profile

The Quarter

Why This Founder Said NO to Easy VC Money

Published about 2 months ago • 2 min read

Why This Founder Said NO to Easy VC Money

Matt Gira

July 24th, 2025

This week's deep dive is a fun one for me.

This company was being built while I worked with this guy on a daily basis. We were working on my last startup together and on the side, he worked on this venture.

Ironically, his venture was the successful one.

This deep dive is jampacked. Reply and let me know what you think :)

In 2020, raising money was easier than ever before, and yet, Bryce Kaiser and his wife Lauren did something that was a bit crazy.

They said no to all of it.

While everyone was raising money because it was "free money" during the COVID boom, the HoomHouse founders deliberately chose to stay bootstrapped.

Then on top of that, they walked away from maybe the hottest market in the entire world at the time: telehealth.

And instead they just doubled down on one simple growth strategy.

Three years later it all worked out. They sold the company on their own terms.

In this deep dive I break down with Bryce, his simple approach to building a marketplace business, why saying no to VCs was actually the smartest move they ever made, and the surprisingly simple approach that made their exit possible.

Secret

Affiliate

This email/section contains affiliate links. I earn a commission if you make a purchase at no extra cost.

There are tons of software tools out there, and all those costs add up fast. One tool that helps simplify things and makes costs a bit more manageable is Secret.

Secret offers software deals for all kinds of founders. It also makes it easier to discover tools you might not have heard of yet, and there could even be some free credits waiting for you to use.

A Secret membership might actually pay for itself depending on which tools you sign up for!

​

Recommendations

​Future-Ready: 3 Steps to Attract & Land $100k Clients​

Loved this step-by-step guide by Michele Kasl for landing large clients. Messaging is such a big deal when it comes to landing the right clients and Michele's guide does a great job framing it all. Give it a look!

​Instagram is getting more search-friendly​

I've talked a little bit in a few deep dives with how search is evolving, not dying. Instagram search is now going to be indexed by Google which is another sign that all social content is going to be treated like blog posts back in the day. Will it create more visibility for everyone? We'll find out soon enough!

​

Matt Gira

Connect with me on LinkedIn!

113 Cherry St #92768, Seattle, WA 98104-2205
​Unsubscribe​

The Quarter

Matthew Gira

How bootstrapped businsses go from $0 to $250k in annual revenue.

Read more from The Quarter
Two people sitting at a white table during a podcast recording in a brick-walled studio. On the left, a woman in a light blue cardigan holds a green water bottle, and on the right, a man in a green sweatshirt gestures while speaking. Professional micropho

How a $5,000 Lean Startup Experiment Became Michigan’s Innovation Hub Matt Gira September 16th, 2025 This deep dive is one of the most unique ones I'll ever draft. That's because I'm announcing that I'm joining this business... But this isn't me stepping back from The Quarter. If anything, it's going to make The Quarter better. I'll be meeting more founders who've bootstrapped from $0 to $250k in annual revenue, and I think there are going to be great opportunities to do things in real life...

about 13 hours ago • 2 min read
Carl Erickson smiling in a purple button-down shirt standing outdoors in front of a brick building. Text overlay reads "Carl Erickson" with "Didn't even think about returning" in a white speech bubble.

From Classroom to $25M Software Agency Matt Gira August 19th, 2025 One of the most strategic founders I’ve ever met almost flew under my radar. I always thought Atomic Object was a solid software agency and Carl Erickson a kind leader. But when I worked closely with him in 2019, I realized just how sharp and intentional he really is about building both a company and a culture. Atomic turned out to be far more impressive than I ever imagined. Not just in the work they do, but in how they’ve...

29 days ago • 2 min read
Liz Hilton, founder of KnitIt, holding her baby in her manufacturing facility in Holland, Michigan, with the NASA logo visible in the background, representing her journey from NASA writer to $3.5M baby product entrepreneur.

A Baby's Sleep Problem Led to a $3.5M Business Matt Gira August 7th, 2025 This week's deep dive is a fun one. Who said you can't bootstrap a physical goods company?? Also fun because I've known Liz for such a long time and saw this all happen live. It was so cool talking with Liz about the journey and seeing her manufacturing space in Holland, Michigan of all places. Check out this week's deep dive 👇 "Liz, you are gonna sell a million of these." That was Liz Hilton's husband's reaction when...

about 1 month ago • 2 min read