Bootstrapping Course: Welcome

Nowadays, startups can be built while a founder is still fully employed. Many entrepreneurs start as solo founders and achieve great progress until they need a team. Virtual teams are common these days and easily affordable.

At 1Mby1M, we support employed entrepreneurs and solopreneurs who are at the very beginning of their journeys. They might not even know what to build or how to build it.

We encourage entrepreneurs not to quit their day job until their business becomes fundable or sustainable. 

Hundreds of thousands of entrepreneurs get rejected by investors and accelerators every year. Y Combinator rejects over 95% of their applicants. Andreessen Horowitz rejects 99% of theirs. 

In this mind-boggling stream of rejections, there are numerous high potential companies that need to bootstrap their way to fundability or sustainability.

We accelerate their learning with the 1Mby1M Curriculum and over 1000 case studies of real-life success stories. 

We support their fund-raising efforts through personal introductions to investors.

If you enjoy this course, check out 1Mby1M Basic, our curriculum-only option.

If you’re trying to assess why you’re getting rejections, use the 1Mby1M Self-Assessment.

Featured Videos

How to Create a Monopoly in an Esoteric Niche: Steelcloud CEO Brian Hajost (Part 5)

Sramana Mitra: What is the total size of the company?

Brian Hajost: We will do $8 million this year and we have 27 people.

Sramana Mitra: Are all of them in the Washington DC area?

Brian Hajost: All of them are in our office in Washington DC. As you mentioned, it is a niche product and it’s hard to understand. I cannot hire anybody on the street that has ever done this, at least this development and support work. We have to train. We get good technical people and we train them. It takes mentoring. Most of that is done face to face. 

Colors: Amphan VI

I’m publishing this series on LinkedIn called Colors to explore a topic that I care deeply about: the Renaissance Mind. I am just as passionate about entrepreneurship, technology, and business, as I am about art and culture. In this series, I will typically publish a piece of art – one of my paintings – and I request you to spend a minute or two deeply meditating on it. I urge you to watch your feelings, thoughts, reactions to the piece, and write what comes to you, what thoughts it triggers, in the dialog area. Let us see what stimulation this interaction yields. For today – Amphan VI

Amphan VI | Sramana Mitra, 2020 | Watercolor, Pastel | 9 x 12, On Paper

Video FAQs

533rd 1Mby1M Entrepreneurship Podcast With Gene Caballero, GreenPal

Gene Caballero is Co-founder of GreenPal, a company that was bootstrapped with a paycheck, and has built a sizable two-sided marketplace.

Podcast: Play in new window | Download

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531st Roundtable Recording on May 20, 2021

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

532nd 1Mby1M Entrepreneurship Podcast With Karthee Madasamy, MFV Ventures

Karthee Madasamy is Founder and Managing Partner at Mobile Foundation Ventures. We discuss the nuances of Deep Tech investing.

Podcast: Play in new window | Download

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June 17 – 535th 1Mby1M Mentoring Roundtable for Entrepreneurs

Entrepreneurs are invited to the 535th FREE online 1Mby1M Mentoring Roundtable on Thursday, June 17, 2021, 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, advice on next steps, and answers to any of your questions. Others can register to “attend” to watch, learn, and interact through the online chat.

You can learn more here and register to pitch or attend here. Register and you will receive the recording by email, even if you are unable to attend. Please share with any entrepreneurs in your circle who may be interested. All are welcome!

534th Roundtable Recording on June 10, 2021: With Jon Staenberg, Staenberg Venture Partners

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

Roundtable Recap: June 10 – More on Two-sided Marketplaces

During this week’s roundtable, we had as our guest Jon Staenberg, Managing Partner at Staenberg Venture Partners. We discussed the trends he is seeing and investment thesis he is following.

Foodoop

As for our entrepreneur pitch, we had Chandra Subramanian from Helsinki, Finland, pitch Foodoop, a two-sided marketplace for home cooks to offer their services to consumers.

You can listen to the recording of this roundtable here:

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