verb help oneself, often through improvised means.
noun a strap that is looped and sewn to the top of a boot for pulling it on.
Examples
“He used his business experience as a bootstrap to win voters.”
“Sam spent years bootstrapping himself through college.”
“Bootstrapping means building the GNU C Library, GNU Compiler Collection and several other key system programs.http//www.gentoo.org/doc/en/handbook/handbook-x86.xml?part=1&chap=6”