1. I have limited marketing budget, do i go from one company to another when starting?
2. I am bootstrapping my startup and what are the chances some established company can like and steal my idea.
3) Regarding recruitment, who are the key decision makers in a company.
Thank you.
> 1. I have limited marketing budget, do i go from one company to another when starting?
We ran out of runway a while ago and sadly we never got to spend a dime on marketing. Trade shows and conferences can be a good investment because you can get a real idea of how people are reacting to you. This is why we know we have made mistakes with our launch because we get feedback at shows. You can also identify product market fit better because people might say they support your product and it's the best, but you can find out exactly what is keeping them from signing a contract.
Without a lot of spare money to pay other people to market, you'll be forced to do the grind yourself. Get on the phone or start sending emails reaching out to prospective clients and customers. Find out if they understand your value proposition and if not what's wrong with it. It sounds crappy, and it can be, but you need to set a goal of making X contacts per day and start your growth. If you don't want to do this you'll have to pay someone at least $500-$1000 a month to do it for you.
> I am bootstrapping my startup and what are the chances some established company can like and steal my idea.
If your idea can be stolen then your model is likely not great. For example if you're goal is to make a little widget and sell it that's probably not going to work very well right now since China will simply clone it and undercut you. For our product we stand out by integrating with other companies in a way nobody else is doing, and it's less likely a competitor would want to put in all that leg work just to become on par with us.
> Regarding recruitment, who are the key decision makers in a company.
That depends on the company. Some companies have "HR firewalls" where nobody can get involved with the company unless HR okays it, usually because they foot the bill for unemployment and severance, so they make more if they can reduce these metrics.