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 $40M Niche E-Commerce Business: Stroll CEO Dan Roitman (Part 1)

Dan Roitman is the founder and chief executive officer of Stroll, an Internet retailer of lifestyle information products. He founded Stroll in 2000 while a senior in college and has led the firm from startup to present. He is an active member of the Smart100, a local network of chief executive officers. Roitman holds a BS in international business and a BA in German from the University of Maryland at College Park.

Sramana: Dan, let’s start by reviewing the roots of your entrepreneurial journey. Where did you grow up?

Dan Roitman: I was born in Germany and I lived there for nine years before moving to the U.S. My parents are divorced, and both of my parents got remarried. I went from being a single child to having two stepbrothers and two stepsisters at the age of 12. >>>

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Parallel Entrepreneurship: Serguei Beloussov, Founder of Parallels (Part 1)

Serguei is a founder Parallels, where he serves as the chief architect and the executive chairman of the board. Prior to his current positions he also served as the CEO of Parallels. Under Beloussov’s leadership, Parallels grew to profitability and became a market leader in desktop virtualization, OS containers, and control panel offerings. Beloussov holds a B.S. in physics, an M.S. in physics and electrical engineering with high honors, and a Ph.D. in computer science from the Moscow Institute of Physics and Technology.

Sramana: Serguei, let’s start at the beginning of your story. Where do you come from? What are the beginnings of your entrepreneurial journey?

Serguei Beloussov: I was born in St. Petersburg, Russia. At the time it was still the Soviet Union. I attended specialized schools for physics and mathematics in St. Petersburg, which is the second largest city in the country. I participated in a variety of competitions for physics and mathematics for the Soviet Union. >>>

Building a $50M Profitable Social Network Focused on Discovery: Greg Tseng, CEO of Tagged (Part 1)

Greg Tseng is the founder and CEO of Tagged, a social network site focused on helping people meet other people. Prior he co-founded Avivon Inc., which introduced the textbook comparison-shopping agent flyingchickens.com to the Harvard campus during the fall semester of 1999, and he served as COO of Limespot.com LLC. Greg holds an A.B. in chemistry, physics and mathematics from Harvard University. Greg is presently on leave from Stanford University, where he is pursuing a Ph.D. in physics on a National Defense Science and Engineering Graduate Fellowship.

Sramana: Greg, let’s get started by reviewing your background. Where are you from? What are the roots of your entrepreneurial journey?

Greg Tseng: I was born in Taiwan, but my parents immigrated to the U.S. when I was two and a half years old. I grew up in northern Virginia in a suburb of Washington, D.C. I grew up in an Asian household, so my parents really emphasized academics, especially math and science. Throughout high school I was in all the math and science clubs and contests. >>>

Bootstrapping to $7M with DIY Business Apps: Andrew Gazdecki, CEO of Bizness Apps (Part 1)

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

Andrew Gazdecki is the founder and CEO of Bizness Apps, a do-it-yourself iPhone app platform that allows small businesses to easily create, edit, and manage an iPhone app online without any programming knowledge needed. He founded Bizness Apps while attending CSU Chico full time. He is a graduated of CSU with a degree in business marketing.

Sramana: Andrew, let’s start at the beginning of your story. Where are you from and where did you grow up?

Andrew Gazdecki: I am originally from Orange County, California. I grew up in a beautiful beach town. I have two entrepreneurial parents. From the time I was in high school, I have always thought of businesses. I have always had some type of venture going from the time I was a teenager. After I graduated from high school, I went to CSU Chico and had a fantastic time there. While I was in school, I had a goal to start a company every summer. >>>

Rolling Up Analytics Rock Stars: Cardinal Path CEO Andrew Swinand (Part 1)

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

Andrew Swinand is co-founder of Abundant Venture Partners and is also a co-founder of The Owned Agency. He is currently leading Cardinal Path, a digital analytics agency. Prior to forming Abundant Venture Partners, Andrew was president at Starcom MediaVest Group, the world’s largest media agency, with over $40billion in billings and 110 offices. Andrew began his professional career as an account supervisor at BBDO, then served as a brand manager in Procter & Gamble’s beauty care division, later becoming marketing director for reflect.com, P&G’s first e-commerce company. Andrew proudly served his country as a platoon leader in the U.S. Army after receiving his degree from the Wharton School of Business.

Sramana: Andrew, let’s start at the beginning of your story. Where do you come from? What are the roots of your entrepreneurship?

Andrew Swinand: I was born in Camden, New Jersey. I have two older brothers who are identical twins. Both of my parents were from big Catholic families in the Philadelphia area. We lived in New Jersey until middle school when we moved to Washington D.C., followed by a move to Massachusetts during high school. >>>

Playing with Love to $10M: SeekingArrangement Founder Brandon Wade (Part 1)

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

Brandon Wade is the founder of SeekingArrangement.com, a dating website for successful men and women who want to meet them. Prior to founding SeekingArrangement, he worked for Microsoft, GE Power Systems, and Booz Allen Hamilton. He is a graduate of MIT, where he earned both his bachelors and his MBA.

