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.

Democratizing Marketing Automation: Act-On CEO Raghu Raghavan (Part 1)

Raghu Raghavan is a serial entrepreneur and the CEO of Act-On Software, which provides a cloud-based integrated marketing platform. Prior he was the co-founder and CTO of Responsys, Inc., a market leader in on-demand email and life cycle marketing solutions for high-end retailers. Raghu holds a Ph.D. in computer science from the University of Minnesota and a B.Tech. in electrical engineering from the Indian Institute of Technology (IIT), Bombay.

Sramana: Raghu, let’s start off by talking about your personal story. Where do you come from?

Raghu Raghavan: I am from India and am a graduate of IIT Bombay. I thought I would go into academia, so I got a PhD in computer science from the University of Minnesota. I studied the complexity of routing problems. >>>

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How To Make Freemium Work: Niccolo de Masi, CEO of Glu Mobile (Part 1)

Niccolo de Masi is the president and chief executive officer of Glu a 3-D mobile social gaming company. Prior to joining Glu, Niccolo was the chief executive officer and president of Hands-On Mobile, a mobile technology company and developer and publisher of mobile entertainment. Niccolo was previously the chief executive officer of the London-listed mobile entertainment company Monstermob Group PLC from June 2006 to February 2007. Prior to joining Monstermob, Mr. de Masi worked in a variety of corporate finance and operational roles within the technology, media and telecommunications (TMT) sector, beginning his career with JPMorgan on both the TMT debt capital markets and mergers and acquisitions teams in London. He has also worked as a physicist with Siemens Solar and within the Strategic Planning and Development divisions of Technicolor. Mr. de Masi holds an MA in physics and an MSci in electronic engineering—both from Cambridge University.

Sramana: Niccolo, please tell us about your background as well as some of the history of Glu Mobile to establish the context for this story.

Niccolo de Masi: I am originally a physicist, although I was an investment banker very briefly. I have spent most of my career in the mobile entertainment space. >>>

Domain Knowledge Wins: Larry Goldenhersh, CEO of Enviance (Part 1)

Larry Goldenhersh is the founder and CEO of Enviance, a software supplier with solutions for greenhouse gas management, carbon accounting, regulatory compliance and sustainability. Prior to founding Enviance, Mr. Goldenhersh was a partner at Irell & Manella, a Los Angeles firm of more than 150 lawyers, where he served on the firm’s management committee. Mr. Goldenhersh specialized in complex commercial litigation, including intellectual property litigation and environmental/resource disputes. Mr. Goldenhersh has published regularly on trends in environmental compliance, carbon risk management, carbon accounting, software as a service and supply chain environmentalism and has lectured at Duke University on performance-based compliance organizations. Mr. Goldenhersh holds a bachelors degree from Duke University and a law degree from the University of Virginia.

Sramana: Larry, let’s go back to the beginning. Where does your story start?

Larry Goldenhersh: I am from St. Louis, Missouri. I did my undergraduate at Duke University and I went to law school at the University of Virginia. After that I clerked for a federal district judge in Colorado. I then spent the next 16 years practicing law in Los Angeles before I started Enviance. >>>

Recovering Lost Revenue: Vindicia CEO Gene Hoffman (Part 1)

Gene Hoffman is the chairman and CEO of Vindicia, a provider of SaaS billing solutions. Prior to Vindicia, Gene co-founded eMusic in January 1998 and served as president, chief executive officer, and a director. As head of eMusic, Gene was featured on the cover of Forbes Magazine as a member of the July 1999 E-Gang and named one of the 100 most influential entrepreneurs in technology in Upside Magazine’s November 2000 Elite 100. Gene led the acquisition of eMusic by Vivendi/Universal in June 2001. Prior to founding eMusic Gene was director of business development and director of interactive marketing of Pretty Good Privacy. Gene joined Pretty Good Privacy after it acquired PrivNet, Inc., an Internet privacy software company, where he was co-founder, director and executive vice president.

Sramana: Gene, let’s start with your background. Where are you from?

Gene Hoffman: I am originally from North Carolina, born and raise outside of Charlotte. My father was a CPA/CFO and ran a company called Kinderphoto which was a large photography chain throughout the world. >>>

How To Defend Your Dream Against All Odds: Alex Bouzari, CEO of DataDirect Networks (Part 1)

Alex Bouzari is the co-founder and CEO of DataDirect Networks. Prior to co-founding DataDirect Networks, he served as CEO of Personal Writer, Inc., and co-founder of MegaDrive Systems, Inc. Bouzari has bachelor of science degrees in engineering and economics from the California Institute of Technology (Caltech) and has done graduate work in engineering at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) and Stanford University.

