You know, it used to be that being a good VC fund meant picking out the diamonds from the rough - companies that had small ideas, but could grow into becoming big companies. Most big tech companies today pivoted into their current models from small-focus ideas, and those small-focus ideas are important because it what gets you quickly to market so you can start iterating and finding PMF.
The point being, I'm not sure how you're really differentiating yourself from any other seed/pre-seed investor. If you're really bootstrapping, then even if you're looking for resources, you're not looking for investment (and the loss of control that comes with it), at any level. Why should someone philosophically limit themselves to seed funding? Does your potential investment view seed investors as having different perspectives than VC investors, i.e. not seeking as quick an ROI as possible? Does anyone really start a company anymore seeking to give up control to VC investors as quickly as possible?
If I were you, I wouldn't say that you're focused on bootstrappers per-say, I'd say that you're focused on companies with limited growth potential, where there are profits to be eked out but not large ones. Your investment model, therefore, recognizes that successful portfolio companies will not re-invest profits back into growth, and you should therefore seek to make back your investment by capturing first future profits, rather than taking equity (which may not fly with bootstrappers).
I think you're right that a lot of big businesses grew into big ones.
However, our thesis is that if you're early stage, there really aren't a lot of places where you can pitch for funding for a business that does not have a shoot for the moon focus.
For example, I don't think ConvertKit would have gotten any kind of VC funding when it was doing $3k MRR (and he was considering shutting it down). Now it's doing $1M MRR and money is probably getting thrown at him.
The point being, I'm not sure how you're really differentiating yourself from any other seed/pre-seed investor. If you're really bootstrapping, then even if you're looking for resources, you're not looking for investment (and the loss of control that comes with it), at any level. Why should someone philosophically limit themselves to seed funding? Does your potential investment view seed investors as having different perspectives than VC investors, i.e. not seeking as quick an ROI as possible? Does anyone really start a company anymore seeking to give up control to VC investors as quickly as possible?
If I were you, I wouldn't say that you're focused on bootstrappers per-say, I'd say that you're focused on companies with limited growth potential, where there are profits to be eked out but not large ones. Your investment model, therefore, recognizes that successful portfolio companies will not re-invest profits back into growth, and you should therefore seek to make back your investment by capturing first future profits, rather than taking equity (which may not fly with bootstrappers).