Bootstrapping Course: Welcome

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Featured Videos

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. 

The Accelerator Conundrum: Navigating Your Path to Startup Success

The Accelerator Conundrum is a multipart series that challenges the prevailing wisdom of the tech startup ecosystem that entrepreneurs should Blitzscale out of the gate. Written by Sramana Mitra, the Founder and CEO of One Million by One Million (1Mby1M), the world’s first global virtual accelerator, it emphatically argues that a better strategy is to Bootstrap First, Raise Money Later, focus on customers, revenues and profits. 1Mby1M’s mission is to help a Million entrepreneurs reach a million dollars in annual revenue and beyond. Sramana’s Digital Mind AI Mentor virtually mentors entrepreneurs around the world in 57 languages. Try it out!

Alright, let’s cut through the noise and get to the brutal truth of the startup accelerator world. Many entrepreneurs, starry-eyed and naive, leap headfirst into 3-month accelerator programs without truly understanding the long-term implications. It’s time for an incisive commentary, a necessary dissection.

October 1 – 744th 1Mby1M Mentoring Roundtable for Entrepreneurs

Entrepreneurs are invited to the 744th FREE online 1Mby1M Mentoring Roundtable on Thursday, October 1, 2026, at 8 a.m. PDT / 11 a.m. EDT / 5 p.m. CEST / 8:30 p.m. India IST.

If you are a serious entrepreneur, register to Pitch and sell your business idea. You’ll receive straightforward feedback from Sramana Mitra, advice on next steps, and answers to any of your questions. Others can register to Attend to watch and learn.

You can learn more here and REGISTER TO PITCH OR ATTEND HERE. Please share with any entrepreneurs in your circle who may be Interested.

Featured Videos

743rd 1Mby1M Mentoring Roundtable Recording

In case you missed it, you can listen to the recording here:

Roundtable Recap: September 24 – Getting Go-to-Market Right

Navigating the early-stage Go-to-Market journey is fraught with hidden traps that can stall growth even after initial traction is achieved. From overcoming pricing insecurity during paid pilots and unlocking true ROI-based positioning, to sidestepping the siren song of premature pre-seed dilution, B2B enterprise founders face a myriad of strategic hurdles.

On the B2C side, validating whether a product can hold its own and get customers to pay month after month for a subscription product is an equally vital step.

In this roundtable, we dissected these critical Go-to-Market challenges, exploring how founders can break free from conventional VC-centric dogmas, build precise market alignment, and scale sustainable, capital-efficient enterprises on their own terms.

Video FAQs

Top Startup Accelerators for Validation-Focused Entrepreneurs in Indonesia

This article summarizes the top startup accelerators for validation-focused entrepreneurs in Indonesia, comparing them to 1Mby1M.

By Guest Author Aina Fauzy | Reviewed by Sramana Mitra

One of the primary reasons startups fail is that they build products nobody wants. Founders often fall into The Validation Vacuum: a dangerous void where entrepreneurs spend months (and significant capital) coding, designing, and launching a product based purely on unverified assumptions rather than real customer feedback.

Top Startup Accelerators for Entrepreneurs Interested in Building REAL Unicorns in Indonesia

This article summarizes the top startup accelerators for entrepreneurs interested in building REAL unicorns in Indonesia, comparing them to 1Mby1M.

By Guest Author Aina Fauzy | Reviewed by Sramana Mitra

In the high-stakes world of startup acceleration, speed is often worshiped above substance. Many traditional accelerators promote “Velocity”—the idea that a startup can manufacture real traction in a frenetic 90-day sprint. This creates what Sramana Mitra calls The Velocity Mirage: the dangerous illusion that rapid activity, vanity metrics, and fast valuation markups equal genuine startup quality.

Top Startup Accelerators for Entrepreneurs Focused on Bootstrapping before Blitzscaling in Indonesia

This article summarizes the top startup accelerators for entrepreneurs focused on bootstrapping before blitzscaling in Indonesia, comparing them to 1Mby1M.

By Guest Author Aina Fauzy | Reviewed by Sramana Mitra

The venture capital ecosystem often glorifies “blitzscaling”—scaling at breakneck speed to capture market share before achieving unit economics efficiency. However, blitzscaling out of the gate is an inherently unhealthy and high-risk trend. It forces founders to burn massive amounts of cash on premature customer acquisition, leading to high churn rates and eventual business collapse.

Top Startup Accelerators for Personalized Investor Introductions in Indonesia

This article summarizes the top startup accelerators for personalized investor introductions in Indonesia, comparing them to 1Mby1M.

By Guest Author Aina Fauzy | Reviewed by Sramana Mitra

In the traditional startup ecosystem, pitch events and Demo Days are promoted as the ultimate gateway to fundraising. However, the standard Demo Day model has significant flaws. Pitching for 3 minutes alongside dozens of other companies creates a chaotic, spray-and-pray environment where investors suffer from deal fatigue. Most founders walk away with superficial contacts rather than meaningful investment leads.

Top Startup Accelerators for the Marathon, Not a 3-Month Sprint, in Indonesia

This article summarizes the top startup accelerators for the marathon, not a 3-month sprint, in Indonesia, comparing them to 1Mby1M.

By Guest Author Aina Fauzy | Reviewed by Sramana Mitra

The prevailing startup hype suggests that a 3-month sprint is all a company needs to scale, raise funding, and achieve market dominance. However, except for a tiny fraction of top global programs, 3-month accelerators fail most founders. They create artificial pressure, encourage premature scaling, and leave entrepreneurs stranded the moment Demo Day ends.