What does bootstrapper mean?
A bootstrapper is, most commonly, an entrepreneur who starts and grows a business without relying on substantial outside investment. The term suggests self-reliance: the founder may use personal savings, skills, and the money earned from initial customers, often reinvesting revenue until the business becomes established. In this context, being a bootstrapper is usually presented as a sign of resourcefulness and independence, although the word can also imply slow, difficult growth and a lack of access to conventional funding. In computing, a bootstrapper is a program or utility that initializes and loads other software or an operating system. The expression comes from the older word “bootstrap,” originally a strap or loop used to help pull on a boot. The figurative development of “pulling oneself up by one’s bootstraps” led to the modern sense of achieving a result without outside assistance.
nounA bootstrapper is a person who starts or develops a business without significant outside investment, relying initially on personal resources and reinvesting any revenue. In computing, the term can also denote a program or utility that initializes and loads another program or operating system.
- A person who starts or develops a business or venture without significant outside investment, often reinvesting early revenue.
- A software program or utility that performs an initialization or loading function.
"The bootstrapper grew the company from a laptop, reinvesting its first customers' payments instead of seeking venture capital."
"As a bootstrapper, she handled sales, development, and customer support while the company was still finding its first loyal users."
"The bootstrapper loads the necessary system components before the main application starts."
The regular plural is “bootstrappers,” used for multiple people who start businesses independently or for multiple initialization programs.
"The program supports both experienced bootstrappers and first-time founders."
A bootstrapper literally comes from the idea of pulling on a boot with a strap—and figuratively of pulling a business into existence without someone else giving you a lift.
Reviewed by Deb Chak, Editor. AI-assisted content curated by RJS Tech Solutions LLP.
Where does bootstrapper come from?
“Bootstrapper” is an English formation based on “bootstrap,” a compound of “boot” and “strap.” The word originally referred to a strap or loop that helped someone pull on a boot, and it later became part of the expression “pull oneself up by one’s bootstraps,” meaning to overcome difficulties through one’s own efforts. By extension, “bootstrap” came to describe beginning or developing something with little or no outside help, and “bootstrapper” denotes the person or program that carries out that process.
Related word forms
How bootstrapper is actually used
The business sense is common in startup and entrepreneurship contexts and is sometimes informal. The computing sense is technical; in general usage, bootstrapper is more likely to suggest a resourceful, self-reliant founder than a person merely beginning a new project.
Easily confused with bootstrapper
A bootstrap is the process or method of starting or developing something with limited outside help, whereas a bootstrapper is the person or program that performs that process.