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.

British Brothers: Scansafe Founders Roy and Eldar Tuvey (Part 1)

ScanSafe pioneered web-based Secure Web Gateway, which blocks malware and secure web-based messaging. Founded in 1999 by brothers Roy and Eldar Tuvey, ScanSafe is a company that invented a new market. In 2007 ScanSafe was named one of the top 100 technology startups in the world by Red Herring and was recognized as a technology innovator and visionary company by Gartner.

SM: Where do you come from? What is your background?

RT: I was born in Israel but my family moved to London when I was very young. I spent a lot of time in Israel until I was 13, but I mainly grew up in London. >>>

Featured Videos

Luminus Devices Founder and Chief Technology Officer Alexei Erchak (Part 1)

Alexei Erchak founded Luminus in 2002 after being awarded his PhD in materials sciences and engineering from MIT. There he designed and tested photonic lattice LED technology which has evolved into PhlatLight, the most powerful LED in the world. PhlatLight offers a 20,000-hour life span and high production volumes (low cost), which has been enticing to TV manufacturing since Samsung elected to use PhlatLight in 2007 for a range of rear-projection televisions. This success has led to expansion of the PhlatLight product line to a wider range of applications.

SM: Alexei, take us back to where your journey begins. Where are you from and how did you get into Luminus?

AE: I grew up in Saratoga Springs, New York. I went to Skidmore College there, which is a small but fairly renowned liberal arts college. I majored in math and physics. >>>

The Montana Mogul: RightNow CEO Greg Gianforte (Part 1)

Greg is a serial entrepreneur and author of Bootstrapping Your Business. He was awarded the 2003 Ernst and Young Entrepreneur of the Year. His current company, RightNow, was founded in 1998, had an IPO in 2004, and has passed $100 million in revenue.

SM: To start, let’s talk about your background.

GG: I am an engineer. My undergraduate degree is in electrical engineering and my masters degree is in computer science. >>>

Pioneering Data On-Demand: Salary.com CEO and Serial Entrepreneur Kent Plunkett (Part 1)

Kent Plunkett is the CEO of Salary.com. His efforts there earned him the Ernst & Young Entrepreneur of the Year award for 2007. He has domain expertise in data on-demand and data syndication, with expertise leveraging this at all levels from the enterprise to the consumer.

SM: Where do you come from? Give us some context about where you grew up and some context that leads us up to Salary.com venture.

KP: I grew up in the Boston area. I was a big fan of Ted Turner, one of the original entrepreneurs of the ’70s. >>>

Journey of a Child Entrepreneur: Scott Wainner (Part 1)

I have interviewed many entrepreneurs, yet few interviews have been as interesting (or entertaining) as Scott Wainner’s. His first company, SysOpt.com, emerged from his childhood hobby of PC performance optimization (founded when Scott was 15). By the time he started college he had a thriving business and a six-figure income. >>>

Urging Authors to be Entrepreneurs: iUniverse CEO Kevin Weiss (Part 1)

Writing a book takes dedication. For many authors it is a culminating, defining feat of their lives. Sadly, the chances of an author’s book actually being read are miniscule at best. >>>

Tackling EDA’s Broken Business Model: Blaze DFM CEO Jacob Jacobsson (Part 1)

There is a common phrase, ‘don’t bite the hand that feeds you’. Business, high tech business in particular, has a series of interdependencies which have evolved into an ecosystem. This is particularly apparent in EDA, where Intel and AMD rely on the tools provided by EDA vendors to design a chip. >>>

Building A Vertical Ad Network Powerhouse: Glam Media CEO Samir Arora (Part 1)

Samir Arora is a serial entrepreneur with a history that includes Rae Technology and NetObjects. Aside from being chairman and CEO of Glam Media, he is chairman (and founder) of Information Capital LLC. Glam Media offers a self-coined ‘vertical content network’ platform. The Glam Media network includes over 400 publishers, all of whom receive an extensive platform of services through their relationship with Glam. Here I discuss Samir’s entrepreneurial roots and his current efforts.

SM: Samir, where does your journey begin?

SA: I was born in New Delhi. I had traditional schooling but was also very serious about acting. I was on stage as early as six and have been in 30 productions. I also wrote some plays and musicals. In school I had a very strong focus on math and physics. My family is filled with business entrepreneurs, which is where I get my passion for business. >>>

Towards Personalization: Strands Founder Francisco Martin (Part 1)

Dr. Francisco Martin, serial entrepreneur and the CEO/Founder of Strands, has found his niche applying AI solutions to various technology problems. At Strands he has developed an intelligent agent which understands and learns your personal tastes via several different methods. >>>

Social Networking Without Boundaries : hi5 CEO Ramu Yalamanchi (Part 1)

Ramu Yalamanchi runs hi5, one of the leading social networking companies in the world. The company is recognized as one of the fastest growing social networking companies. Here I discuss the strategy behind hi5 with Ramu and gain some of his insights for the future. >>>