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. 

1Mby1M Udemy Courses with Sramana Mitra: Bootstrapping

Over the course of two years, we have released over 70 courses on Udemy with the aim to democratize entrepreneurship education at scale globally. This series of posts aims to help you find the one you need easily and provide you with discount coupons.

Scaling with Virality to 9 Million Users: Postman CEO Abhinav Asthana (Part 1)

If you haven’t already, please study our Bootstrapping Course and Investor Introductions page. 

Postman has found tremendous adoption among developers through word of mouth. Read on to learn more.

Sramana Mitra: Let’s start at the very beginning of your journey. Where are you from? Where were you born, raised, and in what kind of background?

Featured Videos

Unicorn in the Making: Datrium CTO Sazzala Reddy (Part 1)

If you haven’t already, please study our Bootstrapping Course and Investor Introductions page. 

Datrium is executing very well in the cloud-based disaster recovery space. Read on for the company’s journey so far.

Sramana Mitra: Let’s start at the very beginning of your journey. Where are you from? Where were you born, raised, and in what kind of background?

PaaS: Bootstrapping by Piggybacking

We’ve discussed all kinds of creative bootstrapping mechanisms in this series. My #BigIdeas2020 contribution is yet another technique that I believe would be particularly relevant and powerful going forward.

Building a Capital Efficient Startup from Nashville: David Stange, CEO of Beachy (Part 1)

As you know, I love doing stories on entrepreneurs from different parts of the world, especially from geographies that have insignificant presence on the entrepreneurship map of the world.

Here’s a wonderful story from Nashville, Tennessee.

Bootstrapping a Virtual Company to $25 Million: Percona CEO Peter Zaitsev (Part 1)

I am a huge fan of virtual companies, and here is one that has been built with excellent execution from London by a Russian entrepreneur.

Sramana Mitra: Let’s start at the very beginning of your journey. Where are you from? Where were you born, raised, and in what kind of background?

Peter Zaitsev: I was born in what was the Soviet Union. I studied Math and Computer Science in Moscow State University. I started my first startup company while studying.

Bootstraps First to $5M ARR, Raises $10M Later: Toucan Toco CEO Charles Miglietti (Part 1)

French entrepreneur Charles Miglietti tells the story of how he has bootstrapped first to $5M and then closed a $10M round recently.

Sramana Mitra: Let’s start at the very beginning of your journey. Where are you from? Where were you born, raised, and in what kind of background?

Bootstrapping a Tech Company by an English Major: Kevin Groome, Founder of Pica9 (Part 1)

Kevin has done an excellent job of bootstrapping his tech company without a tech background.

Inspiring story for many in his shoes.

Sramana Mitra: Let’s start at the very beginning of your journey. Where are you from? Where were you born, raised, and in what kind of background?

Bootstrapping a Marketplace: Sardor Umrdinov, CEO of Home Alliance (Part 1)

Sardor has bootstrapped a marketplace of home appliance technicians to over $10 million in revenue. Great story.

Sramana Mitra: Let’s start at the very beginning of your journey. Where are you from? Where were you born, raised, and in what kind of background?

Bootstrapping to $33 Million: Freightwise CIO Richard Hoehn (Part 1)

Freightwise is No. 2 on the Inc. 5000 for 2018. Amazing bootstrapping story.

Sramana Mitra: Let’s start at the very beginning of your journey. Where are you from? Where were you born, raised, and in what kind of background?

Richard Hoehn: I grew up in Switzerland. I did an apprenticeship as a machinist – the tool and die maker. After three years, I decided I wanted to go back to school and learn more about computers and technology.

Building a Mission-Driven Company from Sweden: Anders Ankarlid, CEO of A Good Company (Part 1)

Anders is passionate about climate change. His fifth venture is one that explores his passion for sustainability.

Sramana Mitra: Let’s start at the very beginning of your journey. Where are you from? Where were you born, raised, and in what kind of background?