How to Build a Start-Up — Without VC Funding

As interest rates have risen in recent years, venture capital funding has dried up. How can founders grow their companies in this new environment?

In this episode, a founder who grew a $600 million company using just $10,000 of his own money, shares his strategy. Mike Salguero is the CEO and founder of the meat subscription service ButcherBox. He explains how he formulated a growth strategy that had a laser focus on costs and creatively leveraged the marketing power of influencers.

This is the third episode in a special series highlighting the four best strategy episodes of 2023, curated from across Harvard Business Review’s podcasts.

Key episode topics include: strategy, entrepreneurship, entrepreneurial finance, fundraising, selling entrepreneurial ventures, venture capital, pricing strategy, customer strategy, marketing.

HBR On Strategy curates the best case studies and conversations with the world’s top business and management experts, to help you unlock new ways of doing business. New episodes every week.

· Listen to the full HBR IdeaCast episode: Why Entrepreneurs Don’t Need Venture Capital to Scale (2023)

· Find more episodes of HBR IdeaCast

· Discover 100 years of Harvard Business Review articles, case studies, podcasts, and more at HBR.org