Built without venture capital. Then sold.

62bootstrapped to the end, then acquired or bought out

Readers will look for these names, so they are listed here rather than left to look like an oversight. Each company below financed its growth without venture capital, right up to an acquisition or a majority buyout. The journey is real and sourced; the independence is over. Further down: 18 family investment groups, reviewed and deliberately left out.

Part oneBootstrapped, then acquired

62 companies

A directory of companies that operate without outside capital cannot keep the ones that no longer operate on their own. Each entry states the acquirer and the year. Minority stakes are treated differently: a company that stayed independent remains in the main index, labelled as such.

Part twoFamily investment groups

18 reviewed, none listed

Family-owned operating companies are welcome in the index. Families that function as investment groups, buying and holding portfolios of companies through a family holding or fund, are not: that is capital allocation, not bootstrapping. The best-known European example is the Mulliez family (Auchan, Decathlon, Leroy Merlin, Kiabi) and its investment arms. The groups below were reviewed and deliberately left out.