Why and how I bootstrapped to £1m ARR!

In this episode of Seed to Success, Alastair chats to founder and CEO of Trust Keith, Rory Codrington, who discusses his founder journey and shares how the lessons from previous ventures shaped his strategic decisions for his latest business.   Rory discusses the importance of market validation, understanding customer value, and leveraging strengths to shape the direction and value proposition in B2B. His practical insights on navigating regulatory compliance, bootstrapping, and thoughtful business model considerations provides inspiration for listeners looking to embark on their own founder journey and those seeking strategic guidance.   If you’re keen to hear about the complexities of entrepreneurship and gain some practical advice to fuel your founder mindset, then this one’s for you! _   Show notes: 00:00:00 - Introduction 00:01:16 - What is Trust Keith? 00:02:18 - The complexity of regulation 00:04:55 - Business growth and team size 00:05:53 - Founding principles and business evolution 00:12:23 - Entrepreneurial mindset and business strategy 00:15:04 - Passion vs. practicality 00:21:47 - Strategic planning and long-term goals 00:23:19 - All-you-can-eat business model 00:27:53 - Role of experts and technology 00:26:45 - Balancing technology and people 00:29:05 - Iterative product development 00:31:19 - Evolution of compliance solutions 00:34:52 - Technology development journey 00:36:40 - Bootstrapping and funding 00:41:00 - Building a business and understanding customer needs 00:46:22 - Overcoming hiring challenges and achieving efficiency 00:49:26 – Lessons learned 00:54:02 – Favourite metrics 00:56:06 – Advice for founders