The Joy of Bootstrapping?

Very pleasantly suprising, the article about bootstrapping gave a refreshing view point to startups. Some of his ideas relate to Guy Kawasaki's book "The Art of the Start" but a few points gave suggested easier methods of developing a business.

One of my main worries I have about my startup is acquiring fantastic staff. As described in the article, was to understaff. At first hire people energized and hungry and worry about adult supervision later. I really liked hearing that (as I am worried about hiring etc.) and it made sense. Even though it is really important to have the right inner circle working with the founder, it is really hard to snipe those people out of the crowds. Just worrying about getting motivated, young people to get on ship would be much more probable and cheaper. In the long run, those early hires may even become your 'dream team' so just because your early hires aren't the cream of the crop, doesn't mean they won't grow to something excellent. This more laid back approach to hiring makes creating a working usable staff more reasonable and obtainable. From other readings at the start of the semester, it seemed like a much more daunting task.

Learn then invest! Another excellent point except by the Launching a Risky Project article. You may plan to have a gorgeous day at the beach but unless you get outside and see clouds, you wouldn't know to bring an umbrella in case of rain. It makes sense, I may try and develop the best informational product for my consumer but until I see what works and what they really need, I could have a really misconstrued concept of what a successful product is and what the consumers really need. Launching early and then deciding from there where to go is additionally wise for not investing too heavily in a bad idea. If you test the waters before diving in, it is more likely that where you dive in, you will be able to 'tread water' and swim to the banks (hopefully with a lot of money to deposit). Too many water analogies, I know, hah! Must be all that waterpolo.

For the sake of setting milestones and goals, do you set fairly achievable goals to look very successfully? Or do you set monumental tasks that seem unachievable within the next 5+ years? I think both but which are more important, the small ones, or the big kahuna at the end of the 10 year tunnel?