squarepoet

September 4, 2012

Kurt Varner recently answered a question on Quora about whether it would be a good idea to become “homeless” to bootstrap a startup. This summer, he lived out of his car in Mountain View to save money while working on his company.

The stunt was great publicity, but is living out of your car a legitimate method of increasing your startup’s runway?

I would never go to such an extreme, as the stress of being “homeless” would distract me from working on my company, and offset the cash I saved. To save money while bootstrapping a startup, I would find a really good friend and crash on his couch. Or, I’d split the cost of a cheap apartment with several like-minded entrepreneurs.

Having access to your own refrigerator/kitchen can save you lots of money. You can buy rice, beans, and other inexpensive food in bulk. You wouldn’t have to rely on Triscuits, Cup Noodles, Thomas’ Bagels, and canned goods (as seen in Varner’s video).

It is fun, however, to experiment with ways to save money while enjoying a diverse diet. Here are some food hacks I’ve used while bootstrapping my own startup over the last two years.

Food Hacks for the Lean Startup

Free Breakfast at IKEA: Over the past year, IKEA has been giving out free breakfast until 11am every Monday. This offer is good until at least December 2012. I encountered two issues:

There was no WiFi, but this allowed me to concentrate on hacking without wasting time on Facebook. If I had a question I needed to answer, I’d write it down in a text file and look it up later.
Mothers with young children show up at around 11:30 for lunch. It gets loud at around lunch time. My sound-isolating earbuds were not up to the challenge.

Free Samples at Costco: Find a friend who has a membership, and ask him to buy you a $5 Costco Cash Card. Present this card as you walk into your nearest Costco at around lunchtime. Walk around to all the sample stands and grab free samples. If you are bold, grab two. Make sure you walk around at least twice. On a recent trip, I enjoyed Tony Roma’s ribs, chicken, sausage, pasta, Coca Cola, chocolate milk, turkey jerky, buttered toast, taquitos, yogurt, and cheddar cheese.

If the samples aren’t enough, go to the Costco food court to buy a hot dog and soft drink for $1.50. Pile on the onions and ketchup. You don’t need a membership to purchase from the food court.

Coffee & Food Sample at Trader Joe’s: If you need a coffee fix, you can go to the sample station at Trader Joe’s. The best way to save money, of course, would be to quit coffee. Trader Joe’s is also home to the 19-cent banana. It’s packed with fiber and vitamins.

Cheese Samples at the Milk Pail Market: this local market in Mountain View has free cheese samples in the back. Use a fresh toothpick/spoon between samples! You can also find great deals on fresh fruit here. Buy an orange or kiwi on the way out, to avoid scurvy.

Whole Foods: Whaaa? Yes, you can print out coupons and get some nice deals. Recently, I bought some fruit/nut/chocolate bars for $0.25 each ($1 off). Whole Foods also sometimes has samples of fresh fruit, sushi, and grass-fed beef.

For a quick fix, drop in on McDonald’s. I bought hash browns for $1, and sat in their McCafe area to use the WiFi. It’s not very healthy, but the 150 Calories (along with your stash of nut bars in your backpack) will power you through to lunchtime.

All-You-Can-Eat Salad Bars: To diversify your diet, you can visit a salad bar like Fresh Choice or Sweet Tomatoes. With a web coupon, you can get a weekday meal for $8. Load up on your greens. Top it off with cornbread, soup, and a soft-serve sundae.