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.

Bootstrapping a Global E-Commerce Company: SmartBuyGlasses CEO David Menning (Part 1)

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

David has bootstrapped a global e-commerce venture from Hong Kong. Splendid execution!

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?

David Menning: I grew up in Sydney. I’ve been educated in Australia. In my later years, I studied at universities overseas both in Canada and Japan for a little while. It was this time when I was abroad spending time in different countries that I was exposed to different business models, cultures, and people. >>>

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Building a Global Enterprise Software Company from Europe: Gero Decker, CEO of Signavio (Part 1)

Very few software companies have been built from Europe with a global footprint. I am about to bring you the story of one that is growing nicely.

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?

Gero Decker: I’m from a town in northern Germany. My father and my uncle were entrepreneurs. My uncle was one of the investors of solar panels. My father built high-precision bases for industrial manufacturing. I was the odd man out in the family who did not go down the path of mechanical engineering. >>>

Competing with Blackline: FloQast CEO Mike Whitmire (Part 1)

When Mike started FloQast, no one knew about Blackline or the account reconciliation opportunity. Although Blackline was already a sizable company, it was little-known, bootstrapped, and away from the public eye. Read how FloQast went for the same market, although with a different positioning, and achieved success.

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?

Mike Whitmire: I was born and raised in Los Angeles, California. I’m a native to the city. I went to college on the East Coast. I >>>

Bootstrapping Decisively to $5M+ in Revenue: Mack Sundaram, CEO of RainmakerForce (Part 1)

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

Mack has built a successful business optimized for autonomy and profitability. Excellent navigation!

Sramana Mitra: Let’s go to the very beginning of your journey. Tell us where you’re from. Where did you grow up? Where were you born and raised?

Mack Sundaram: I was born in South India in a village near Chennai. I spent some time of my childhood in Chennai and Pondicherry. I later went to school in New Delhi. Since then, I moved over to the United States where I got an opportunity to pursue a doctoral degree in Economics. That’s where the transition happened. >>>

Successful Pivots: Anthony Ferry, CEO of PriceSpider (Part 1)

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

Anthony has navigated PriceSpider with some astute strategic moves. Read on to learn more. Strategic maneuverings of real entrepreneurs, by the way, are great learning opportunities.

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?

Anthony Ferry: I was born in Inglewood,California. I haven’t strayed very far from there. I moved down south a little bit into South Orange County in the mid-70’s all the way through high school. In college, I ventured just a little bit up north to a local >>>

Solo Entrepreneur, Bootstrapping with a Paycheck and a Virtual Company: Cedric Savarese, CEO of FormAssembly (Part 1)

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

Cedric’s story is a textbook case study of the kind of entrepreneur we want to see emerge and grow in every corner of the world: a solo entrepreneur who is a developer and a product guy capable of getting to validation while holding onto a day job. Today, Cedric has almost 50 employees spread around the world, and while it maintains a small office of fewer than 10 people in Indiana, the bulk of the company has scaled as a virtual workforce. Excellent model, and I encourage aspiring entrepreneurs to read this carefully.

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 Exit: TimeSlips CEO Mitch Russo (Part 1)

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

Mitch tells the story of how he built TimeSlips and sold it to Sage. Very entertaining as well as instructive.

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?

Mitch Russo: I was born in New York. I was raised in a small community called Manhattan Beach, Brooklyn. It was there that we basically started a rock band. Using the idea of how to build an entertainment platform as a rock band in high school, I learned a lot about entrepreneurship and I learned a lot about what it takes to make money and how to promote and share content. >>>

A Conversation About Sexual Harassment with Janine Yancey, CEO of Emtrain (Part 1)

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

Janine has built a $5M a year bootstrapped business in the realm of legal training for employment and workplace issues. A core part of her expertise is in sexual harassment and related concerns that are currently hot topics in the industry. This is a must-read interview for those following the discussion in the media.

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?

Janine Yancey: I’m from Los Angeles, but then I was educated in Berkeley and then at Hastings College of Law, which is in >>>

Bootstrapping with Sophisticated Strategy: Rob Douglas, CEO of BioConnect (Part 1)

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

Rob has built a thriving founder-financed business from Toronto using very sophisticated strategic maneuvering. I just loved discussing the strategic nuances of this business. You’ll learn a LOT from reading this 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?

Rob Douglas: I’m a Canadian. I was born just outside of Toronto. I have grown up in and around the city of Toronto. I’m >>>

Leveraging Domain Knowledge and Network: Ari Paparo, CEO of Beeswax (Part 1)

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

If you have great domain knowledge and a domain-specific network, both of those can be leveraged to build excellent companies with reasonable amounts of capital and minimum friction. Beeswax is an excellent case in point.

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?

Ari Paparo: I’m a lifelong New Yorker. I’ve lived here most of my life. I went to college in Washington DC and pretty quickly >>>