepreneur you are and actually being able to make some money. Nothing screams like a better investment when you see a founder putting their money and time in the game. You are much more likely to invest in them if you see that that is the case. So what I recommend for everyone is first start by doing, learn the mistakes, and then go out and raise capital. It's really hard to do it otherwise. Sick of wasting all this money? Follow us and get all of our hacks for free.