After seven months of preparation, 23-year-old Max Yoder pulled the trigger on his social polling platform, Quipol. But it might not have happened if he hadn’t taken some calculated steps toward launching his first startup.

Max joined the Orr Fellowship after graduating from Indiana University. He bootstrapped his startup by saving $0.61 of every dollar he made through his work on Compendium, a business blogging platform. Max shares some of his tips on bootstrapping in this interview that we filmed on dueling iphones.

Quipol has already generated some buzz and continues to build its user base, but it’s not all sunshine and rainbows. Like most founders, Max wishes he had launched his startup sooner and he battles to steady the emotional roller coaster of building a business. This conversation is jam-packed with Max’s enthusiasm and self-awareness.

Make sure to watch the entire interview to hear some good stories and lessons learned from life building a startup. Keep an eye out for Max to hit the stage at the Verge Winter 2011 event, where he’ll be pitching Quipol.