[tom_rath]

Okay, worst case: It doesn't sound as though you would be facing bankruptcy. You would just have burned through 100% of your savings and be left with nothing. That's still not pleasant, but it's a big difference from being bankrupt.

I also started, bootstrapped, in a very competitive B2B space and it took years to get significant traction and comfortable profitability. However, the feedback I received from potential customers made it clear I was addressing an actual market and that, if I could build a product which suited the market I was targeting, I would receive more than enough profit to compensate for the effort I had expended to build the business. I was, I did and it has, but it wasn't easy.

So, my advice to you would be: Be realistic about your business. Examine your chosen market and identify if the customer base and the pricing you have planned would be sufficient to support you within the next six months. If it is, focus laser-sharp on that market and address it in the best way possible. If it isn't, put things on hold, start consulting for a bit or take on a job to build up your reservoir of cash. I can almost guarantee it's going to take a lot longer to build your business to profitability than you have planned, so just assume your savings are gone.

For myself, I had set aside an amount which I had thought more than sufficient to build a business and it took all of my savings (and a bit of debt) before things were positive. No matter how you look at it that's a hard game of 'chicken' to play, but it's what bootstrapping is all about.