Bootstrapping outside of AI scaling in 2026

Fifteen years ago, the digital landscape was a blue ocean. Websites were static, SEO was simple, and a small dev shop could become a seven-figure business without raising a cent.

Today, every channel is saturated: AI, no-code tools, and XaaS platforms make tech accessible, but competition is building new apps in 10x to 50x higher speed.

Yet, in this climate, bootstrapped companies are outperforming VC-backed peers on profitability, resilience, and talent retention.

Let’s break down what’s driving this shift - and how you can leverage it in your business model for 2025 and beyond.

1️⃣ The end of free money

Between 2013 and 2021, the digital economy was built on cheap capital.

Valuations were going through the roof. “Blitzscaling” was possible in the era of effective PPC acquisition - the form of marketing that predictably grows free users (and occasionally, paid ones).

This model wasn’t very scalable for high-tier enterprises, but DTC and free acquisition were very effective. Which is how investor decks and P&L sheets focused on freemium models with acquiring users at all costs.

But with the pandemic bubble burst and investor confidence shaken, funding now flows to chips, data centers, and AI infrastructure, not marketing-heavy SaaS clones.

Meanwhile, VC-backed firms now struggle under negative CAC paybacks, layoffs, and unsustainable burn. Bootstrapped firms are slower to grow, but more disciplined - focused on revenue, cash flow, and customer retention.

As Marc Andreessen noted, “Capital is no longer a moat - execution is.”

2️⃣ The digital boom has flattened

From static pages and forums in 2006 to TikTok and AI agents in 2025, the barrier to entry is gone - and so is differentiation.

I gave a talk on Monday around bootstrapping and the past 15 years of running bootstrapped businesses, comparing the opportunity map of 2006-2010 to what we see today:

• Then: Demand for more digital properties, all requiring coding skills, and organic growth through SEO and later organic social was wide open.

• Now: One-click builders and no-code tools mean millions of indistinguishable products, vibe coding and app builders for MVPs in an hour, saturated landscape with programmatic content and AI reply agents.

• Result: Distribution, not development, is your new bottleneck.

What segment is performing well today? Businesses - and BRANDS - who own trust, niche authority, and channels rather than chasing scale.

Most businesses are commodity companies - your moat is focus, not features.

3️⃣ The new moats for entrepreneurs

Bootstrapping isn’t just a funding model - it’s a discipline that thrives on fundamentals:

1. Cash flow is oxygen, profit buys time and optionality. Companies impacted the hardest over the past 3 years were burning capital hard - CAC payback vastly exceeding realistic timelines, infrastructure and payroll costs through the roof, freemium users not converting as anticipated.

2. Solve real problems - not just “cool tech” for pitch decks. I’m a fan of Maslow’s pyramid and covering baseline needs will always, always be in demand. Any luxury or “maybe nice to have” products are always jeopardized and in risk in rough times.

3. People > product > process - execution beats ideas. Many great VCs invest in founders, not ideas, for a reason. Even if the prototype doesn’t work, strong founders can bend, align, adjust, and still adapt and make it happen. Product is secondary, and processes are the third step to scale.

4. Niche specialization beats scale - especially early on. VC funded is about world domination - building unicorn and decacorn companies to pay back a fund. Bootstraps can still make it work in a wildly diluted and saturated space, by providing exceptional quality or differentiation in smaller, niche spaces.

5. Speed + focus > capital + bloat - simplicity scales faster. Smaller teams today with agentic systems can deliver better results for smaller markets as well. Well-operated commodity businesses, too. You don’t need tens of thousands of people anymore in 2025.

Companies like DevriX and Growth Shuttle prove that repeatable systems and consistent focus create long-term scalability, without the chaos of external funding.

4️⃣ Where the next Blue Oceans lie

Even in 2025, new opportunities exist - if you look in the right places:

• AI-powered operations and workflow automation for SMBs.

• Professional services & GTM enablement for mid-market firms drowning in inefficiency.

• Community monetization and education-driven ecosystems.

• Next-gen R&D sectors: robotics, energy, IoT, defense - where real innovation meets funding.

Follow the money: venture flow is moving from software clones to infrastructure, intelligence, and industry. Building around these well-funded ecosystems is a sign of growing markets, where demand is high and opportunities are upcoming.

5️⃣ Lessons from 15 years of bootstrapping

High-level insights from five ventures and two exits:

1. Systems create scalability.

2. Experience reduces R&D risk.

3. Distribution wins markets.

4. Sales is the most transferable skill across every business function.

“Profitability teaches discipline. Capital amplifies momentum - but never replaces fundamentals.”

Hope you’re enjoying today’s edition,

Mario

📚️ Books I read this month

• “The Algebra of Wealth” by Prof. Scott Galloway (35% in)

• “The Hard Thing About Hard Things” by Ben Horowitz (65% in)

• “The Sweaty Startup” by Nick Hueber (85% in)

• Ray Dalio’s “How Countries Go Broke: The Big Cycle” (55% in)

• The FP&A Handbook: Mastering Financial Planning & Analysis (40% in)

• “Revenue Architecture” by Jacco van der Kooij (55% in)

• “The Sales Acceleration Formula” ✅ 

• “Hooked” - on habits and cues and product alignment ✅ 

• Next up, one on RevOps and one for sales leaders, plus 3 HBR mini books I bought from Seattle.

🎤 Changes over the past 24 months - my episode for En Factor published 2 years ago was a refreshing background story today - I was still running Rush in parallel, before a steep drop in eCommerce, as headcount was still very important but education was disrupted. Most principles hold true today, still.

