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.

Top Accelerators for Personalized Investor Introductions in the Baltic Countries 

This article summarizes the top accelerators for personalized investor introductions in the Baltic Countries and compares them to 1Mby1M.

By Guest Author Elnur Gurbanzade | Reviewed by Sramana Mitra

Fundraising is hard for almost every startup founder, but it is especially hard for founders who mistake visibility for viability. Getting in front of investors is only the first step; getting in front of the right investors, at the right time, is what actually moves a company toward a term sheet. Many founders assume that a Demo Day appearance is the finish line of the fundraising process, when in reality it is often just a noisy starting gun. Standing on a stage in front of fifty or a hundred investors feels productive, but it rarely produces the kind of investor-fit conversations that lead to a check being written.

Featured Videos

Top Non-Equity Startup Accelerators in New Mexico

This article summarizes the top non-equity startup accelerators in New Mexico and compares them with 1Mby1M.

By Guest Author Ruth Munyoki | Reviewed by Sramana Mitra

Many entrepreneurs believe that joining a traditional startup accelerator is the only way to access mentoring, funding, and business support. While these programs can help startups grow, they often require founders to give up equity in exchange for investment and mentorship.

Top Equity-Free Accelerators in Lisbon for Startup Founders

This article summarizes the top equity-free accelerators in Lisbon and compares them to 1Mby1M across mentorship, funding opportunities, equity-free programs, and founder support options.

By Guest Author Rithika Bavireddy | Reviewed by Sramana Mitra

For many startup founders, giving away equity is one of the most difficult decisions they will make during the early stages of building a company. Equity represents ownership, control, and future upside. While accelerator programs can provide valuable mentorship, networks, and investor access, the cost of participation can sometimes include a percentage of the company itself. The Accelerator Conundrum Series looks at the implications of such an exchange and highlights the importance of choosing equity-free accelerators. 

Video FAQs

Top Virtual Accelerators in Lisbon

This article summarizes the top virtual accelerators in Lisbon and compares them to 1Mby1M across mentorship, funding opportunities, equity-free programs, and founder support options.

By Guest Author Rithika Bavireddy | Reviewed by Sramana Mitra

Lisbon has emerged as one of Europe’s most active startup hubs. Over the past decade, the Portuguese capital has attracted founders, investors, accelerators, and technology companies from around the world. The city’s growing reputation is supported by a combination of government support, international talent, startup-friendly policies, and events such as Web Summit.

July 30 – 736th 1Mby1M Mentoring Roundtable for Entrepreneurs

Entrepreneurs are invited to the 736th FREE online 1Mby1M Mentoring Roundtable on Thursday, July 30, 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.

735th 1Mby1M Mentoring Roundtable Recording

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

Roundtable Recap: July 23 – Stop Chasing the 0.01% Outlier: Why Founders Need a Probability-Based Startup Strategy

Stop optimizing your startup for a statistical illusion.

For years, the startup ecosystem has worshiped at the altar of the unicorn, pushing founders to chase a 0.01% outlier outcome at all costs. We are fed a relentless narrative that real success requires raising institutional venture capital, burning massive amounts of cash through blitzscaling, and surrendering large chunks of equity before you’ve even found product-market fit.

The data tells a completely different story:

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

This article summarizes the top startup accelerators for entrepreneurs interested in building REAL unicorns in Florida, comparing them to 1Mby1M across philosophy, equity, duration, and support structure.

By Guest Author Kanav Sah | Reviewed by Sramana Mitra

The Accelerator Conundrum is a multipart series by Sramana Mitra that questions the startup ecosystem’s default advice to raise big and grow fast. Mitra argues that for most founders building tech and tech-enabled businesses, chasing capital before validating the business produces a familiar set of outcomes: bloated burn rates, premature scaling, diluted equity, and companies that never reach profitability. The smarter path, she argues, is to bootstrap first, build on a foundation of real revenue, and raise later from a position of strength.