Principles of Management

One of the most important aspects when launching a business idea is funding. For many founders, bootstrapping has been a very rewarding idea ( AI, 2021). While bootstrapping is the best option to undertake for startups, it's a very tough decision. Ultimately, the decision on whether to bootstrap or rely on external funding should align with the startups or founders main objectives, assessment between growth and control, and customer base. It's important to note that bootstrapping is not a perfect idea for every business ( AI, 2021). However, based on the case study in question, the decision on whether the Bubble founders made any mistake to bootstrap for six years rather than raising capital to hire a team and fuel their growth is multi-faceted.

Foremost, although it took them a longer time to attain financial stability, the co-founders remained the sole owners of their business throughout the bootstrapping period. This path was critical in ensuring that the co-founders achieved their main objective. Another reason why the founding members did not make any mistake in bootstrapping is that they had a greater control of their project. Basically, the Bubble founders did not have any investors who would influence their decisions. Therefore, they did not rely on other people's opinions in regard to shifts in business model and changes in product design.

Bootstrapping for six years also ensured that the founding members had a limited debt. Failure to rely on outside funding meant that the founding members had nothing to worry about even in cases where the project did not go as planned.

On the other hand, the decision to bootstrap came at a cost of slower growth. There are also chances that Bubble missed potential market opportunities as a result of limited financial support. For instance, there was an evolving landscape in low-code/no-code in 2018. Therefore, accepting external funding at this stage would have been a massive move.

Although bootstrapping offers some sense of ownership and control, Bubble founders should have taken capital at this point. However, the founders had to consider some factors.

Foremost, such capital would translate to accelerated growth. According to Won & Bae (2019),

one of the main goals for startups is to easily and quickly capture the market share. Therefore, external capital would provide quick funds for expansion. For instance, in 2018, the low-code/no-code project was really acquiring recognition. Therefore, there was need for Bubble founders to acquire external funding in a bid to expand their project at this time.

External funding would also boost Bubble's project development. Basically, innovative ideas cannot be developed or scaled into profitable projects without funding. As a result, external funding would aid in research and further development.

Bubble founders should also consider scaling their operations in future. Such scaling can be achieved by entering or competing for new markets and hiring a technical team. External funding is therefore required to provide a runway for such scaling.

Finally, startups occasionally encounter unexpected challenges such as market fluctuations and economic downturns. This was still the case with Bubble founders as they encountered competition from other similar websites. In a bid to mitigate these risks, a financial cushion was inevitably required.

Assuming that Bubble would take capital, there are several team members that the founding members would prioritize. These team members would majorly depend on the nature of the business, goals, and skills required to achieve such goals. The following are the people Bubble would hire.

Technical Team Lead: Since the startup in question is tech-focused, a technical team lead would oversee all the project's development phases. The technical team lead would also drive the project road-map, and manage the technical team.

Sales and Marketing Specialist:

Bubble would also hire a sales and marketing specialist who would be responsible for handling both marketing and project sales. Furthermore, the sales and marketing specialist would be responsible for driving revenue and acquiring customers.

Product Manager: A product manager would also be essential in this case. He would define project’s direction, prioritize features, and ensure that the project aligns with the customer’s needs. This role would be crucial in maintaining a customer-focused project.

Operations and Customer Support Manager: An operations and customer support manager would also be crucial for Bubble. Such support would entail a versatile team member who would handle customer support and other relevant operations. Hiring an operations and customer support would translate to an excellent customer service and efficient delivery of internal processes (Carbonell & Escudero, 2023). Lastly, Bubble would hire a finance and administrative officer who would guarantee the project's financial health. Moreover, this officer would be responsible for administrative and budgeting tasks.

Assuming that Bubble only had a chance to hire five roles, the decision on who it would hire depends solely on the impacts of such roles on the project. The following roles would have an immediate impact on the project.

Legal and Compliance Role: For the entire period, Bubble operated on a regulated industry. Therefore, legal and compliance experts would be crucial. Additionally, a legal and compliance expert would ensure that the project in question adheres to the set laws and regulations.

Finance and Accounting Role: Financial reporting and budgeting is vital in regard to sustainable growth. Hiring in this role would therefore be inevitable.

Project Management Role: A product manager would be crucial for Bubble founders since he would be responsible for defining and prioritizing project features. This role would further ensure that the ever changing customer needs are met.

Customer Support Role: There is always need to attract new customers and retain existing ones. This objective can only be achieved with the aid of an excellent customer support. A role in customer support will also build a positive reputation for Bubble. Significantly, customer support representatives would help Bubble with inquires and other issues relating to the project in question.

Role in Operations: Operation experts would ensure that internal processes are streamlined (Carbonell & Escudero, 2023). Similarly, these experts would ensure that all available resources are efficiently managed.