The act of starting or growing something using only what you already have and without outside funding or help. It's a method of building businesses or projects from scratch.
From 'bootstrap' + the gerund suffix '-ing' (Old English '-ing'). The term emerged in business and computing contexts in the late 20th century as entrepreneurs sought alternative paths to traditional funding.
In computer science, 'bootstrapping' has a cool double meaning—it describes how a computer starts itself up using minimal initial code, then loads bigger programs! This comes from the same metaphor as business bootstrapping: lifting yourself up by your own efforts.
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