Since people started calling entrepreneurs \u201cstartuppers,\u201d it seems there\u2019s no way to turn an idea into a real company without having investors pouring millions of dollars into your project.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Then you discover someone who did exactly the opposite.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
His name is Michele Boschetti, and he\u2019s the founder of MissGrape<\/strong>: a company that changed the way people travel by bike with its bikepacking bags.<\/p>\n\n\n\n No investment funds behind him<\/strong>, no Hollywood-style launch \u2014 just a crystal-clear vision and years of hands-on work, weighing every euro spent.<\/p>\n\n\n\n The result?<\/p>\n\n\n\n A few weeks ago, MissGrape was acquired by Elite<\/strong>, the leaders in indoor training rollers.<\/p>\n\n\n\n An exit that many startuppers \u2014 despite the millions they raised \u2014 will never achieve.<\/p>\n\n\n\n In this new episode of \u201cFrom Bike to Business,\u201d Michele told me, among other things, the trick he used to grow MissGrape almost without money.<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n He kept two sets of accounts:<\/p>\n\n\n\n \u2022 an imaginary one, with everything he would do with unlimited funding, And no, it\u2019s not just theory: it actually worked.<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n In the episode, we talk about:<\/p>\n\n\n\n \u2022 how to build a strong brand in a tiny niche like bikepacking, LISTEN NOW<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u2022 a real one, where he tried to achieve similar results\u2026 on a craftsman\u2019s budget.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u2022 how to decide what NOT to do when money is tight,
\u2022 which sacrifices truly matter (and which are just entrepreneur ego),
\u2022 the mistake Michele wouldn\u2019t make again,
\u2022 and a few fun moments.<\/p>\n\n\n\n