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.

May 21 – 727th 1Mby1M Mentoring Roundtable for Entrepreneurs

Entrepreneurs are invited to the 727th FREE online 1Mby1M Mentoring Roundtable on Thursday, May 21, 2026, at 8 a.m. PDT / 11 a.m. EDT / 5 p.m. CEST / 8:30 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.

If you’re ready for free startup mentoring, this is your chance to pitch your startup live and get direct feedback on positioning, TAM, and startup fundability from Sramana Mitra. Hosted by One Million by One Million, a leading non-equity accelerator, this global online accelerator helps founders build real traction and achieve venture capital readiness without giving up equity.

Before registering, review a recent roundtable, read our guide on startup fundability, explore the 1Mby1M Premium program, and learn why equity-free accelerators give founders a structural advantage. Then register to pitch or attend and take the next step toward becoming fundable.

Featured Videos

726th 1Mby1M Mentoring Roundtable Recording

In case you missed it, you can listen to the recording here:

Roundtable Recap: May 14 – A Career Lifeboat is a MUST Nowadays

The current workforce landscape is undergoing a tectonic shift, one where AI-driven restructuring has become the standard corporate euphemism for mass layoffs. During this week’s 1Mby1M roundtable, the conversation centered on a stark reality. The era of the safe corporate job is over. Whether AI is the actual driver or merely a convenient excuse for downsizing, the result is the same. Unprecedented professional vulnerability. My message to those still in their roles is urgent. You MUST create a career lifeboat while you are still employed.

Our new paper, The Career Lifeboat: A Strategic Framework for Professional Resilience in the Age of AI, explains why every professional must develop an independent income-generating capability before AI-driven disruption forces the decision upon them. It provides a practical framework for building a sustainable entrepreneurial safety net through bootstrapping, customer validation, and revenue-first execution.

Video FAQs

Microsoft Offers Voluntary Retirements Instead of Layoffs

Microsoft (Nasdaq: MSFT) announced its third quarter results that outpaced market expectations. But its outlook for the current quarter was not that impressive.

The Solo Founder Rise

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

Sramana Mitra Announces New Strategic Framework as Data Confirms Solo Founders Now Represent 36% of New Startups; 1Mby1M Methodology Validates Individual Founder Model

MENLO PARK, CA – Leading entrepreneurship expert Sramana Mitra today released a strategic analysis of the significant rise in solo-founded startups, backed by recent industry data from Carta. According to the findings, solo founders accounted for 36% of all new company incorporations in the most recent market cycle, a figure that has doubled over the last decade.

This shift marks a fundamental change in the startup ecosystem, where advanced methodology and AI-driven tools are now replacing the traditional requirement for multi-person founding teams. 1Mby1M is positioning its virtual, equity-free accelerator as the institutional standard for this growing demographic of individual entrepreneurs.

Free Courses on Evaluating Startup Accelerators and Course Coupons

Not every startup accelerator is designed for every founder. Entrepreneurs across the world face very different realities depending on geography, funding access, business model, team structure, and personal financial circumstances. Choosing the wrong accelerator can waste time, create pressure to pursue the wrong strategy, and push founders toward goals that do not align with sustainable business growth. To help entrepreneurs make more informed decisions, we have launched several new FREE Udemy courses focused on evaluating startup accelerators from multiple founder perspectives.

These courses explore accelerator selection for Indian founders, African founders, solo founders, entrepreneurs bootstrapping with a paycheck, and founders seeking alternatives to Y Combinator. Each course provides practical frameworks for evaluating mentorship quality, funding expectations, equity tradeoffs, business model alignment, and long-term scalability. Whether you are building a bootstrapped company, pursuing revenue-first growth, or navigating startup ecosystems outside Silicon Valley, these courses are designed to help you identify accelerator programs that genuinely support your entrepreneurial goals.

Plus, save up to 85% on the following courses this month with limited-time coupon if you enroll by May 31, 2026.

Accelerators:

How to Evaluate an Accelerator for Indian Founders: FREE

May 14 – 726th 1Mby1M Mentoring Roundtable for Entrepreneurs

Entrepreneurs are invited to the 726th FREE online 1Mby1M Mentoring Roundtable on Thursday, May 14, 2026, at 8 a.m. PDT / 11 a.m. EDT / 5 p.m. CEST / 8:30 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.

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725th 1Mby1M Mentoring Roundtable Recording

In case you missed it, you can listen to the recording here: