BOOT-STRAPPING

"Boot-strapping", the concept of pulling oneself up off the ground up by the bootstraps, refers to the practice of funding a startup directly with the cash generated from sales, a practice rarely seen in the biotechnology industry. Most biotech startups do not have revenues in the first year but must still invest significantly in equipment, space, licenses, and human resources. Bootstrapping may be feasible in the rare instances when a customer is able to pay up-front for a product or the entrepreneur is able to self-finance the startup (e.g. using bank loans) until it can generate cash from sales.