Bootstrapping

Bootstrapping is referred to as a source of seed money for a new venture which is finding ways to avoid the need for external financing or funding through creativity, ingenuity, thriftiness, cost-cutting, or any means necessary. (The term comes from the adage “pull yourself up by your bootstraps.”) It is the term attached to the general philosophy of minimizing start-up expenses by aggressively pursuing cost-cutting techniques and money-saving tactics. There are many well-known examples of entrepreneurs who bootstrapped to get their companies started. Legend has it that Steve Jobs and partner Steve Wozniak sold a Volkswagen van and a Hewlett-Packard programmable calculator to raise $1,350 which was the initial seed capital for Apple Computer.

Bootstrapping creating a theoretical spot rate curve using one yield projection as the basis for the yield of the next maturity.