Bootstrapped to $12M/year hardware and software (whole widget) product co. It took a long time, 13 years.
I have a strong feeling that if I could do it all over again I’d do it more of it myself for as long as I could until I absolutely had to hire.
People tend to underestimate how expensive of an investment it is to reach yourself how to hire, how to onboard, how to coach, and even when you know all that you can still easily spend 3-6 months of a professional salary figuring out someone doesn’t fit well in your organization.
Our products have been growing 50% per year for four years now and I’m still thinking of doing more myself and with my cofounders. (We’re all highly technical)