I'm Mike Jones from Western Cape Labs

Introductions
#1

Howzit.

I’m a serial failure having started and killed several businesses since my first back in '97 (Clearly New Media, when media was new and CD-ROM’s were going to rock).

I’m currently running a small software business called Western Cape Labs in the most instragram-able city in the world, Cape Town, South Africa where I moved two and half years ago from London with my wife and three kids.

We run a niche eCommerce business called On The Way which runs on a platform I built and a consultancy that actually pays the bills. The consultancy mainly builds smart apps for dumb phones (think healthcare applications on a Nokia you had 10 years ago) and web applications.

All four of my previous businesses have been bootstrapped completely but Western Cape Labs was funded for it’s first 9 months by some friends who believed in our crazy dream so I guess I’ve now “cheated” but we’re back to bootstrapping now!

I’m a huge believer in open sharing so really hoping this thing flies in a way that benefits those who take the time to stop by.

#2

Hi Mike. Great to have you here!

I’m glad I’m not the only one on here who wrote software for phones back in the day before the new mobile app hotness.

#3

@imsickofmaps, I know it’s a bit non-kosher for a bootstrapping forum, but I’d love to get some insight on how you got a little help from friends. I’m in the mix of having a lot of people that believe in my company, but don’t know how I can ask for help other than a few handshake leads…

#4

The first step is to get everyone drunk …

2 Likes
#5

Hi, Mike. Good to see you here. I know it can take a lot of tries to succeed. I started and killed 5 businesses (or more like dumb business ideas) since 2007 before starting Snip in 2011, the first product business of mine that actually made any money.