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.

Raising $20 Million from Angel Investors: Everyone Counts CEO Lori Steele Contorer (Part 1)

Here’s a ‘what not to do’ lesson from Lori, except, she didn’t have any choice. A story of resilience that is now turning a corner, preparing for much bigger growth.

Sramana Mitra: Let’s go to the very beginning of your story. Where are you from? Where were you born, raised, and in what kind of circumstances?

Lori Steele Contorer: I was born and raised in a small town in Ohio. I was raised primarily by my mother and my mother’s mother. I had a sister.  My mom’s sister was also a part of our family. I was raised in a lower middle class family that wasn’t into business or entrepreneurship at all.

Sramana Mitra: What about college? >>>

Featured Videos

Serial Entrepreneurship in Pittsburgh: Ron Bianchini’s Amazing Journey (Part 1)

Ron is a fellow MIT alumnus who went to Carnegie Mellon for his PhD, and subsequently has done three successful systems ventures. This story offers insights into his methodology.

Sramana Mitra: Let’s go back to the very beginning of your story. Where were you born, raised, and in what kind of circumstances?

Ron Bianchini: I was born and raised in Brooklyn, New York in a very large Italian family. If you put a dot on my grandmother’s house at 35^th Avenue and go out on a five-mile radius, you’d probably capture 30 to 50 Bianchinis. >>>

Successful Pivots on Product, Market, Business Model: Gigya Co-Founder and Chief Strategy Officer Eyal Magen (Part 1)

Gigya started off with one set of market assumptions, and along the way, pivoted to a drastically different market, addressing an entirely different pain point. Four years later, it switched from an ad-supported business model to SaaS. It survived all these changes, and has now built a robust company, fueled by over $100 million of funding, strong customer growth, and overall execution. Read this very interesting, decade-long journey related by one of the co-founders of the company.

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

Eyal Magen: I was born in Israel. I was raised here. I was interested both in computers and psychology when I was in high school. I think the combination of psychology and computers is something that is very necessary for being an entrepreneur. That’s my early background. >>>

A Textbook Case Study of Capital Efficient Entrepreneurship: Bhavin Parikh, CEO of Magoosh (Part 1)

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

Bhavin Parikh and his now departed co-founder Hansoo Lee have built Magoosh with textbook diligence and great discipline. Along the way, Hansoo died of lung cancer, a tragedy that hangs over the company both as misfortune and as inspiration. Read this wonderful story of young Berkeley students pulling together a great business and executing with straight up common sense.

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

Bhavin Parikh: I was born in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. My parents are from India. They’re both physicians. At some point, I thought about becoming a doctor but during an internship, I fainted. So I knew that path wasn’t for me. I went to Duke University for undergrad and pursued degrees in Economics and Computer Science. Then, I moved to Philadelphia where I worked for Deloitte in technology consulting, right at the intersection of business and technology. It allowed me to utilize both of my degrees and work with people. >>>

Bootstrapping from Belgium: iText CEO Bruno Lowagie (Part 1)

Bruno has bootstrapped a highly profitable company from Belgium. Now what?

Sramana Mitra: Where are you from?

Bruno Lowagie: I’m from Belgium.

Sramana Mitra: I’m married to a Belgian. Were you born and raised in Belgium?

Bruno Lowagie: Yes, I was born in Ypres, which is in the west of Flanders. I lived there until I was 18. I went to college in Gent. I met Ingeborg there.

Sramana Mitra: You’re co-founders?

Bruno Lowagie: Yes. We married there. >>>

From Y Combinator to Customer Traction and $50 Million in Financing: MemSQL CEO Eric Frenkiel (Part 1)

Eric and his co-founder Nikita left Facebook to join YCombinator to develop their idea for MemSQL. The company has blossomed into a robust enterprise software business with a solid customer base.

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?

Eric Frenkiel: I was born and raised in Southern California. I studied at Stanford when I actually decided to specialize in engineering. I looked at a lot of schools and I thought that Stanford was the best place for me to grow and learn. I graduated in 2008.

Sramana Mitra: What kind of engineering did you study at Stanford?

Eric Frenkiel: Operation Research. You would call it industrial engineering in another time. In Stanford, it’s called Management Science and Engineering. >>>

Competing with Box and Dropbox: Soonr Co-Founder and CTO Steven Boye (Part 1)

How does a little company with most of its engineering in Denmark compete with Box and Dropbox? Read the story of Soonr.

Sramana Mitra: What is the beginning of your entrepreneurial journey? Where are you from? Where were you born and raised? What’s the back story of the entrepreneurship story?

Steven Boye: I’m a US-Danish citizen. I was born in 1962 in Denmark. My mother is American. I always had strong ties with Europe and America. I graduated as an engineer in electronics. I started in entrepreneurship shortly after that.

Sramana Mitra: Where did you do your studies? >>>

Don’t Pivot Too Soon: ADARA Co-Founder and CTO Charles Mi (Part 1)

The Lean Startup methodology has created a frenzy to pivot. Entrepreneurs seek instant gratification, and when they don’t get it, they rush to pivot. The market is strewn with false negativities as a result, because entrepreneurs don’t have the patience to stay with a concept, develop it, and sell it.

ADARA is a counter-example that pivoted, but to an idea that took a lot of lengthy selling to gain ground.

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 Using Services From Colorado: InteliSecure CTO Chuck Bloomquist (Part 1)

Chuck has bootstrapped a security company using services all the way up to $16 million in revenue and has recently raised private equity capital to develop a platform product.

Sramana Mitra: Let’s start at the very beginning of your story. Where are you from? Where did you grow up? What kind of background leads up to this story?

Chuck Bloomquist: I was born in El Paso, Texas. I spent most of my youth living in the Pacific Basin. After we moved out of Texas, we moved to Wake Island. Then, we went to Hawaii and lived there for a year or so. Then, we moved up to Alaska and the UK. I came back to Texas for college. I then migrated to Colorado.

Sramana Mitra: After college, you graduated to Colorado? >>>

Building an SMB SaaS Business: Stitch Labs CEO Brandon Levey (Part 1)

I am quite bullish on SaaS solutions for the SMB market. Here’s one that is doing well.

Sramana Mitra: Let’s go back to the very beginning. Where were you born, raised, and in what kind of background?

Brandon Levey: I was born and raised in Michigan. My family has a long history of entrepreneurship—from my great grandparents to my dad and his siblings. I started driving to work with my dad when I was five years old. He would pay me $5 a day to just sit with him on certain weekdays to visit clients. I started working in his sheet metal shop on Saturdays when I was nine. I wasn’t allowed to use all of the tools because I was only nine. I started working full-time for him over the summers between eighth grade and ninth grade. I worked as a commercial installer. Before I could drive, he would drop me off and pick me up at six at night. He made sure that others didn’t treat me like the boss’ son, which was nice. >>>