Bridging the Gap Between Bootstrapping and Startup Success

For entrepreneurs who don’t have access to investors, bank loans or friends and family money, bootstrapping can be the only way to get an idea off the ground. Back in 1989 Bruce Poon Tip was one of those founders who had to rely on his own resources to start his company. With only an idea and his personal credit cards, Poon Tip bootstrapped his adventure travel venture G Adventures, which over 20 years later offers tours to over 100 countries. “It was difficult for us for many years at the start,” he says. “I would even go so far as to say our first ten years were hard because we had to fund such a huge growth curve and never had as much as a loan. I was very aggressive in building the business. Fortunately, I have a very high tolerance for risk, but that doesn’t work so well for the bankers.” Poon Tip knew entrepreneurship was in his blood from a young age. Most entrepreneurs say they don’t work well in traditional work settings, but not many can say they’ve been fired from McDonald’s. “I had three businesses before I turned 16,” he says. “When I tried a regular job at McDonald’s, I was fired.”

In 1989 Poon Tip went traveling and eschewed the traditional options, which were taking a coach tour, bus tour or cruise, in favor of backpacking. “When I wanted to travel back in 1989, there weren’t any travel companies like ours,” he says. “While I was travelling, I met many others who were looking for a more culturally-focused and responsible way to travel. That became the inspiration behind G Adventures.” He originally called the company Gap Adventures, because he said it was about “bridging the gap” between mainstream travel and backpacking.

Today eco-friendly and sustainable tourism is all the rage, but back when he launched the company in 1990 it was a novel concept. “We didn’t have a name for it at the time, but we knew we wanted to do the right thing,” he says. “The world later caught up to what we were doing.” Originally, the goal was to create a low-impact form of travel that appreciated the world and showed it in an authentic way. He says the coach companies and destructive tour packages represented everything his team was against. “We developed a new way for people to see and experience the world. For us, it’s always been about innovation.”

The travel industry is extremely competitive, even more so since the recession in 2008 and the European debt crisis. In addition to competition from the traditional coach, bus and cruise tour companies, he now faces competition from online build-your-own vacation sites like Expedia, and a new crop of eco-friendly and sustainable tourism companies. Poon Tip says his approach to competition is all about staying focused. “Watching what other companies do would really drag us down and take us away from driving our own innovation,” he says. “We can’t expend a lot of energy being concerned about what others are doing. We are very visible now, and your perspective is different when you’re the market leader.”

He says the company outpaces competitors in terms of customer service and satisfaction, something that has become a part of the G Adventures culture. Similar to how Tony Hsieh has started a happiness revolution in the workplace with his company Zappos, which was acquired by Amazon in 2009, Poon Tip has made culture a central part of his company. He laughs off the title of the Canadian Tony Hsieh, but admits the two share the same outlook on workplace culture. “We do share a lot of the same values towards business,” he says. “The G Adventures business model is driven by happiness, freedom and creating community. It’s a bit more complex as we operate in over 100 countries and change people’s lives every day. Our culture is our brand. I would say that we share the same philosophy on understanding the human side of business. Driving the best customer service on the planet remains our goal.”

Poon Tip says maintaining that level of customer service when running a global workforce can prove to be a challenge. “It’s about creating freedom and happiness,” he says. “Ultimately, happy and free people are motivated to deliver the best customer service.” One constant that always tied his employees together was the Gap Adventures brand. But in 2011 a lawsuit was brought forward by The Gap clothing retailer, and a court ruled that Gap Adventures had to change its name and logo when doing business in the United States. Poon Tip decided to rebrand to G Adventures in September 2011 instead of fighting the case, and the new name came into effect on October 1, 2011. He says the transition has been easier than he thought it would be. “We had everyone on board with the idea and we executed a flawless plan. Admittedly, it wasn’t a huge change, but it was significant enough for us to make the statement – to prove – that our culture is our brand; that our customers own our brand, not us,” he says. “We surveyed our travellers, team members, partners and future travellers extensively. It was exciting and the approach was innovative.”

When asked about his biggest piece of advice for entrepreneurs, Poon Tip again points to happiness and culture as keys to success, echoing the old adage of ‘do something you love and you’ll never work a day in your life.’ He also says founders must understand their motivation and define themselves in terms of the type of entrepreneur they are. “Not everyone creates for a living,” he says. “There are many entrepreneurial people who own franchises, run corner stores or even work with a more out-of-the-box type of thinking for established companies. It takes a level of focus, hard work and determination to take the ideas inside your head and present it to the world. It is a very personal process that many people don’t think about.”

His company has been around for over 20 years, and Poon Tip says he wants to continue to grow as a leader. “I’ve resolved to become more focused, since I know we cannot grow collectively unless I improve personally,” he says. “We’ve got a few tricks up our sleeves though. We might be the original and the biggest, but this old dog has a few more tricks.”