Silicon Valley Bootstrapper Success Stories

Just how important is a company’s culture? Anne Marie started her company partly because the great culture that she was enjoying in the company that she worked for faded after an acquisition. Now Insignia Environmental is a national leader in its field, and the employees are enjoying the culture that Anne Marie has emphasized since the beginning. Let’s listen in to see how she build her company to be in the top 0.4% of all US businesses.

When Kathy founded RoseRyan, she wanted to build a different finance and accounting consulting firm that has challenging and interesting work, but still have a work-life balance. Today, RoseRyan was voted as one of the Top Work Places in the Bay Area, and it is serving over 800 companies ranging from startups to Fortune 500 companies. The road that leads RoseRyan to be among the top 0.4% of all of the US companies is not easy, and here are some of the learnings that Kathy is sharing with us.

Working in a big-4 financial consulting firm is a “golden handcuff” for most people, but Manav has a bigger dream. He founded SOA Projects to provide Solutions for All Projects to mid to large size companies. He was not satisfied to be just another “mom and pop” shop in the consulting industry, and he set the goal to become a nimble one-stop-shop of all services for his clients. Let’s listen in to see how Manav turns his dream into reality.  

Commercial building projects can be very lucrative, but at the same time, have a very high stake. A gap in between projects or a mistake in execution can put huge pressure on the company’s cash flow. In today’s interview, I have the honor to talk to Thomas Newman, the founder and CEO of Pacific Ridge Builders, a fast-growing silicon valley based commercial builder. Let’s hear what Thomas believes are the important factors when building a successful company.

How many tech start-ups do you know that started with no external funding?  Today, I have the honor to interview Vivek Bhaskaran, the founder and CEO of QuestionPro.  He started the company in 2005 with no external funding, and while he was still working full-time.  He shares with us the challenges he went through, how he overcame them, and gives us some golden pieces of advice.

Listen in, learn, and get inspired.

In this episode, I had the privilege of interviewing April Zhong, the founder and CEO of Silray, a Silicon Valley based commercial solar solution provider.  Silray has been named the fastest-growing private company in the Silicon Valley several years in a roll, April has been named the top 100 most influential women business owners.  Silray has provided solar solutions to many companies and contributes to more than 10,000 tons of carbon offset.  Here is April’s story and her thoughts on what are the important factors that contributed to her success.