Bootstrapped to Venture-Backed with Hailey Swartz of Actual Veggies

<p>Bootstrapping can be great: you get to control every part of your business and choose your lifestyle. </p> <p>But if you waste precious time on mundane tasks because you don’t have the funding, then bootstrapping becomes a cage. </p> <p>Today’s guest is Hailey Swartz, co-CEO of Actual Veggies. They started out washing and reusing their competitor’s packaging because they couldn’t afford their own. </p> <p>But in this episode, you’ll hear how she took on VC funding, and how you can use it to achieve greatness: like filling the shelves of grocery stores nationwide. </p> <p>In this wide-ranging discussion, you’ll discover how to combine bootstrap philosophy with venture capital - so you can live that free lifestyle you’ve been dreaming of. </p> <p>Listen now! </p> <p><strong>Show highlights include:</strong></p> <p> </p> <ul> <li>Why 10k from Sequoia Capital is better for your business than $1M from some no-name investor (5:07)  </li> </ul> <p> </p> <ul> <li>Why raising capital from dozens of VCs gives you a competitive advantage (even if it takes more time to raise the money) (6:07) </li> <li>The multi-channel outreach method that almost guarantees your product lands on retail shelves (8:02) </li> <li>Why going D2C spells disaster for your profit margins (even though you’re cutting out the middleman) (9:39) </li> <li>The “in store activation” method that lets you run profitable advertising campaigns without spending thousands on data analytics (10:28) </li> <li>How to turn your next idea into a hit product without insider knowledge or a product development team (13:00)</li> </ul>