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. 

1Mby1M Udemy Courses with Sramana Mitra: Bootstrapping

Over the course of two years, we have released over 70 courses on Udemy with the aim to democratize entrepreneurship education at scale globally. This series of posts aims to help you find the one you need easily and provide you with discount coupons.

Building a SMS API Company from London: Nexmo CEO Tony Jamous (Part 1)

If you haven’t already, please study our Bootstrapping Course and Investor Introductions page. 

Tony Jamous is the CEO and co-founder of Nexmo, a company that hosts a cloud-based SMS API which allows high volume transmission of messages at wholesale prices. Tony spent 12 years in the wholesale messaging industry at mBlox and Paymo, where he opened mobile messaging and payment services in more than 82 markets. He managed carrier relationships and helped aggregators and resellers increase their revenues in the fast-growing A2P market. He graduated from IMD business school, the Institut d’Administration des Entreprises , and the Institut national polytechnique de Grenoble.

Sramana: Tony, let’s start with your personal background. Where do you come from? What kind of circumstances did you have in your early life that lead up to a life as an entrepreneur?

Tony Jamous: I was born in 1980 in Lebanon. I spent 17 years in Beirut, after which I moved to France to study computer science. There was a civil war the entire time I was in Lebanon, so for the first 17 years of my life that is all I really knew. That has taught me a lot about having a survival instinct, which is needed by entrepreneurs. That impacts the way I do business. >>>

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Bootstrapping with $120k Credit Card Debt to $7m Revenue: Scott Skinger, CEO of TrainSignal (Part 1)

If you haven’t already, please study our Bootstrapping Course and Investor Introductions page. 

Scott Skinger is the founder and CEO of TrainSignal, a Chicago-based company that makes computer training for IT professionals. Founded in 2002, it has grown to exceed $7 million in revenue after being bootstrapped on personal credit cards. Prior to founding TrainSignal, he was the president of SAS Technology Advisors, and prior to that position, he worked with Computer Learning Center. He studied psychology and graduated from Northern Illinois University.

Sramana: Scott, let’s start at the very beginning of your story. Where were you born, and what kind of environment where you raised in that led to your entrepreneurial journey?

Scott Skinger: I was born in Chicago Heights, Illinois. My parents got divorced when I was five. I lived with my mother for most of my life and then moved in with my father when I was in high school. I went to college at Northern Illinois University and graduated with a bachelor of arts in psychology. After I graduated, I decided not to pursue a doctorate. I really struggled for six years trying to find myself and find a career I could be passionate about. >>>

India’s Flagship Global Product Story: Druva CEO Jaspreet Singh (Part 1)

If you haven’t already, please study our Bootstrapping Course and Investor Introductions page. 

[This interview is featured in my Entrepreneur Journeys book, Seed India – How To Navigate The Seed Capital Gap in India]

Jaspreet is a co-founder and CEO of Druva. An entrepreneur at heart, he bootstrapped the company while defining the product, sales and marketing strategies that have resulted in Druva’s early and impressive success. Prior to founding Druva, Jaspreet was a member of the storage foundation group at Veritas. He also held a number of engineering specific roles at Ensim Corporation. Jaspreet holds a bachelors degree in computer science from IIT Guwahati.

Sramana: Jaspreet, let’s start with your personal story. What is the background to your entrepreneurial story?

Jaspreet Singh: My father was in the Air Force, so I tell people I was born and raised in India. I have lived in all over the country and have spent a lot of time in the western part of the country. I knew different cultures and I had a lot of friends all over the place. I went on to study computer science at IIT Guwahati. >>>

Niche E-Commerce to $5M: Dan Dillon, CEO of CleanItSupply.com (Part 1)

Dan Dillon is the founder and CEO of CleanItSupply.com. He was born and raised in the suburbs of Philadelphia. After completing his studies, he worked in his father’s janitorial supply business and helped grow it from 18 employees to 150 employees before the company was sold. Today his niche e-commerce site, CleanItSupply.com, has revenues in excess of $5 million annually.

Sramana: Dan, let’s start with the beginning of your story. Where were you born, and where did you grow up?

Dan Dillon: I was born in the suburbs of Philadelphia in 1972. I grew up in a family business and graduated from high school in 1990. I did two years at a community college to fulfill my mother’s desires for me to attend college. I was offered a scholarship to go swimming at a four-year school, but I turned it down because I did not want to spend four years with my head underwater. I wanted to go work in the family business. >>>

How to Sharpen Focus and Own a Market: Imprivata CEO Omar Hussain (Part 1)

If you haven’t already, please study our Bootstrapping Course and Investor Introductions page. 

Omar Hussain is the president and CEO of Imprivata. Before joining Imprivata, Omar was the founder and CEO of Anchorsilk, an e-commerce software company spun out of Compuware, where he was GM of its Windows Tools and Testing business. Serving in senior executive leadership roles, Omar has led the marketing, product, and business development efforts for various start-ups, including NuMega, at which he facilitated the acquisition by Compuware, and Open Environment Corporation, where he led the company through a successful public offering and subsequent acquisition by Borland.

Sramana: Omar, let’s start with your personal story. What is the background behind your entrepreneurial career? Where did you grow up?

