Contribute to Bootstrapped
A Magazine About the People Who Start Businesses from Scratch
Bootstrapped is a semi-annual business publication with a portion of all proceeds going to Kiva.org to fund entrepreneurs around the world.
***Submissions are now OPEN for the JANUARY 2015 issue of Bootstrapped. Please follow the below instructions***
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Bootstrapped Issue no. 3
Release date is January 1st, 2015.
We are currently accepting submissions until October 10th, 2014.
See below for instructions.
About Bootstrapped
Bootstrapped is the world’s premier.
Our goal is to inspire and educate readers to help them become the best in the world at what they do.
We do this by accepting only the highest quality submissions on the topic of entrepreneurship, business and art (in the broader sense of the word). The content is supported by some of the best artists in the world who create art specifically for the theme of each issue.
Finally, we tie it all together in a beautifully hand-crafted PDF, as well as a limited-edition, short release, physical print. Both the digital and physical editions of the journal are true artisan works of art and require thousands of hours to put together.
In summary – this is the best looking business journal you’ve ever learned from.
Help Yourself While Helping the World
Bootstrapped has teamed up with Kiva.org to provide micro-loans to entrepreneurs in developing countries.
A portion of all proceeds raised from every issue of Bootstrapped goes toward financing entrepreneurs in developing countries. Kiva uses a micro-loan structure, meaning these contributions take the form of no-interest loans. Every time one of these entrepreneurs successfully repays the loan (which happens over 99% of the time), the money comes back to Insurgent Publishing, and is then reinvested with another entrepreneur building another community-centered business.
In future issues of the magazine, every entrepreneur we finance will be featured and their progress documented.
You will actually SEE the real world impact you’re creating with every dollar you contribute.
Why Kiva?
Images provided by Kiva to advance its mission of connecting people around the world through lending to alleviate poverty.
This magazine is all about bootstrapping entrepreneurship – what could be more appropriate than using a portion of the funds raised by this magazine to support bootstrapping entrepreneurs from all around the globe? By teaming up with Kiva.org, we’re able to funnel a portion of all proceeds to help entrepreneurs in developing countries start, grow and develop their small businesses.
Many of these entrepreneurs only need a few hundred to a few thousand dollars to fund their small businesses.
Which means every dollar donated creates a DRAMATIC impact on not only these bold entrepreneurs, but their families and communities as well.
You’ve probably heard the saying: catch a fish for someone and they’ll eat today. Teach someone how to fish and they’ll eat for the rest of their lives. In many ways, this applies to what we’re trying to do through Kiva.org. While we’re not teaching them how to be entrepreneurs, we are providing financing that they would otherwise not have access to in order to help them grow, run and develop their small businesses – small businesses that will impact their communities in a powerful, positive way.
The real beauty to this program is this: every dollar contributed will continue to be reinvested for years to come. This means every dollar a subscriber donates today will continue to make a difference 30+ years from now.
Can’t say that about every dollar you spend, now can you? 🙂
Here’s a short video from Kiva’s website to explain exactly how all this works:
We are currently accepting submissions for the JANUARY 2015 Issue in the form of:
1) Writing
Are you an entrepreneur, writer or artist working your ass off in the trenches, day in and day out, trying to make an impact? Then we want to hear your story.
Bootstrapped is all about pioneering, hard working entrepreneurs and creatives…
This means we’re looking for:
- Personal stories from people who have started a business from scratch (or third person stories of other people who have started from scratch – in an educational way)
- Stories from individuals who have built something remarkable, lost it all, and are starting from scratch again.
- Educational material for people bootstrapping business (related to growth, marketing, networking, etc.)
- Education/information/advice geared toward new and established entrepreneurs to help them start the RIGHT way (whether a new project, a new business, or a new creative pursuit)
- Something different entirely but still fits the theme of Bootstrapping.
The ‘Form’ Your Writing Should Take:
1. Educational ‘list / framework / step-by-step’ article
- i.e. specific steps someone can take to bootstrap a business (the more specific and practical, the better)
2. Personal story / essay
- Take us through the highs and lows of starting anything from the ground up. These essays should be captivating (think bold intro, a climax and a resolution at the end…something should change about you, the protagonist by the end of the story – something you may not have realized at the outset).
- If this sounds too ‘creative writing’ for your taste – don’t worry – we’re really just looking for honest and raw – don’t shy away from failures, misteps and setbacks – they help people learn.
