Bootstrapping Course: Welcome

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Featured Videos

The Startup Velocity Question: What Hinders Acceleration in VC Funded Companies?

I have been running 1Mby1M since 2010. I find myself saying to entrepreneurs ad nauseam that VCs want to invest in startups that can go from zero to $100 million in revenue in 5 to 7 years.

Startups that do not have what it takes to achieve velocity should not be venture funded.

Experienced VCs, over time, have developed heuristics to gauge what constitutes a high growth venture investment thesis. 

The Accelerator Conundrum: Navigating Your Path to Startup Success

The Accelerator Conundrum is a multipart series that challenges the prevailing wisdom of the tech startup ecosystem that entrepreneurs should Blitzscale out of the gate. Written by Sramana Mitra, the Founder and CEO of One Million by One Million (1Mby1M), the world’s first global virtual accelerator, it emphatically argues that a better strategy is to Bootstrap First, Raise Money Later, focus on customers, revenues and profits. 1Mby1M’s mission is to help a Million entrepreneurs reach a million dollars in annual revenue and beyond. Sramana’s Digital Mind AI Mentor virtually mentors entrepreneurs around the world in 57 languages. Try it out!

Alright, let’s cut through the noise and get to the brutal truth of the startup accelerator world. Many entrepreneurs, starry-eyed and naive, leap headfirst into 3-month accelerator programs without truly understanding the long-term implications. It’s time for an incisive commentary, a necessary dissection.

Colors: Curtains in the Wind VII

I’m publishing this series on LinkedIn called Colors to explore a topic that I care deeply about: the Renaissance Mind. I am just as passionate about entrepreneurship, technology, and business, as I am about art and culture. In this series, I will typically publish a piece of art – one of my paintings – and I request you to spend a minute or two deeply meditating on it. I urge you to watch your feelings, thoughts, reactions to the piece, and write what comes to you, what thoughts it triggers, in the dialog area. Let us see what stimulation this interaction yields. For today – Curtains in the Wind VII

Curtains in the Wind VII | Sramana Mitra, 2023 | Watercolor, Ink, Pastel | 12  x 18, On Paper

Featured Videos

January 22 – 715th 1Mby1M Mentoring Roundtable for Entrepreneurs

Entrepreneurs are invited to the 715th FREE online 1Mby1M Mentoring Roundtable on Thursday, January 22, 2026, at 8 a.m. PST / 11 a.m. EST / 5 p.m. CET / 9:30 p.m. India IST.

If you are a serious entrepreneur, register to Pitch and sell your business idea. You’ll receive straightforward feedback from Sramana Mitra, advice on next steps, and answers to any of your questions. Others can register to Attend to watch and learn.

You can learn more here and REGISTER TO PITCH OR ATTEND HERE. Please share with any entrepreneurs in your circle who may be Interested.

How Blitzscaling Can Create Zombie Startups

Nine out of ten startups that sign up for Blitzscaling fail. They become zombie startups. They cannot raise new rounds of financing. They cannot find an Exit either. They just sit there, feeling like failures. Even if they have built $10M in profitable revenue.

Video FAQs

Cloud Stocks: For Adobe, is the Semrush Acquisition Enough?

Adobe’s (NASDAQ: ADBE) stock had a tough run last year, having dropped 21% as the market remains concerned on AI making it so much easier to do what Adobe helped designers do. Adobe has been addressing the issue by aggressively investing in its AI features and embedding AI capabilities into its offerings. Recently, it also announced the acquisition of Semrush to accelerate its AI initiatives. But the market is not fully convinced about the potential.

Why Hypergrowth Is Rare for Startups

I have been running the 1Mby1M global virtual accelerator since 2010. I find myself saying to entrepreneurs ad nauseam that VCs want to invest in startups that can go from zero to $100 million in revenue in 5 to 7 years, which is hypergrowth.

An Overview of Startup Accelerators in the Greater Boston Area

Recently, I have published a series of posts based on The Accelerator Conundrum series. I have delved deep into the ecosystem of accelerators in the Greater Boston Area and researched the startup accelerator environment through multiple criteria – non-equity, virtual, founder-friendly, bootstrapped, solo entrepreneur support, and so much more.

The Twilight Zone of Venture Funded Startups

There is a Twilight Zone in which many venture funded startups exist. The company isn’t growing at a high velocity. No further financing is viable. No exit is viable either. What happens to such startups? And how do you avoid becoming one of these walking deads?

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AI and Tech Startup Course Coupons for January

As the New Year begins, Artificial Intelligence is reshaping every industry and giving founders who act early a decisive edge. 2026 is the year to move from experimentation to execution. Entrepreneurs who understand how to build, validate and scale AI startups are best positioned to capture emerging opportunities across Generative AI, Machine Learning, FinTech, HealthTech, Cybersecurity, customer support automation and more. We provide the following AI startup course coupons to help you start the year with clarity, momentum and a proven path from idea to scalable product, grounded in real-world case studies, best practices and actionable founder frameworks.

To help you kick off the year strong, we’re offering January discount coupons across our entire AI course portfolio. You can dive into focused case-study courses in Generative AI Marketing, AI Cybersecurity, FinTech, HealthTech, Services, and Machine Learning, or choose strategic programs like How to Bootstrap an AI Startup First and Blitzscale Later, How VC Investors Think About AI Startups, and How to Build AI and Machine Learning Startups. Engineers can also explore From Developer to Entrepreneur and AI Startup Ideas. These limited-time coupons make it easier to invest in founder-focused AI education and accelerate your progress in the rapidly expanding AI economy starting now.

We are currently offering up to 85% off with the startup course coupons listed below.

All our tech startup course coupons expire on January 31, so take advantage of these discounts and enroll today!

Artificial Intelligence:

Generative AI Marketing Startup Case Studies: TRY1MBY1MJAN2026GAIM

AI Cybersecurity Startup Case Studies: TRY1MBY1MJAN2026AICS

How to Bootstrap an AI Startup First and Blitzscale Later: TRY1MBY1MJAN2026AIBB

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