Mail: May 2002

Readers react to articles from recent issues of Inc magazine. Plus, an update on 1999 Inner City 100 winner Fitigues Inc.

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Greg Gianforte is a serial entrepreneur whose start-up strategy is to do things on the cheap, wrote Emily Barker in her February feature, " Start With Nothing." Great companies have always been bootstrapped, agreed editor-in-chief George Gendron in his FYI column that month. The tremendous response to those pieces suggests that thrift is back. If the 1990s were an era set to the tune of "Money for Nothing," when capital was cheap and everyone with an idea got a chance to roll the dice -- well, today you have to be a whole lot savvier just to get in the game.

The Young and the Cashless
Perhaps "the new parsimony" is a result of good parenting.

I am a young entrepreneur starting an office-supply business. I just wanted to say thank you for confirming everything my parents have ever taught me, including "It is not how you make it but how you spend it that will make you a success."

John Shami
Owner
SupplyPath
Sacramento

Perhaps you should stay lean even as your company grows.

I greatly enjoyed your February article on bootstrapping. I was, however, disappointed that you stopped short of highlighting the value of using a bootstrapping philosophy later in the life of a small and growing company. I regularly work with companies that after receiving an influx of capital begin purchasing expensive operational solutions they don't need. Bootstrapping works because it successfully forces companies to think about their own needs and the needs of their clients. As a result, a company ends up with inexpensive solutions that work instead of expensive ones that don't.

Jake Perlman
President and Founder
Demeter Solutions
Denver

And perhaps bootstrapping isn't all that it's cracked up to be.

I used to agree with you. Having run a company from nothing for many years, I found lots of creative ways to save a nickel here and dollar there. But I've changed my stance completely. The severe emotional toll of running an undercapitalized company combined with the time wasted thinking about insignificant money-saving techniques is a drain on the business. Plus, in this environment you're giving the staff the wrong message. They quickly translate such frugal behavior into "Our company cuts corners." I'm now convinced that the ideal business model uses a moderate amount of capital, reasonable operating costs, clear goals, and an agreed-upon exit strategy.

An old adage correctly contradicts your "shoestring" approach: "Never jump over dollars to pick up nickels."

Eric Holmquist
Director of Technology Services
The Secura Group
Los Angeles

Taxicab Indiscretion
Irwin Simon presides over Hain Celestial Group, America's leading natural-foods company. But writer Hesh Kestin's profile of the savvy risk taker (" The Apprenticeship of Irwin Simon," March) revealed an aggressive side of the CEO that angered readers because it seemed so different from the values implied by Simon's wholesome products.

I was shocked at one of the anecdotes in your rags-to-riches profile of Irwin Simon. The story goes that years ago he flew to New York for a job interview and couldn't find a cabbie that was willing to take him where he wanted to go. Did he offer the cabbies more money? Did he charm one of them with his wit and personality? No. Instead, he impersonated someone else so he could ride in a waiting limousine. That's not resourceful; that's deceitful -- by any standard. There's a remarkable contrast here, because the people who buy Hain's products are trying extra hard to "do the right thing." If Simon can tell that story without apology, his principles do not match those of his customers. In the future, this customer will have one thing in common with the empire builder from Glace Bay: both of us will be looking to buy good brands that Hain hasn't yet acquired.

Bill Satterness
Market Analyst
Site Matters Inc.
Eden Prairie, Minn.

Irwin Simon is another egocentric and shortsighted CEO developing a rape-and-pillage business that misunderstands its core customers. Organic and health are not foods but a demographic, a lifestyle. While Simon talks of expanding brands and selling off production, his customers are concerned with localization, sustainable growth (including business growth), and un-branding. The word will spread of Simon's blatant cynicism for the demographic he is counting on to sustain his organic empire. When it does, he will begin to see that this demographic isn't just a bunch of stupid ex-hippies who are willing to pay $3 for 30 cents worth of beans; we're intelligent consumers who'll spit out Simon's mindless branding and exploitation faster than he would spit out one of his own veggie burgers.

Mark F.
Portland, Oreg.

Run for Your Life
In " How to Run a Marathon," staff writer Ilan Mochari wrote about entrepreneur Steve Costello's love affair with running and how you might start to love it, too.

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