⌚️ Questioning Garmin for the first time in 7 years. The team just broke DND all at once and this is an epic downgrade of otherwise expensive watches that are barely covering baseline smart features. I’m really shocked and was just about to grab a new Fenix watch earlier this month - if they don’t fix that, I’m done with Garmin.

🔤 Font Awesome in 2017 - I genuinely forgot I backed the Pro project in 2017 - glad I did, and another primer on being consistent in the ecosystem.

🔖 Close keyword gaps faster. Enterprise teams use advanced competitor analysis tools to streamline content workflows and improve SEO performance.

🔖 Sharpen attribution with BI tools. Connecting Tableau or Power BI to attribution models supports better campaign decisions and marketing efficiency gains.

🔖 Automate disaster recovery. Hybrid cloud systems with smart DR automation reduce downtime and limit failover costs.

🔖 Target across channels in real time. Merge AI, automation, and customer data for personalized omnichannel engagement that converts.

🔖 Fix sparse recommendation models. Matrix factorization and hybrid models help overcome gaps in low-volume personalization.

🔖 Make every ad dollar count. These 10 ROI metrics outline which lead conversion tactics drive sustainable growth.

🔖 Train your brain to focus. Studies show daily gratitude habits build neural resilience and better memory.

🔖 Redefine patient discharge. Post-visit strategies help hospitals stand out, according to The Legacy of the Patient Exit.

🔖 Scale past your AI pilot. These execution frameworks turn stalled pilots into market-ready systems that deliver results.

📰 AI for the modern battlefield. Pytho AI cuts mission planning to minutes with a realistic simulation system.

📰 Real estate enters its AI slop era. Generative algorithms simplify property marketing but spark legal issues and buyer mistrust.

📰 Markets react to US-China trade pause. Futures rise on trade war easing and Fed rate cut hopes ahead of earnings.

📰 Emerging markets tap young founders. Saudi Arabia and Bangladesh turn under-30 populations into vibrant startup ecosystems.

📰 Poland warns on Nord Stream 2 revival. Donald Tusk plans to restore the pipeline reflect shifting Europe-Russia ties.

📰 Inside Sequoia’s contrarian culture. Roelof Botha defends spiky thinkers as a strategic edge in frontier investing.

📰 EU eases heavy industry climate rules. Leaders consider softer targets for steel and cement to ease decarbonization costs.

📰 Novartis adds Avidity to boost RNA pipeline. Novartis buys Avidity Biosciences and spins off cardiology assets into a new entity.

📰 Curately’s Maya transforms candidate screening. The AI voice agent automates prescreening and boosts conversion rates.

📰 ThetaRay adds independent validation for AI screening. Financial firms gain faster AML and sanctions checks compliant with US and EU rules.

📰 Golpo AI crafts cinematic videos from text. Stanford dropouts raise $4.1M for story-aware video generation.

📰 Framework set for US-China trade deal. Officials agree on reduced tariffs and large agricultural purchases before the Trump-Xi summit.

📰 Merz visits Ankara amid rights concerns. Friedrich Merz’s trip highlights dwindling press freedoms and opposition pressure in Turkey.

Let’s see the latest offers from Flippa. Don’t forget to sign up for their newsletter for daily/weekly/monthly offers like these.

Health and Beauty E-commerce Brand: A two-year-old sleep-health brand generating $14.9K monthly profit with 14 percent margins and $1.6M in revenue. Supported by a high-converting funnel and global-ready operations, it’s primed for scaling - listed at $325,253.

4K Travel YouTube Channel: A successful walking-tours channel producing evergreen content and showing consistent growth. With $9.6K monthly profit at 79 percent margins and 180K subscribers, it stands among the top creators in its niche - available at $590,000.

Reputable Digital Agency: A three-year-old digital agency delivering $26.8K monthly profit at 94 percent margins. Serves 300 active clients with recurring contracts and presents an ideal foundation for further growth - selling for $599,999.

High-Margin SaaS Platform: An eleven-year-old subscription platform with $1M+ in annual revenue, 95 percent recurring income, and 45K templates. Delivers $55.5K monthly profit at 78 percent margins and maintains a strong global subscriber base - offered at $2,899,999.

Established SaaS Platform: A long-standing SaaS business operating for over two decades with 530K users, 15 integrations, and a catalog of more than 2M products. Generates $18.8K in monthly profit and $29.6K in recurring revenue, backed by a trademarked brand and loyal subscriber base - listed at $3,500,000.

Working with me

Here are the main projects I focus on:

🌐 Scaling $30M - $100M+ companies on top of WordPress. DevriX provides full RevOps consulting + delivery with GTM enablement for PE-backed portfolio companies, traditional tech, healthcare, finance, and professional service businesses pacing toward revenue growth initiatives. Our standard retainers between $10K and $40K include revenue lifecycle services for marketing and sales leaders, FP&A for financial teams, pipeline enrichment through websites and dozens of lead sources, automations and delivery integrations, CRO and ongoing testing, product delivery and platform integration solutions, and more through our consulting solutions.

🚀 1:1 Consulting. At Growth Shuttle, I run two popular plans: Async Advisory ($3,500/mo) for $3M - $30M founders and executive teams and the smaller Strategic Growth Circle ($997/mo) for $100K - $500K entrepreneurs, agency founders, scale ups.

📈 Building US LLCs from Europe. I help European and Asian founders scale faster through doola and their “Business in a Box” model. Also suitable for US citizens (given their bookkeeping solution), but in very high demand across Europe.

📊 Post-Merger Integration. I support M&A initiatives through Flippa’s marketplace. Working closely on PMI initiatives for PE companies and fast-growing startups integrating new companies within their portfolios, enabling data pipelines, and securing more deals through my personal network.