3. A Quote
- If you don’t think you can swing the full article, but would still love to contribute, simply answer this question in one sentence (or more if you’re inspired!):
What is the single most important thing an entrepreneur or creative just starting out should focus on?
*thing* is general on purpose. It could refer to metrics, objectives, philosophy, whatever – it’s up to you!
Pick What Works for You
We want a good mix of personal stories, where the reader can learn from the mistakes (or successes) of the author, and tangible, step-by-step advice for entrepreneurs and artists (blueprints, frameworks, or strategies the reader can actually put to use today to help them succeed in entrepreneurship).
Other types of submissions we’re open to: poetry (we included one submission in our first issue of the journal) and interview transcripts…and if you have more ideas for something interesting, just reach out to us!
We only want stuff that makes sense for you to write and that will resonate with our passionate audience of entrepreneurs and creatives.
Submission Requirements:
Download: Bootstrapped Writing Submission Template (.doc)
*please download and use the above template if you are interested in contributing a written submission for the journal.*
Submission Type: Please submit your article/poem/essay in a WORD document (.doc or .docx). Please label it as ‘title by name of author‘ (example: ‘How to be extremely handsome by Tom Morkes.doc’).
Please also include a 3 sentence bio (written in the third person), and your website and twitter urls.
*Enter all this information in the form below this section when you’re ready to submit your work!*
Length: 500 – 1500 words. If making it longer or shorter makes it more powerful and impactful, submit it anyway – if it’s good, we’ll take it.
Content: The goal with every piece of content is to knock the wind out of the reader.
We’re looking for high impact stuff here – the kind of content that makes it hard to sit down and read a whole journal in one sitting because every article compels the reader to stand up and get to work. We’re not looking for fluff or filler.
No spelling or grammar mistakes. This is a highly competitive publication – we only accept quality work, so please make sure you proofread your submission (multiple times).
Final Submission Date: 10 October 2014 (if you need more time, we can work together on an individual basis – just shoot us an email)
Restrictions: Must be your original work. We are only interested in unique contributions.
Submit Your Work:
2) Artwork
Are you an illustrator, painter, sketcher, designer, doodler or digital alchemist? Then we want your work.
Submission Requirements:
Size/Quality: We are primarily a digital publication (with the end goal of doing a numbered, limited-edition print of each journal), so all art contributions must be of very high quality. No specific resolution requirements, but generally higher is better.
Please also include a 3 sentence bio (written in the third person), a 300×300 pixel image (.png or .jpg), and your website and twitter urls.
Final Submission Date: 10 October 2014 (if you need more time, we can work together on an individual basis)
Restrictions: Must be your original work. We are only interested in unique contributions. If your content has been published elsewhere, it probably won’t work here (shoot us an email though and we may make exceptions).
Submit Your Art / Photography / Drawins / Images:
Would you like to contribute in a different capacity?
We’re currently looking for help in the following areas:
1) Design
Have experience designing digital or print magazines, journals, periodicals or books? Then we want you our team.
Requirements:
Send us an email with a link to your portfolio (or examples of your work). We’ll be in touch within 48 hours.
2) Editing
Do you have experience as a copy editor, line editor, or just have an eye for catching mistakes (and / or making things sound great on paper)? Then we need your help.
Requirements:
Send us an email with a link to your portfolio (or examples of your work). We’ll be in touch within 48 hours.
3) Join The Insurgent Street Team
The Insurgent Street Team is a small group of passionate readers who want to contribute to the journal by being standard bearers / idea spreaders.
Find out more about what we’re looking for here.
If this sounds like something you’d like to be a part of, don’t hesitate. Join our mailing list today and hit REPLY to your welcome email to get in contact.
FAQ
(okay, no one’s actually asked these questions, but just in case you’re wondering)
1. Do I get paid if I contribute?
In a nutshell – not yet (although our goal down the road is to be able to pay contributors once we’ve bootstrapped this journal to a large enough reader base).
2. So what’s in it for me if I contribute?
A few perks:
- the opportunity to write to a hungry audience of bootstrapping entrepreneurs
- international distribution (making you an internationally published writer / artist / editor)
3. Can I Sponsor or advertise in the next issue?
If you are interested in sponsoring a publication, please reach out to Tom (tom @ insurgentpublishing {dot} com). We only have a few sponsors and want to keep it that way. If you feel like you’d be a good fit, reach out and let’s connect.