Sramana: Alex, let’s go back to the beginning of your personal story. Where are you from?

Alex Bouzari: I was born in France but am originally from Iran. I started school in France before my parents moved back to Iran. I did elementary and high school in Iran in a French high school. I then moved back to France, where I started my undergraduate studies. >>>

Letting Customers Design The Product: Cornerstone OnDemand CEO Adam Miller (Part 1)

Adam Miller is the founder, president and CEO of Cornerstone OnDemand, a leading SaaS company. Prior to founding Cornerstone, he was a lawyer and an investment banker. He worked in corporate finance with Schroders (now Citi Financial) and an affiliate of Montgomery Securities (now Bank of America), supporting clients with private equity and public financing, as well as M&A advisory. His background also includes work with the Card Group in Los Angeles. Miller has a JD from the UCLA School of Law, an MBA from the Anderson School of Business, a BS from the Wharton School and a BA from the University of Pennsylvania. He earned a CPA and Series 7 certifications and has cowritten two books, “Business Capital for Women” (Macmillan, 1996) and “Managing Your Inheritance” (Random House, 1995).

Sramana: Adam, please tell us where you come from and where your journey begins.

Adam Miller: I was born in New York and grew up in New Jersey. My journey began back in high school when I was one of the first people on my block, other than my next-door neighbor, who had a PC. My sophomore year of high school we were taking advanced computer classes at high school, and we had basically passed the capabilities they offered. >>>

Crowdsourcing Repetitive Tasks: CrowdFlower Founder Lukas Biewald (Part 1)

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

Lukas Biewald is the founder and executive chairman of CrowdFlower, the world’s largest enterprise crowdsourcing platform. Prior to co-founding CrowdFlower, Lukas was a senior scientist and manager within the ranking and management team at Powerset, Inc., a natural language search technology company later acquired by Microsoft. Lukas has also led the search relevance team for Yahoo Japan. He graduated from Stanford University with a BS in mathematics and an MS in computer science.

Sramana: Lukas, let’s start by talking about your roots. Where do you come from?

Lukas Biewald: I grew up in Boston, and I came out West to study at Stanford in 1999. It was an exciting time to be here. I did my degree in math, and I watched the bubble grow and burst. >>>

How To Build A Strong IP Portfolio: rPost CEO Zafar Khan (Part 1)

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

Zafar Khan is the founder and chief executive officer of rPost, a company that provides registered email services. His previous experience includes has strategy consulting and finance jobs with Braxton Associates/Deloitte Consulting and Goldman Sachs. Khan has invented two U.S. patents, holds a bachelor of arts from Wesleyan University in Connecticut, an International Business Certificate from The Georgetown University School of Business, and a master of business administration from The Wharton School at The University of Pennsylvania.

Sramana: Zafar, let’s start by reviewing your background. Where are you from? What kind of childhood did you have that led you down the path you are on today?

Zafar Khan: I was born in Boston, Massachusetts. I grew up going to public schools in the Boston area. I did my undergraduate degree at Wesleyan University after which I worked for a number of years before going to the Wharton School for my MBA. >>>

Using Facebook For Lead Generation: Underground Elephant CEO Jason Kulpa (Part 1)

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

Jason Kulpa founded Underground Elephant in 2008. Underground Elephant is a leader in technology-based marketing, and is one of the fastest-growing advertising agencies in San Diego. Kulpa was recently recognized for his outstanding leadership, and awarded the “Most Admired CEO” award by the San Diego Business Journal in 2010. He is a member of the Young Presidents’ Organization and has a bachelor of science in business and Communication from Arizona State University.

Sramana: Jason, would you give us some context to begin your story? Where did you grow up?

Jason Kulpa: I was born in Chicago and moved to Arizona when I was very young. I grew up in Yuma, which is a small town that borders Mexico. >>>

Trends And Opportunities In Cloud Computing: Jim Burleigh, CEO Of Cloud9 (Part 1)

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

Jim Burleigh is the CEO of Cloud9 and a veteran of SaaS businesses having served as a senior executive at Navis, and salesforce.com. In addition, he served as the CEO of SmartTurn, the leading SaaS warehouse and inventory management solution, immediately prior to joining Cloud9. His background includes sales, marketing, and technical expertise developed as the sixth employee at salesforce.com. He has a B.S. in engineering and applied science from the California Institute of Technology.

Sramana: Jim, where does your personal story begin?

Jim Burleigh: I am originally from San Diego. I grew up in a lower middle class family with a ranching background. My parents divorced early on, so I split my time growing up on a ranch outside of San Diego and the city itself. >>>