Why I chose customer-funded growth over taking VC money

Photo credit: Christian Dubovan

It’s the first page in a familiar story. A college kid comes up with a clever idea and starts building it in his spare hours. He goes all-in to focus on building the product and works 80-hour weeks, keeping his eyes firmly on the prize. Soon, he’s creating pitch decks and dazzling VCs. The valuations soar. He’s a media darling.

That’s how you accomplish big things, right?

Sometimes.

But this glittering narrative lures founders into a business world they might not be cut out for. It creates intense pressure and oversimplifies the concept of success.

I’d like to offer an alternative path, one that led me to build JotForm in one of the most competitive industries around: online forms. We’ve been persevering  for 12 years and counting, and we’ve done it without taking a single dime in outside funding.

So, here are my lessons from my customer-funded growth journey.

Let your day job support you

My interest in startups was sparked when I developed a free, open-source membership program for a student website. People started paying me for customizations, so I created a paid version.

I could have pursued this dream when I graduated, but I wasn’t ready. Instead, I got a stable job as a programmer for a New York media company and polished my product before and after the nine to five.

It would take me another five years before starting my own business. In the meantime, I was paid to immerse myself in new technologies and develop my skills as a programmer. My job allowed me to build my side project without any real-world pressures, secure in the knowledge that, because it wasn’t supporting me financially yet, I didn’t need to get it “right” straight away.

When I did go all-in, I was armed with the confidence and experience I needed, plus enough savings to get my business off the ground.

Find a problem, build a solution

The editors at the media company I worked for always needed their web forms customized. It was boring, time-consuming work. Every day I thought to myself, “Surely there must be an easier way.”

And it turned out there was. After plenty of trial and error, I developed a drag-and-drop form builder that you didn’t need HTML experience for. JotForm was born, and I worked on it for six months before releasing the first version in 2006.

Was I passionate about forms? Not really. But I knew life for myself and others would be easier with my product, and that prospect made me excited.

Grow at your own pace

Focus on profits from day one