1Mby1M Virtual Accelerator AI Investor Forum: Mohanjit Jolly, Partner at Iron Pillar (Part 3)

Sramana Mitra: Congratulations. Wonderful. Now, I have a question based on what you said, because I remember what you told me when we last spoke about your B2C investment thesis.

Are you still thinking that the first five to ten million dollars of revenue in B2C brands in India are online only, and then they go omnichannel?

Mohanjit Jolly: It’s interesting you asked that. We just had a long pipeline call last night where we went through a number of companies in the pipeline, several of them consumer or B2C companies in the low to mid single digits. These are not companies we’re looking to invest in immediately, but we’re tracking to see how they reach our sweet spot.

As entrepreneurs have matured, one thing I’ve noticed since I moved to India in 2007 is the evolution of sophistication. The level of maturity among entrepreneurs has really increased. India as a market has matured, and the bench strength — whether second or third-time founders or experienced team members — has grown. Their experience, both in successes and failures, leads to more refined business planning and go-to-market strategies.

To come back to your question, especially in the B2C landscape, entrepreneurs are realizing they need a dual strategy. While they may start primarily online, once they reach low single-digit millions in revenue, they often add an offline component.

We spoke about a company yesterday in the fashion business doing about $2.5 million in annual revenue and growing fast. About 70–75% of its business is online, while 25% comes from its first few stores. So, it really depends on geography and market. In India, where we invest, you have to have that dual strategy earlier.

Sramana Mitra: The categories you’re talking about — jewelry and fashion — tend to need some human interaction and trying things on. That has something to do with it as well.

Mohanjit Jolly: That’s right. The other piece that’s fascinating is how vertical integration creates both scale and margin.

In the case of Bluestone, for example, they source, design, manufacture, sell, and service all in-house, leading to healthier margins. Similarly, FreshtoHome — a vertically integrated fish and poultry company — has now gone global. They source the fish, manage the entire supply chain, clean, package, and deliver within 24 to 36 hours.

Having that vertical integration is another key part of our thesis for B2C companies.

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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.

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!

This segment is part 3 in the series : 1Mby1M Virtual Accelerator AI Investor Forum: Mohanjit Jolly, Partner at Iron Pillar
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