It’s called Bootstrapping and it means starting a company with your own blood, sweat, and sometimes tears. In some cases it may mean eating Ramen for a year and drinking Budweiser out of a can rather than fine wine out of a glass, but in the end you create (hopefully) something that really is all your own.
I have a lot of respect for Entrepreneurs who can start with an idea and then through their own hard-work, build a brand that connects with customers and sees solid growth in its first year. Vid Luther from ZippyKid did an amazing job bootstrapping and going from an idea to a business that made $250K in its first year.
Mixergy did a great interview with Vid and I thought it would be interesting to share this with all of you, so enjoy!

Morgan,
Thanks for sharing your “StartUp” experiences.
I am glad to see that you found Andrew Warner at Mixergy.com. He has hundreds of great StartUp interviews!
Cheers,
Mars