EP 85: From Burnout to Breakout: How Jennifer Tsai Bootstrapped Shoott.com to $10M After Raising $2.7M

What happens when you raise $2.7M... then realize you never want to raise again?Jennifer Tsai, founder and CEO of Shoott.com, built a profitable photography marketplace from the ground up; surviving death threats from creatives, a brutal CAC spike post-iOS14, and the chaos of marketplace economics. In this episode of Fundraising Demystified, we dive into how she scaled to $10M in revenue, hit breakeven, and is now facing the “what’s next” moment many founders dream of, or dread.Whether you're building a two-sided marketplace, wrestling with capital strategy, or wondering how to survive without more VC cash, this one's for you.Raising capital?Get a list of vetted VCs for FREE here: https://web.thunder.vc/list-of-investors-vcs-for-founders?utm_source=Youtube&utm_medium=Video&utm_campaign=Episode85&utm_id=FundraisingDemystifiedPodcastGet the latest fundraising insights, news, and tips:https://blog.thunder.vc/funding-101?utm_source=Youtube&utm_medium=Video&utm_campaign=Episode84&utm_id=FundraisingDemystifiedPodcastIn this episode, you'll learn:00:00 – Death Threats, Disruption & The Origin Story of Shoott.com05:45 – Why Creatives Hated Us And How We Won Them Over12:08 – From $80K to $10M: The Fundraising + Growth Playbook17:52 – How We Hit Profitability (And 20x’d It)21:26 – Cash Flow Roulette: Paying Creators Before Clients Pay Us22:57 – The $300K Mistake That Nearly Sank Us25:57 – Should You Raise, Sell, or Stay the Course?27:32 – The Brutal Truth About Valuations in Today’s Market30:38 – Founders: Before You Build a Marketplace, Watch This