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 Made-in-India ERP Product Company: Ramco CEO Virender Aggarwal (Part 1)

Virender Aggarwal is the CEO of Ramco Systems, an enterprise software company focused on cloud computing products and services. Prior to his current role, he was the president and APAC region head for an IT services firm based in Singapore. In previous stints he was a key player in building the IT services and consulting businesses in emerging markets. Virender has a masters in business management from the Birla Institute of Technology and Science.

Sramana: Virender, let’s start with some of the corporate background on Ramco. Let’s set some context about where Ramco comes from, and then we can dive into more detail.

Virender Aggarwal: I am not one of the founders of Ramco; I joined the company recently. Ramco is an in-house IT setup of the Madras Cements Group. It is operated as a division of that company and evolved from them [by] writing an enterprise resource planning (ERP) product in-house. It was launched by Bill Gates in 1996. At that time it was a hard-charging product, and they were able to sell ERP products all over the world, including installations in the U.S. and Europe. >>>

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Leading Michigan’s Emergence as a Tech Startup Hub: Billhighway CEO Vince Thomas (Part 1)

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

Vince Thomas is the founder and CEO of Billhighway, a provider of cloud-based financial management solutions tailor-made for nonprofit, donor, and member-based organizations. He developed Billhighway in college as a way to help manage finances among college roommates and in the years since the company has become the pioneer and leader in financial performance optimization for member and donor based groups. In 2011 he was named Ernst & Young Entrepreneur of the Year. He graduated from Eastern Michigan University with a degree in finance.

Sramana: Vince, let’s start with your story. Where are you from? Where were you born and where did you grow up?

Vince Thomas: I was born in Detroit, Michigan. I come from Italian and Lebanese decent. I was born into an entrepreneurial family. Both of my grandparents had their own businesses, as did my parents. I grew up in business throughout all different kinds of industries. >>>

Bootstrapping to $35M via Affiliate Fees: Swagbucks Co-founder Scott Dudelson (Part 1)

Scott Dudelson is the cofounder of Swagbucks.com, a premier rewards site that is a subsidiary to Prodégé. Prior to co-founding Swagbucks.com he founded Music for Charity Productions, a company which helped connect bands with charitable organizations. He graduated with a BA from UCLA.

Sramana: Scott, let’s start at the beginning of your story. Where are you from, and what kind of background leads up to the Swagbucks story?

Scott Dudelson: I am from Southern California. I graduated from UCLA. After UCLA I wanted to get into the music business, and my start was producing concerts. I love live music, and I felt that producing concerts would be a great way to continually be around live music. Shortly after graduation, I started a consulting company called Music for Charity Productions. >>>

Scaling a Platform for Device-Agnostic Web Interfaces: Michael Mullany, CEO of Sencha (Part 1)

Michael Mullany is the CEO of Sencha, a leading provider of open-source web application frameworks and tools to major enterprises and developers and a leader in HTML5. Michael has held product and executive marketing roles at influential Silicon Valley startups Netscape, Loudcloud, and VMware. At virtualization leader VMware, he served as the vice president of worldwide marketing during its break-out into server computing. He holds an MBA from Stanford University and a BA in economics from Harvard College.

Sramana: Michael, let’s start with the beginning of your story. Who are you and where do you come from?

Michael Mullany: I am originally from Ireland. I came over here for college when I was 18. I loved the country and environment, so I stayed. I got interested in technology in my mid-20s. I moved to California to get my MBA at Stanford, and my first internship was at Netscape in the 1990s. I have been involved in creating new technologies and getting them to market since the mid-1990s. >>>

Turning a Services Company to a $30M Product Company: Bridgeline Digital CEO Thomas Massie (Part 1)

Thomas Massie is the chairman of the board, president, and chief executive officer of Bridgeline Digital, company that enables its customers to maximize the performance of their mission-critical websites, intranets, and online stores. Prior to BridgeLine he was a member of the board of directors of MapInfo Corp, a publicly developer of location intelligence software solutions. From 1991 to 2000, he was the founder, chairman of the board and chief executive officer of Focus Enhancement, a publicly held developer of proprietary video conversion ASIC chip technology. From 1986 to 1991, Massie was the founder and chairman of the board of Mass Microsystems.

Sramana: Thomas, let’s set the context of your story by reviewing your background. Where are you from?

