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 Latin American Social Networking Powerhouse With 50 Million Users: Sonico CEO Rodrigo Teijeiro (Part 1)

Rodrigo Teijeiro is the founder and CEO of Sonico, a social network for Latin America. He studied business administration at the University of Southern California and economics at theUniversidad de San Andrés. He is a self-proclaimed Internet addict and was able to position Sonico as the social network of choice for Latin America in just two years.

Sramana: Rodrigo, take us through your personal journey. Where are you from, where did you grow up, and what road did you take to become an entrepreneur?

Rodrigo Teijeiro: I was born in Buenos Aires, Argentina. When I was four my parents decided to go to the U.S. for a few years because he worked for the IMF and World Bank, and we lived there for five years, which is when I learned English. >>>

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From Mannarakoil To CEO Of Global Scholar: Kal Raman’s Journey (Part 1)

Sramana: In 1996 when you finally left Walmart, the Internet was starting to emerge.

Kal Raman: Absolutely. I had a great mentor at Walmart, Mr. Doyle Graham, who is no more. He was like a father figure to me. He was the CIO of the international [division]; unfortunately, he passed when we was the same age as my father. >>>

From Mannarakoil To CEO Of Global Scholar: Kal Raman’s Journey (Part 1)

Kal is the CEO of GlobalScholar.com. Prior to joining GlobalScholar.com, he was senior vice president of the world wide hardlines business at Amazon.com from August 2004. From 2001 to 2004, he was the CEO of drugstore.com and also served as COO and CIO. Prior to drugstore.com, Kal has served as the CIO of NationsRent and senior director of technology at Blockbuster and as director of technology at Walmart. He began his career with Tata Consulting Services.

Sramana: Kal, tell me a bit about where you come from and your background.

Kal Raman: My name is Kalrana Raman Srinivasan, but people here call me Kal Raman. This country gave me everything I have but took 50% of my name; I suppose it was a fair trade! >>>

Connecting The Censored Internet: AnchorFree CEO David Gorodyansky, Mountain View, CA (Part 1)

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

David Gorodyansky is the CEO and co-founder of AnchorFree. Previously, David founded Intelligent Buying Inc., a profitable asset management company and reseller of IT enterprise networking equipment. Prior to that, David launched a B2B Web service in the field of competitive intelligence, which in turn, gave rise to the spin-off of a large network of IT service management portals. David’s earlier work experience has included several years of wireless research, planning, and enterprise strategy at Remedy Corporation, Fulcrum Management, and work with analyst companies such as Gartner Group, IDC, and Meta Group. David is a member of the Society of Competitive Intelligence Professionals and an advisor on the Technology Expert Council to Edwin M. Lee, the mayor of San Francisco.

Sramana Mitra: David, where are you from and where does your story begin?

David Gorodyansky: I was born in Moscow, Russia. I moved to Palo Alto with my parents when I was nine, so I pretty much grew up here. >>>

Growing A SaaS Startup With Velocity: Marketo CEO Phil Fernandez (Part 1)

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

Sramana: Phil, let’s start with your background. Where does your entrepreneurial journey begin?

Phil Fernandez: I’m from Ohio but I grew up all over the place, although I spent a lot of time in California. My entrepreneurial journey started in a serious way in the 1970s while I was in high school in Phoenix. Today kids learn to program all the time, but back then I had a unique opportunity to learn to program and got a job in high school as a computer programmer, which was a pretty serious position. >>>

A Case Study In SEO And Affiliate Marketing: MyCorporation CEO Deborah Sweeney (Part 1)

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

Deborah Sweeney is the CEO of MyCorporation Business Services, Inc. (“MyCorporation.com”). She has extensive experience in the startup and industry as she has been involved in the formation of hundreds of thousands of MyCorporation.com’s customers. Ms. Sweeney joined MyCorporation in 2003 after serving as outside general counsel for five years. She received her JD and MBA from Pepperdine University and is a member of the American Bar Association

Sramana: Deborah, let’s go back to where your story begins. Tell me about where you grew up and what kind of background you come from.

Deborah Sweeney: I grew up in Los Angeles and have one brother. We are a very close-knit family. I met my husband in law school and now live about 12 miles from my hometown. I haven’t moved far from my family, and they still help me with my business today. >>>

Bootstrapping To $1 Million, Then Growing to $40 Million: iContact CEO Ryan Allis: Chapel Hill, North Carolina (Part 1)

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

Ryan is the co-founder and CEO of iContact, a provider of e-mail marketing software.. iContact currently has 300 employees, 700,000 users, and $50 million in annual revenues. Ryan has been an entrepreneur since he started Allis Computing at age 11 in 1995. He is an active angel investor through the Humanity Fund, which invests in socially responsible high-growth businesses in the U.S. and East Africa. Ryan is also the founder and chairman of Virante, Inc., a 15-employee Web marketing consulting firm based Raleigh, North Carolina, and the author of the book Zero to One Million, published by McGraw-Hill, which reached #2 overall on Amazon.com and the Wall Street Journal Bestseller list. On the nonprofit side, Ryan is currently the board Chairman for Nourish International, which has chapters at 22 colleges across the United States. In 2009, he received recognition as one of the Ten Outstanding Young Americans by the U.S. Junior Chamber. Ryan attended the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, where he was an economics major and a Blanchard Scholar. Ryan is currently enrolled in the EO/MIT Entrepreneurial Masters Program (EMP). >>>

Monetizing Free Traffic That Refuses To Convert To Premium: SocialVibe CEO Jay Samit, Los Angeles (Part 1)

Jay Samit is a serial entrepreneur and the CEO of SocialVibe, a company that focuses on monetizing Internet traffic by allowing users to select charitable donations for viewed advertisements. He began his career by founding Jasmine Multimedia, one of the first companies to develop video multimedia on computer platforms. He has also served as a senior executive at Universal Studios, EMI and Sony. He has a BS with honors from the University of California, Los Angeles.

Sramana: Jay, to begin let’s learn a little bit about you and the back-story leading up to SocialVibe.

Jay Samit: I grew up in Philadelphia. My father was a math teacher and my mother was an English teacher. My dad eventually left teaching and started a restaurant. >>>

Plug-and-Play Cloud Storage At Home: Cloud Engines CEO Daniel Putterman (Part 1)

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

Daniel Putterman is the president and CEO of Cloud Engines. Prior to his current position he founded Mediabolic in 1999 and served as CEO until its sale to Macrovision (now Rovi) in 2007. Additionally, he founded MaxInfo, the first collaborative Web media design software for the Internet (and acquired by NetManage), as well as EoExchange, a multimedia search engine for the Web. Over the past 20 years, Daniel has worked as an entrepreneur advocate, and has invested and teamed with colleagues to launch numerous Silicon Valley companies. >>>

Making Millions Out Of Artificial Intelligence: Brighterion CEO Akli Adjaoute (Part 1)

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

Dr. Adjaoute is a leading figure in the international cognitive science community and the CEO of Brighterion, which offers a full suite of products for real-time fraud prevention, compliance, and homeland security intelligence. Prior to Brighterion he was the founder, president, and CEO of Cognitix Technologies. Dr. Adjaoute has a PhD in artificial intelligence and mathematics from Université Pierre et Marie Curie [University of Paris VI]. Dr. Adjaoute has also served as the scientific director for the European Research Institute for two years.

Sramana: Akli, I understand that you have a very long history before you entered entrepreneurship. Would you tell me about your background?

Akli Adjaoute: I was raised in France, but I was born in Kabylia, which is in Berber. It is one of the most beautiful countries on earth. The country is renowned for people’s desire to respect everyone, particularly women. >>>