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

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.

An Overview of Startup Accelerators in the Greater New York Region

By Guest Author Armaan Kapur

Over the past ten posts of The Accelerator Conundrum Series, I’ve gone deep into the ecosystem of accelerators in the Greater New York region — virtual, non-equity, long-term, bootstrapped, solo-focused, and everything in between. What started as a way to make sense of the chaos has turned into a roadmap for founders trying to navigate their options.

Featured Videos

Startup Africa: Algeria’s Startup Ecosystem – A Deep Dive

Algeria’s startup ecosystem is a growing but still developing landscape, buoyed by government support through initiatives like the Startup Act and the Algeria Startup Fund. While these efforts have fostered a number of incubators and accelerators, they often operate on the traditional model, which I’ve found to be a conundrum for long-term entrepreneurial success. If you haven’t already, please read my The Accelerator Conundrum blog series.

Building a Venture Scale FinTech SaaS Startup: Mike Whitmire, co-founder and CEO of FloQast (Part 1)

Mike has raised over $300M and built an over $250M ARR FinTech SaaS business. Now, AI offers FloQast an opportunity to further strengthen their product roadmap with deep domain knowledge.

Video FAQs

Startup Africa: Morocco’s Startup Ecosystem – A Deep Dive

I’ve spent a lot of time dissecting the startup ecosystem, and my The Accelerator Conundrum blog series goes deep into why traditional, cohort-based, equity-taking accelerators often fail entrepreneurs. For the Moroccan startup community, this is a particularly important discussion. Morocco’s startup scene is vibrant, with a young, tech-savvy population and government initiatives like Morocco Digital 2030. However, the ecosystem is still fragmented, with challenges like limited access to funding and a need for more robust, later-stage support. This is where the 1Mby1M virtual accelerator model becomes a powerful antidote to these issues.

Startup Africa: Tunisia’s Startup Ecosystem – A Deep Dive

Tunisia has emerged as a leader in the North African startup scene, thanks in large part to its groundbreaking “Startup Act,” a government initiative that has created a supportive legal and financial framework for entrepreneurs. This has led to the rise of a number of prominent incubators and accelerators. However, the same Accelerator Conundrum I’ve discussed in my series applies here as well. The question for a Tunisian entrepreneur is not just “Which accelerator should I join?” but rather, “Which model of support best serves my long-term goals?”

Startup Africa: Egypt’s Startup Ecosystem – A Deep Dive

Egypt’s startup ecosystem is a powerful force in the MENA region, driven by its large, young population and a tech-savvy culture. The government has played a crucial role, with initiatives from entities like the Information Technology Industry Development Agency (ITIDA) and the Technology Innovation and Entrepreneurship Center (TIEC). Despite this, the ecosystem, like many, is still grappling with The Accelerator Conundrum: the reliance on traditional, cohort-based models obsessed with Blitzscaling out of the gate that don’t always serve the long-term needs of a startup.

Startup Africa: North Africa’s Startup Ecosystem – An Overview

North Africa’s startup ecosystem is in the midst of a profound transformation. With a large, young, and tech-savvy population, countries like Egypt, Morocco, Tunisia, and Algeria are showing immense entrepreneurial promise. Governments across the region have launched initiatives to support this growth, creating a new wave of incubators and accelerators. But while these efforts are a step in the right direction, they are often built on a traditional model that, as I’ve argued in my The Accelerator Conundrum blog series, presents a fundamental conundrum for long-term entrepreneurial success.

Startup Africa: Why the 1Mby1M Global Virtual Accelerator is a Gamechanger for Africa’s Startup Ecosystem

Africa’s startup ecosystem is buzzing with immense potential. From the vibrant tech hubs of Cape Town, Lagos and Nairobi to the growing scenes in Cairo, a new generation of entrepreneurs is emerging, ready to tackle the continent’s most pressing challenges. But as I’ve articulated extensively in my The Accelerator Conundrum blog series, the traditional support structures that have taken root here are often ill-suited to the long, arduous journey of building a great company.