Thomas Massie: I am a serial entrepreneur. I grew up in Michigan with a single mother. I was the first person in my family to graduate high school and college. I ended up going into the military right out of high school, which helped me pay for me college. >>>

Raising a Series A with $10M in the Bank: Dean Stoecker, CEO of Alteryx (Part 1)

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

Dean A. Stoecker is chairman, CEO and founding partner of Alteryx, a leading software developer and a pioneer of agile business intelligence technology with analytics. Prior to Alteryx, Dean led business development efforts for Integration Technologies, a systems integrator, where he helped develop technology that automated the selection of cellular tower locations for telecommunications clients like AT&T. He also helped develop the first geo-coding engine tied to Experian’s real estate mainframe system, and he built a sophisticated flood certificate engine for a leading insurer. Dean also served as Vice President of sales at Strategic Mapping, and in various sales and strategic roles at Donnelly Marketing Information Services.

Sramana: Dean, let’s start at the beginning of your personal story. What is the context for your entrepreneurial journey? Where are you from?

Dean Stoecker: I grew up in a family business in Colorado. I would sit around the table every day and hear about the trials and excitements of owning a business. I went to school at the University of Colorado. >>>

Handling Logistics for E-Commerce Vendors: Maria Haggerty, COO, and Bill Follett, CEO – Dotcom Logistics (Part 1)

Maria Haggerty and Bill Follett are the founders of Dotcom Logistics, the premier distribution partner for dot-com businesses. The company was founded in 1999 when online distribution was a significant challenge. Maria is a graduate of the University of Houston and spent five years at Arthur Andersen prior to founding Dotcom Logistics. Bill is a graduate of the Wharton School of Business and worked at GoodTime Home Video prior to founding Dotcom Logistics.

Sramana: Let’s start with a bit of your personal backgrounds. Where are you from, and what was your career journey like before Dotcom Logistics?

Bill Follet: I was born in Rye, New York. I have not gotten very far in life because I still live here. I left for 20 years and then returned. I graduated from the Wharton School [at the University of Pennsylvania] and have spent most of my business career in New York. I have been deeply involved in video distribution and I have been fortunate enough to learn about distribution and fulfillment in the video industry. >>>

Transitioning from a Developer to a Distributor of Mobile Games: Lon Otremba, CEO of Tylted (Part 1)

Sramana: Lon, let’s start with the background that leads up to the Tylted story. Where are you from?

Lon Otremba: I grew up in Michigan. I am an identical twin and I was part of a family that was involved in the automotive industry. My father spent 38 years with the same company. My uncles and other relatives worked for the big auto makers. I spent a lot of my summers during college working in the plants. I saw firsthand what it means to be part of manufacturing and a part of that industry. >>>

Bootstrapping a $10M Creative Marketplace: Envato Founder Couple Collis and Cyan Ta’eed (Part 1)

Collis and Cyan Ta’eed are the founders of Envato, an online creative marketplace. They founded Envato together after having ran a freelance design agency together out of Australia. Collis studied math and science while Cyan earned her degree in design.

Sramana: Let’s start at the beginning of your personal stories. What leads up to Envato?

Collis Ta’eed: I am half Iranian and half English. My father is from Iran and my mother is from Yorkshire. I grew up in Papua New Guinea, which was one of the last places to be reached by the outside world. >>>

Funding Working Capital for Small Businesses: Kabbage CEO Marc Gorlin (Part 1)

Marc Gorlin is the co-founder of Kabbage and a serial entrepreneur. In 1996 he was a co-founder of Pretty Good Privacy (PGP) and oversaw the financing and eventual sell of PGP to Network Associates in 1997. After PGP Marc co-founded VerticalOne, a content personalization service that was sold to S1 Corporation. Marc is also a co-founded of Lanta Technology Group, an Atlanta-based company that specialized in executive staffing. He graduated magna cum laude from the Henry W. Grady College of Journalism and Mass Communication at the University of Georgia.

Sramana: Marc, let’s start with some of your personal background. What is the story of your entrepreneurial journey?

Marc Gorlin: I was born and raised in Atlanta, Georgia. I grew up in an entrepreneurial family. My father started biotech companies. Growing up, he always told me that I did not need to find a job, I needed to find a deal. That is the path I took in starting a number of companies. >>>