Omar Hussain: I am originally from Karachi, Pakistan. I went to college here in the United States. I graduated from small liberal arts school in Pennsylvania called Allegheny [College]. It seems that all parents on the subcontinent want their kids to be bankers, lawyers or doctors. I, however, had other plans. In the late 1980s I became enthralled with technology, so after I graduated I decided to move to Boston to work for a small startup. The company was Access International, and they developed enterprise software for nonprofits. >>>

“I Want to Teach Engineering to a Billion”: Anant Agarwal, President of EdX (Part 1)

If you haven’t already, please study our Bootstrapping Course and Investor Introductions page. 

Professor Anant Agarwal was my graduate advisor at MIT in the mid-nineties. In Anant, I found a kindred entrepreneurial spirit, someone who encouraged me to pursue my entrepreneurial dreams, even if that meant quitting the PhD program at MIT. Over the past 20 years, both of us have pursued the path of serial entrepreneurs. In this story, I speak with Anant about his latest venture, EdX, a massively online open courseware (MOOC) project that is backed by MIT and Harvard to the tune of $60 million.

Sramana: Anant, the last time we spoke you were doing a big project with Tilera that involved multi-core computing. Now you are running EdX. What prompted the shift?

Anant Agarwal: I have been a serial entrepreneur all of my life. I started by running a chicken farm at my home in Bangalore when I was 12 years old. This time around I am doing a social entrepreneurial program. I am the president of EdX, which is a startup company in Cambridge. It looks and feels like a startup in every way. The tempo is fast, the pace of innovation is fast, and we have highly driven people working here. >>>

Equity Financing from Customers: Modernizing Medicine CEO Daniel Cane, Boca Raton, Florida (Part 1)

If you haven’t already, please study our Bootstrapping Course and Investor Introductions page. 

Daniel is president and CEO of south Florida–based Modernizing Medicine, Inc., a healthcare company that aims to change the way medical information is created, consumed, and used to increase efficiency, lower costs, and improve outcomes. Daniel has a BS from Cornell University where, as an undergraduate, he co-founded Blackboard Inc. Daniel serves as the vice-chairman of the board at the South Florida Science Museum and is a member of the Foundation Board at Florida Atlantic University. He is an active member of the Business Development Board of Palm Beach County, the Boca Chamber of Commerce, and several local advisory boards.

Sramana: Daniel, let’s start with your personal background in order to set the context for your entrepreneurial journey. Where are you from?

Daniel Cane: I grew up in south Florida. I had an entrepreneurial youth with the usual sets of lemonade stands and other endeavors to make a few bucks here and there. The beginning of my modern entrepreneurial experience happened during my sophomore year at Cornell University. I founded a company called CourseInfo with a very simple premise. >>>

Bootstrapping to Exit in Israel: Eli Sasson, Founder of Minicom (Part 1)

Eli Sasson is the founder and president of Minicom Advanced Systems, a global leader of IT management solutions for data centers, server rooms, and rack environments. Eli co-founded Minicom in 1988 and sold it to TrippLite in April 2012. Prior to founding Minicom, he earned his MBA from Tel Aviv University. Eli was born and raised in Israel and founded Minimcom in Israel as well.

Sramana: Eli, tell us a bit of the story that leads to your entrepreneurial story. Where are you from?

Eli Sasson: I am an Israeli who was born in Jerusalem. Like everyone else, I served in the Army before going on to do my studies at the university level. I studied economics followed by an MBA in Tel Aviv. I graduated in 1988. After graduation, I went out into the real world. When I was in school, I had a job as a student assistant in the computer lab at the university’s business school. >>>

From Czechoslovakia to Silicon Valley: Roman Stanek’s Journey to GoodData (Part 1)

Roman Stanek is the founder and CEO of GoodData, a cloud-based business intelligence platform. He is a serial entrepreneur who founded NetBeans and Systinet prior to founding GoodData. He began his career working as a country manager for Powersoft in 1993, followed by a role with Sybase in 1995.

Sramana: Roman, where are you from? What is your personal story that leads up to your entrepreneurial story?

Roman Stanek: I was born in Czechoslovakia. It was a different regime and a different environment. I did my schooling during the communist days. Once I got out of college, I started building my businesses. In a sense I never really worked for a company. I did my college in Czechoslovakia. People do not realize that studying computers in communist Czechoslovakia meant that we had no access to computers. >>>

Bootstrapping to $40 Million: iCIMS CEO Colin Day (Part 1)

If you haven’t already, please study our Bootstrapping Course and Investor Introductions page. 

Colin Day is the founder, CEO and president of iCIMS, a SaaS provider of HR solutions. Prior to founding iCIMS, Colin worked in sales and new business development at Comrise Technology, an IT staffing firm. After successfully opening a new branch office in Washington D.C., Colin recognized an opportunity to carve a technical platform out of the company, and iCIMS was born. Colin graduated from Cornell University with a degree in psychology

Sramana: Colin, let’s start with your background. Where are you from? What is the story that led to your entrepreneurial career?

Colin Day: I am a dual citizen of the U.K. and the U.S. I was born in the States, but both of my parents and my entire family are from the U.K. I grew up primarily in Washington D.C., with a brief stint in Switzerland. I took off to New York to go to school at Cornell University. After that I moved to New Jersey to start my career. >>>