Bootstrapped European Entrepreneurs

We have officially come to the end of the first season of the Bootstrapped European Entrepreneurs podcast. The podcast will be on hiatus at least until the fall of this year.I would like to thank three groups in particular who made this first season possible. First, I want to thank you, the listeners. The number of downloads of this podcast has been a surprise.Then I would like to thank all the guests who took the time to share their story with us.And last but not least, special thanks to DHH, the company behind this podcast. I believe that even though DHH is public company, it still has the bootstrapper’s mentality and provides a great home for its member companies, allowing them to maintain their identity and thrive independently.Thanks for listening to Bootstrapped European Entrepreneurs! Subscribe for free to receive notification when we will be back. This is a public episode. If you would like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit www.bootstrappedentrepreneurs.eu

Zoran Perović, had an impressive corporate career but then decided to start again and co-founded Serbian Open Exchange. Internet exchanges provide the critical service of connecting content providers with various carriers, thus making the Internet faster and more reliable for us, end users.In this episode, we talk about:* how SOX got started,* the difficulties of getting first customers,and* we did not left out the sensitive topic of politics and the Internet .Thanks for listening to Bootstrapped European Entrepreneurs! Subscribe for free to receive notifications when the new episodes are released. This is a public episode. If you would like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit www.bootstrappedentrepreneurs.eu

Sometimes it makes sense to move into an adjacent industry to grow faster. This is the story of Golden Tree, an e-commerce company focused entirely on selling high-quality dietary supplements in several European countries.In this episode, Matej Bešter, co-founder and CMO, explains:* how they started in Slovenia with a single weight loss course under the brand "Popolna postava", which means "Perfect figure" in English,* their approach to new product development, * why they expanded internationally early in their company's history, * why they shifted the company's focus away from online courses, and * how they are opening up new markets.Thanks for reading Bootstrapped European Entrepreneurs! Subscribe for free to receive new posts and support my work. This is a public episode. If you would like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit www.bootstrappedentrepreneurs.eu

Why decide not to sell directly to the end customer, but to use partners as the main sales channel?In 2012, marketgoo started out developing do-it-yourself SEO tools for small and medium-sized businesses, and decided to quickly reach a larger potential customer base this way. A decade later, marketgoo successfully helps web presence providers of all sizes grow their businesses by providing DIY SEO tools for them to resell to their customers, and offers complementary solutions for partners as well. In this episode, Wences Garcia, founder, head of Culture and GM at marketgoo, explains: * where the idea for their product came from, * what to focus on when selling through a distribution channel, * how they faced VC funded competitor as a bootstrapped company, and * how to be intentional about building your company’s culture. Resources mentioned in this episode:* marketgoo Culture Handbook* Book: Maverick: The Success Story Behind the World's Most Unusual Workplace * Entrepreneurial Operating System (used to build the marketgoo Operating System)* Twitter Thread: on the Integrator / Visionary roles* Post: We are Closing our Office, Here's Why.* Book: Traction: Get a Grip on Your Business by Gino Wickman* Lecture: Long, Slow, SaaS Ramp of Death | Gail Goodman, Constant Contact | BoS USA 2012 Thanks for reading Bootstrapped European Entrepreneurs! Subscribe for free to receive new posts and support my work. This is a public episode. If you would like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit www.bootstrappedentrepreneurs.eu

A narrow niche and focus on technical excellence have made Neuralab one of the world's leading WooCommerce experts. In this episode, founder and CEO, Krešimir Končić explains:* how and why they have positioned themselves as world-class WordPress and Woocommerce experts,* how this impacts who they hire* how they package and sell their services; and* his opinion on web3, blockchain and related technologies.Thanks for reading Bootstrapped European Entrepreneurs! Subscribe for free to receive new posts and support my work. This is a public episode. If you would like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit www.bootstrappedentrepreneurs.eu

Dealing with big corporations can be a headache for an entrepreneurial person. Boris Kapitanovič, co-founder of Workshares, a special kind of consulting firm focused on increasing productivity in businesses, has made this his bread and butter.In this episode, we talk about:* the importance of finding your niche,* the approach that will enable you to successfully work with global multinational companies* and how they have kept their team small despite being responsible for projects with 9-figure budgets.Thanks for reading Bootstrapped European Entrepreneurs! Subscribe for free to receive new posts and support our work. This is a public episode. If you would like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit www.bootstrappedentrepreneurs.eu

For some, freelancing is a career choice; for others, it's just a stepping stone. For Milan Savov, CEO and founder of Smartclick, a web and SEO agency from North Macedonia, it was the latter. What sets them apart from many other agencies is the fact that they have been focused on global clients from the very beginning.In this episode we talk about it:* what he learned as a freelancer at Upwork,* why he decided to start a business, and * how he approaches selling and running his business in general.Thanks for reading Bootstrapped European Entrepreneurs! Subscribe for free to receive new posts and support my work. This is a public episode. If you would like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit www.bootstrappedentrepreneurs.eu

Senad Šantić started pursuing ideal of passive income while being a student. He later realized that he wants to build something more, which led to co-founding of ZenDev, a software development consultancy from Bosnia and Herzegovina. Looking ahead he decided that it would make sense to diversify into their own prodcuts which let two more startups: Avidnote and Robinize. In this episode we talk about:* his first entrepreneurial projects in Sweden, which still provide him with passive income,* what led him to start a business in Bosnia and Herzegovina and how he went about it and* the reasons behind and the approach they took to the development of their own products and * how to set-up a working relationship between partners in a joint venture.Thanks for reading Bootstrapped European Entrepreneurs! Subscribe for free to receive new posts and support my work. This is a public episode. If you would like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit www.bootstrappedentrepreneurs.eu

Starting a business abroad can be a challenge. Jan de Jong has done it several times, the first time as a Dutch student starting a contact center in Croatia. Today he is involved in several ventures, most notably the email marketing company Webpower Adria.In this episode we talk about:* why and how he started a contact center outsourcing company in Croatia as a Dutch student and grew it to 400 employees,* how he approaches building high performance teams and the mindset he expects from his employees, * what his criteria are when he fires employees,* what was his sales strategy when Webpower Adria was just established* how his efforts as a private citizen led to Croatia changing its laws to welcome digital nomads, and* the big idea behind his new company Crop.Thanks for reading Bootstrapped European Entrepreneurs! Subscribe for free to receive new posts and support my work. This is a public episode. If you would like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit www.bootstrappedentrepreneurs.eu

Freelancing sometimes looks like an ideal job where you can choose your own projects and set your own schedule, but the reality, as always, is different. As Tosho Trajanov experienced firsthand, you have to take care of sales and client relations, and the actual technical work you want to do often takes up only a small part of your time. That led him to co-found Adeva, a company that aims to change that experience for freelancers.In this episode, we discuss:* how they transformed their business from a digital agency into a marketplace,* how they go about building their community,* why they have incorporated in the US, * how they avoid typical platform problems, and* how they address scalability.Thanks for reading Bootstrapped European Entrepreneurs! Subscribe for free to receive new posts and support my work. This is a public episode. If you would like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit www.bootstrappedentrepreneurs.eu