Sramana: Brandon, let’s start at the beginning of your personal journey. What is the backstory to SeekingArrangement?

Brandon Wade: I was born and raised in Singapore. I moved to the States when I was 18 to attend college at MIT. I graduated with my bachelors in 1993 and my MBA in 1995. After I graduated I went to work for some Fortune 500s. I moved to New York City to work for Booz Allen Hamilton. After that I joined General Electric and was a manager in GE Power Systems. >>>

Long Journey to a $435M Exit: Bytemobile Cofounders Chris Koopmans and Nicholas Stavrakos (Part 1)

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

Chris Koopmans is a cofounder and the COO of Bytemobile. He has more than 13 years of industry experience in hardware and software engineering and architecture. He has eight issued and pending patents covering wireless internet protocol (IP) services and optimization technology. Before joining Bytemobile, he worked as an engineer at Intel Corporation’s Microcomputer Research Laboratories and Silicon Graphics’ Cray Research subsidiary. Koopmans earned a B.S. in electrical and computer engineering with highest honors from the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign.

Nicholas Stavrakos is a cofounder and the vice president and chief architect of Bytemobile. He has contributed patents for a method and system for object predication as and a method and system for delta compression. He completed his bachelors and masters degrees in electrical engineering and computer engineering from the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign, as well as the majority of his doctoral work before leaving to found Bytemobile.

Sramana: Chris and Nicholas, let’s start at the beginning of each of your stories. Where did you grow up, and what are the roots of your entrepreneurial careers?

Chris Koopmans: My family was a military family, so I moved all over the world. I graduated from high school in Illinois and went to one of the best engineering colleges in the country, the University of Illinois. That is where we started Bytemobile. It was created on the fourth floor of the science lab with a couple of professors and their PhD students. Nicholas and I were the students. >>>

Bootstrapping to $14M, Solving Serious Pain in IT Lead Generation: DiscoverOrg Cofounder Henry Schuck (Part 1)

Henry has more than 10 years of experience managing the sales and marketing activities of fast-growing IT data companies. Prior to DiscoverOrg he managed marketing and research at Global IT Profiles, LLC and led the company en-route to a successful private equity sale. At DiscoverOrg he manages sales, marketing, and strategic development for the company. He is a cum laude graduate of the University of Nevada – Las Vegas, where he received BS degrees in hotel administration and accounting. Henry also holds a JD cum laude from The Ohio State University Moritz College of Law and has studied comparative law at Oxford University in England. He is a licensed attorney in the State of Nevada.

Sramana: Henry, let’s start with some context about your personal story. Where do you come from? What is the back story that leads to your entrepreneurship journey?

Henry Schuck: I grew up in Los Angeles and I did my undergrad studies at UNLV, where I studied hotel administration and accounting. During the summer of my first year, I took a job at a lead generation company in Las Vegas. >>>

Bootstrapping an Online Education Company to $12M: Pluralsight CEO Aaron Skonnard (Part 1)

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

Aaron is a co-founder of Pluralsight, where he serves as the chief executive officer. Aaron has spent years developing course materials and teaching professional developers throughout the world. He has presented at many popular developer conferences like PDC, TechEd, and VSLive! Microsoft recognized Aaron as an MVP in the “Connected Systems” developer community for eight years. Aaron has written numerous books, articles, and white papers, including the Essential XML Quick Reference (Addison Wesley, 2001), Essential XML (Addison Wesley, 2000), and his popular columns in MSDN Magazine.

Sramana: Aaron, let’s begin your story by reviewing your background. Where do your roots of entrepreneurship originate?

Aaron Skonnard: I grew up in Portland, Oregon. I was always in love with computers. My father purchased one of the first Apple computers as well as one of the very first Compaq PCs. He taught me the basics of programming and things that he had learned on his own. He knew that computers were going to be the future of the world. He exposed us to that as kids, and I just latched on to it. I started writing programs in BASIC in the early days of the PC. >>>

Building India’s Blue Nile: CaratLane CEO Mithun Sacheti (Part 1)

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

[Also check out my Entrepreneur Journeys book, Seed India – How To Navigate The Seed Capital Gap in India]

Mithun Sacheti is the founder of CaratLane, an online jeweler in India and one of the country’s leading ecommerce companies. Mithun grew up in the jewelry industry and prior to founding CaratLane, he opened new stores for his family business throughout the southern regions of the country. He has studied gemology in California and Bombay.

Sramana: Mithun, let’s start at the beginning of your story. What is your journey that leads up to CaratLane?

Mithun Sacheti: My family has been in entrepreneurship for many generations. My father moved to Bombay from Rajasthan to set up his own jewelry stores in Bombay. I was born in Bombay in 1978 and I did my education there before moving to California to study gemology engineering and manufacturing. >>>