Startup Thailand: Thai Accelerators vs. 1Mby1M

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!

So far in this series, we’ve explored the philosophy of startup acceleration, mapped Thailand’s accelerator landscape, and analyzed the strengths and weaknesses of local programs. Now, let’s directly compare these accelerators to 1Mby1M, the global virtual accelerator I built based on decades of working with entrepreneurs around the world.

The contrast isn’t just about geography. It’s about philosophy, structure, and outcomes. Thai accelerators are deeply rooted in the local market and physical ecosystems. 1Mby1M, by design, transcends geography and language barriers, offering a continuous, scalable model that is especially powerful for founders navigating both Thai and global markets.

The comparison at a glance

Implications for Thai founders

1. The Demo Day dilemma.
Thai accelerators often treat Demo Day as the climax. This encourages founders to focus on raising capital rather than building profitable, scalable businesses.
1Mby1M reverses this logic: we emphasize Bootstrap First, Raise Capital Later. Founders learn to grow through paying customers, ensuring they don’t burn out or lose control due to premature fundraising.

2. The mentorship gap.
In Thailand, mentor access is fragmented. Many programs rely on guest experts who appear occasionally, offering inspirational but short-lived advice.
At 1Mby1M, mentorship is continuous and structured. Our AI Mentor, available in Thai, ensures founders can access guidance anytime — from refining a pitch deck to practicing a customer discovery script — without waiting for the next session.

3. Language as a growth bottleneck.
Many Thai founders think in Thai but are forced to operate in English when dealing with investors, partners, or foreign customers. This often creates misunderstandings and slows iteration.
The AI Mentor’s multilingual capability removes this barrier by enabling strategy discussions and content creation directly in Thai, preserving cultural nuance and clarity.

4. Retaining equity and control.
Equity-for-mentorship models can leave founders with complicated cap tables early in their journey. With 1Mby1M, you keep your equity and pay for mentorship as a service, ensuring you have the freedom to grow at your own pace.

When to combine models

These two approaches aren’t mutually exclusive. A Thai founder might join dtac Accelerate to access telco pilots while simultaneously using 1Mby1M for long-term strategy and global investor readiness.
This hybrid approach leverages local strengths while addressing gaps in mentorship, continuity, and language.

In the final part of this series, we’ll explore why 1Mby1M’s AI Mentor, with its Thai-language capability, is a transformative force for Thailand’s startup ecosystem — and how it can help founders build globally competitive businesses while staying true to their local roots.

One Million by One Million (1Mby1M) is the first global virtual accelerator in the world, founded in 2010 by Silicon Valley serial Entrepreneur Sramana Mitra. It offers a fully online entrepreneurship incubation, acceleration and education resource for solo entrepreneurs and bootstrapped founders working on tech and tech-enabled services ventures. 1Mby1M does not charge equity, offers an AI Mentor in 57 languages, and offers a distinct advantage over other accelerators including Y Combinator.

This segment is a part in the series : Startup Thailand