How can it be an investment if you are the sole artificer of the outcome of your investment? An investor finds one or more companies that look good and are worth their money and then mostly wait for the profits. But in this case the same people who put the money are the ones planning and executing the business plan. What's the difference in using money earned by running another company rather than using money earned by working for another company? It's the very definition of hair-splitting.
The distinction is very clear: Bootstrapping a business means you can do it without funds, in a "poor" country, without inheriting money or having savings.
It's important because it shifts focus towards executing a business model that is likely to succeed without having to experiment and see "what sticks" first.
Productizing a consulting business is one example. You repackage knowledge you gained while working for clients, into its own product. The only expense in that phase is your 4,99€/mo root server.
The distinction is important because there are people who are interested in one, but not the other, or who can only do one, but not the other.
When we talk about different things, we need different terms to make sure we know what it is that we are talking about.
