Bootstrapping with someone else's money

I took a job at EMC on purpose. Not because it was prestigious. Not because the money was great.

Because it was small. And I needed to learn how to run a business.

I had just left DEC — a massive corporation. Great experience. Wrong environment for me.

I knew I wanted to start my own company. But I had zero business training. No MBA. No investors. No roadmap.

So I did what I thought was the smart thing.

I went and learned on somebody else's dime.

As District Sales Manager, I ran the Southeast territory like it was my own P&L. My partner Paul Myerson and I grew it from $50k to $400k a month in less than a year.

I learned pipeline management. Territory development. How a small business actually operates.

EMC went on to become a $6 billion company. I went on to start MindIQ - bootstrapped, no investors, and ran it for 22 years. Even made the INC 500.

None of that happens without the education I got at EMC.

Here's what most aspiring founders miss:

You don't have to risk your own money to learn how to run a business. Find a small company. Get in the trenches. Learn everything.

Then go build your own.

Bootstrapping a business can absolutely be learned on someone else's dime.

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