Eran Galperin

I wanted to combine my hobby of many years, which was training in Brazilian jiu-jitsu, nine years at the time, with my professional skills in software development. I did a lot of market research. Initially, I kind of tried avoiding going into the vertical we ended up going in, which is business management software. Because there's some very entrenched players in this space.

I wanted to combine my hobby of many years, which was training in Brazilian jiu-jitsu, nine years at the time, with my professional skills in software development. I did a lot of market research. Initially, I kind of tried avoiding going into the vertical we ended up going in, which is business management software. Because there's some very entrenched players in this space.

Now I know that that's actually an advantage. They do a lot of the customer education for us. There's obviously a lot of potential revenue to be had because they're so big. But back then it looked very intimidating. Eventually, I did decide to go that route just because everybody I talked to in this space said the current incumbents were just so awful.

Now I know that that's actually an advantage. They do a lot of the customer education for us. There's obviously a lot of potential revenue to be had because they're so big. But back then it looked very intimidating. Eventually, I did decide to go that route just because everybody I talked to in this space said the current incumbents were just so awful.

So I don't want to name any names, but anybody in this space knows exactly who they are. And I felt with my experience in user experience and software development, I could bring something better to the market. We launched in 2016, and me being a technical founder in every stop previously, I was the CTO or some kind of engineering leader.

So I don't want to name any names, but anybody in this space knows exactly who they are. And I felt with my experience in user experience and software development, I could bring something better to the market. We launched in 2016, and me being a technical founder in every stop previously, I was the CTO or some kind of engineering leader.

I quickly realized that I had zero idea on how to acquire customers. And so began this kind of slow trial from zero to a livable wage over the course of three and a half years, during which I got a full-time job as initially a software engineer and eventually a CTO of an e-commerce company in LA. And only in 2019, I started working full time on the business.

I quickly realized that I had zero idea on how to acquire customers. And so began this kind of slow trial from zero to a livable wage over the course of three and a half years, during which I got a full-time job as initially a software engineer and eventually a CTO of an e-commerce company in LA. And only in 2019, I started working full time on the business.

It was actually, it didn't feel quick to me. The last couple of years kind of went in a blur when we were growing pretty fast every year. But the first five were a slog for sure. Yeah.

It was actually, it didn't feel quick to me. The last couple of years kind of went in a blur when we were growing pretty fast every year. But the first five were a slog for sure. Yeah.

Yeah, I was around 35K. And by the time the program started, already 40. And I remember having chats with some of the founders and the meetup we had in Arizona. And they're like, you're at 40K. Why did you join TinySeed? And I had a different calculation than them in my mind because I had the same kind of dilemma when I was thinking about applying. It's like, we're doing pretty well.

Yeah, I was around 35K. And by the time the program started, already 40. And I remember having chats with some of the founders and the meetup we had in Arizona. And they're like, you're at 40K. Why did you join TinySeed? And I had a different calculation than them in my mind because I had the same kind of dilemma when I was thinking about applying. It's like, we're doing pretty well.

What can I get from TinySeed that I can't get by myself? And the framework that I use is if TinySeed helps increase the value of the company by more than the equity that they take, which was 10%, then it's worth it. And it ended up being... way worth it.

What can I get from TinySeed that I can't get by myself? And the framework that I use is if TinySeed helps increase the value of the company by more than the equity that they take, which was 10%, then it's worth it. And it ended up being... way worth it.

So I think in that regard, it doesn't matter that we were at 35 because we came in from maybe different reasons than some of the other companies in the batch.

So I think in that regard, it doesn't matter that we were at 35 because we came in from maybe different reasons than some of the other companies in the batch.

A lot of it, well, it started with me following your content and startups for the rest of us, right? You know, I've talked to many investors. And I can tell when somebody actually knows what they're talking about. They're not just repeating stuff they read on somebody else's blog, listened to on a podcast. which is the case with a lot of the investors that I see.

A lot of it, well, it started with me following your content and startups for the rest of us, right? You know, I've talked to many investors. And I can tell when somebody actually knows what they're talking about. They're not just repeating stuff they read on somebody else's blog, listened to on a podcast. which is the case with a lot of the investors that I see.

And I was coming in to get that kind of advice one-on-one. This is my first company that I'm building Bootstrap. First company that I got to a certain scale that I haven't been able to at previous companies. And I'm going into a lot of uncharted territory. I remember that we had pricing realignment engagement together. Me and you sat together and talked it over.

And I was coming in to get that kind of advice one-on-one. This is my first company that I'm building Bootstrap. First company that I got to a certain scale that I haven't been able to at previous companies. And I'm going into a lot of uncharted territory. I remember that we had pricing realignment engagement together. Me and you sat together and talked it over.