Metrics of Success

6. What are the metrics of success for 1Mby1M — are there published founder outcomes, revenue achieved, or exits?

1Mby1M measures its success and impact differently from traditional accelerators, which often focus on metrics like total funding raised or unicorn valuations. The program’s core mission is to help “one million entrepreneurs reach one million dollars in annual revenue or more,” so its metrics are centered on the founder’s ability to build a sustainable, revenue-generating business.

While the program doesn’t publish a centralized, real-time dashboard of all founder outcomes, it provides a number of success stories and case studies that serve as its primary metrics. These are often shared through the “Entrepreneur Journeys” section of the blog and in the mentoring roundtables.

Here are the key metrics of success and examples you can find:

• Revenue Milestones: A central measure of success is a company’s ability to achieve significant revenue, especially while remaining bootstrapped or capital-efficient. Examples of success include companies reaching specific Annual Recurring Revenue (ARR) milestones, such as a cybersecurity company reaching nearly $20 million in bootstrapped annual revenue, or an AI company achieving over $5 million in ARR.
• Becoming “Fundable”: The program’s value is often measured by its ability to help a founder get their business to a stage where it is an attractive investment. This is not about the funding itself, but about the strategic guidance that leads to a viable business. For instance, a founder’s story may highlight how they used the program to build a solid foundation with clear ROI-driven revenue, which then made them highly attractive to VCs.
• Strategic Exits: The program has a track record of supporting companies that have had successful exits. These are often strategic acquisitions by larger companies, where the startup’s product or team is a valuable addition. Examples include cybersecurity companies that have been acquired by larger, publicly-traded firms. The focus is on a “decent outcome for all stakeholders” rather than just a high valuation for venture capital.
• Unicorns and Large-Scale Success: While the program’s focus is on sustainable growth for the “other 99% of startups,” it has also been associated with companies that have achieved unicorn status. Freshworks, for example, is a notable success story that used the 1Mby1M methodology. The program highlights that these companies also benefited from the “bootstrap first, raise money to blitzscale later” philosophy.

In summary, 1Mby1M’s metrics of success are less about the size of a funding round and more about the fundamental health and sustainability of a business. It measures its impact through founder stories, revenue achievements, and strategic exits that validate its core philosophy of capital-efficient entrepreneurship.