In this episode of Bootstrapped, hear about the crafty beginnings of beloved University of Maryland apparel company Route One Apparel. Founder Ali Von Paris used her vast UMD network and her social media savvy to create an online following for her start-up. Witty, regionally-driven products like the 'Get Loh' t-shirt and Terp-themed tailgate tents were an instant hit throughout the UMD community. Now four years old, Route One Apparel has 40 employees and offers over 1,500 products. 

Cold calling was one of Tien Wong's least favorite aspects of his career in real estate finance. Learn how he turned that challenge into CyberRep, Inc. which is valued at $1.7 billion and is now one of the largest call centers in the world operating under XEROX. Tien, a self-proclaimed introvert, is also the founder and host of CONNECTpreneur, a community of 5,000+ CEOs, entrepreneurs and angels. On this episode of Bootstrapped, hear how Tien went from being an entrepreneur convincing his own customers to invest in his startup to becoming an active angel investor.