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A Contributor is a Bootstrapper who has come to understand the organization, has identified a generalized need of some subset of Bootstrappers, and is willing to contribute to the organization in order to provide some resource that fulfills this need. Contributors are compensated for the time spent creating their contribution in Boot Karma (BK): 1hr = 1 BK.


  • Has been an Active Participant of the community for 3 months or more
  • Typical Participation: Creation and/or management of a subgroup formed by Industry, by Venture Stage, or by Topic

How Does it Work?

  1. Active Participant thinks up an idea or feels they can solve an expressed community need, with might include their product/service
  2. Active Participant gets in touch with the appropriate lead
  3. Together they discuss, negotiate and agree on a particular outcome and the time it will take to produce the outcome (ET system is used to document as client/performer)
  4. After the outcome, the participants are charged in Boot Karma by the Lead. Participants can agree to the debit; if they choose to pay a different amount or 0, they can do so, but have to provide a reason
  5. Once the outcome is completed, the Contributor charges the agreed (or modified) Boot Karma (1HR=1BK) to Bootstrap Central.
  6. Transaction is approved by the Lead

NOTE: product contributions are NOT compensated by Boot Karma since BK is only based solely on time spent by the Contributor. The benefit received to the Contributor is feedback and having an early adopter for their product. Similarly, hard assets (like space usage) are offered free to the community.

Contributor --> Active Participant/Participant

There are many situations, often related to the increasing needs of their venture, where a Contributor will be unable to continue with the Commitment they made. This happens often and is part of the topsy-turvy reality of being a bootstrapper! When it does, the Contributor must proactively let the Lead know so that they can releive themselves of the commitment and allow appropriate course corrections to be made.

Decision Making Process


Bootstrap initiative teams with more than one contributor are neither consensus-driven nor autocratic. Consensus-driven teams move too slowly and don't allow for effective bootstrapping. On the other hand, the lead doesn't get to arbitrarily get their way either. Instead, we take an approach that combines the two. The "appropriate owner" of a particular aspect of a project makes the final call. The other contributors only act as advisors and sources of input. It is therefore important for the lead to acknowledge the appropriate owners at the beginning and as they need to be defined as the project unfolds.

Community Systems

  • Enterprise Teaming - commitments are negotiated and managed through the ET System (provided by bootstrapper Kevin Koym)
  • Boot Karma - earns Boot Karma for time put into creating an initiative. Time is negotiated with the lead who manages the initiative. Members who participate in an intiative are charged in BK; payments are made to Bootstrap Central.