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.

Growing A SaaS Startup With Velocity: Marketo CEO Phil Fernandez (Part 1)

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

Sramana: Phil, let’s start with your background. Where does your entrepreneurial journey begin?

Phil Fernandez: I’m from Ohio but I grew up all over the place, although I spent a lot of time in California. My entrepreneurial journey started in a serious way in the 1970s while I was in high school in Phoenix. Today kids learn to program all the time, but back then I had a unique opportunity to learn to program and got a job in high school as a computer programmer, which was a pretty serious position. >>>

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A Case Study In SEO And Affiliate Marketing: MyCorporation CEO Deborah Sweeney (Part 1)

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

Deborah Sweeney is the CEO of MyCorporation Business Services, Inc. (“MyCorporation.com”). She has extensive experience in the startup and industry as she has been involved in the formation of hundreds of thousands of MyCorporation.com’s customers. Ms. Sweeney joined MyCorporation in 2003 after serving as outside general counsel for five years. She received her JD and MBA from Pepperdine University and is a member of the American Bar Association

Sramana: Deborah, let’s go back to where your story begins. Tell me about where you grew up and what kind of background you come from.

Deborah Sweeney: I grew up in Los Angeles and have one brother. We are a very close-knit family. I met my husband in law school and now live about 12 miles from my hometown. I haven’t moved far from my family, and they still help me with my business today. >>>

Bootstrapping To $1 Million, Then Growing to $40 Million: iContact CEO Ryan Allis: Chapel Hill, North Carolina (Part 1)

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

Ryan is the co-founder and CEO of iContact, a provider of e-mail marketing software.. iContact currently has 300 employees, 700,000 users, and $50 million in annual revenues. Ryan has been an entrepreneur since he started Allis Computing at age 11 in 1995. He is an active angel investor through the Humanity Fund, which invests in socially responsible high-growth businesses in the U.S. and East Africa. Ryan is also the founder and chairman of Virante, Inc., a 15-employee Web marketing consulting firm based Raleigh, North Carolina, and the author of the book Zero to One Million, published by McGraw-Hill, which reached #2 overall on Amazon.com and the Wall Street Journal Bestseller list. On the nonprofit side, Ryan is currently the board Chairman for Nourish International, which has chapters at 22 colleges across the United States. In 2009, he received recognition as one of the Ten Outstanding Young Americans by the U.S. Junior Chamber. Ryan attended the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, where he was an economics major and a Blanchard Scholar. Ryan is currently enrolled in the EO/MIT Entrepreneurial Masters Program (EMP). >>>

Monetizing Free Traffic That Refuses To Convert To Premium: SocialVibe CEO Jay Samit, Los Angeles (Part 1)

Jay Samit is a serial entrepreneur and the CEO of SocialVibe, a company that focuses on monetizing Internet traffic by allowing users to select charitable donations for viewed advertisements. He began his career by founding Jasmine Multimedia, one of the first companies to develop video multimedia on computer platforms. He has also served as a senior executive at Universal Studios, EMI and Sony. He has a BS with honors from the University of California, Los Angeles.

Sramana: Jay, to begin let’s learn a little bit about you and the back-story leading up to SocialVibe.

Jay Samit: I grew up in Philadelphia. My father was a math teacher and my mother was an English teacher. My dad eventually left teaching and started a restaurant. >>>

Plug-and-Play Cloud Storage At Home: Cloud Engines CEO Daniel Putterman (Part 1)

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

Daniel Putterman is the president and CEO of Cloud Engines. Prior to his current position he founded Mediabolic in 1999 and served as CEO until its sale to Macrovision (now Rovi) in 2007. Additionally, he founded MaxInfo, the first collaborative Web media design software for the Internet (and acquired by NetManage), as well as EoExchange, a multimedia search engine for the Web. Over the past 20 years, Daniel has worked as an entrepreneur advocate, and has invested and teamed with colleagues to launch numerous Silicon Valley companies. >>>

Making Millions Out Of Artificial Intelligence: Brighterion CEO Akli Adjaoute (Part 1)

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

Dr. Adjaoute is a leading figure in the international cognitive science community and the CEO of Brighterion, which offers a full suite of products for real-time fraud prevention, compliance, and homeland security intelligence. Prior to Brighterion he was the founder, president, and CEO of Cognitix Technologies. Dr. Adjaoute has a PhD in artificial intelligence and mathematics from Université Pierre et Marie Curie [University of Paris VI]. Dr. Adjaoute has also served as the scientific director for the European Research Institute for two years.

Sramana: Akli, I understand that you have a very long history before you entered entrepreneurship. Would you tell me about your background?

Akli Adjaoute: I was raised in France, but I was born in Kabylia, which is in Berber. It is one of the most beautiful countries on earth. The country is renowned for people’s desire to respect everyone, particularly women. >>>

Bootstrapping A Software Company From Minnesota: Vicki Raport Of Quantum Retail (Part 1)

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

Vicki Raport is the CEO and co-founder of Quantum Retail, a company that delivers a software platform that optimizes and automates retail processes related to localized forecasting and advanced order planning; allocation and replenishment; and assortment and range planning. Prior to co-founding Quantum Retail, Vicki held executive positions in strategy, strategic alliances, sales and business development, services, and customer support with Retek Inc., a provider of mission-critical software and services to the retail industry.

Sramana: Vicki, let’s start with your personal background. Where do you come from?

Vicki Raport: I was born and raised in Minneapolis, Minnesota. Both of my parents were from the area. I went to the University of Minnesota and got my undergraduate degree in finance and accounting in 1985. >>>

Building A Nearshore Outsourcing Company In Ann Arbor, Michigan: Systems In Motion CEO Neeraj Gupta (Part 1)

Neeraj Gupta is the CEO and co-founder of Systems In Motion, a nearshore outsourcing company in Ann Arbor, Michigan. Previously, Neeraj was a member of the executive team at Patni, a $700 million Indian IT services company, and founder/CEO of Cymbal, a services company focused on the telecom sector. He is an investor in and board member of various technology startups.

Sramana: What is the background story of the three founders of Systems In Motion? How did you meet?

Neeraj Gupta: The genesis of the organization came from all three founders, each of whom had experience working in global services. >>>

Building An Outsourcing Company In China: Bleum CEO Eric Rongley (Part 1)

Eric Rongley founded Bleum, an outsourcing provider to American and European companies, in August 2001. Prior to founding Bleum, Eric established and ran the Navion (Shanghai) Software Development Company for Capital One Financial. Before his career led him to China, Eric was the general manager for IVR’s (International Voice Register) software development center in India. Eric currently serves as the chair of the International Association of Outsourcing Professionals (IAOP) Shanghai and is the former chair of the ethics and IT committee at the American Chamber of Commerce in Shanghai.

Sramana: Eric, tell me a bit about yourself. What is your background?

Eric Rongley: I was born in Pennsylvania. I graduated from Skidmore College in 1989 with a degree in economics. After graduating I went overseas and worked as a broker in London for a year. >>>

Become The CEO Of Your Own Destiny: LiveOps CEO And Former eBay COO Maynard Webb, Santa Clara, California (Part 1)

Maynard Webb is the chairman and CEO of LiveOps, which delivers an on-demand contact center platform as well as call center outsourcing services. Prior to LiveOps he was the Chief Operating Officer of eBay where he directed engineering and technology operations, product development, customer support, trust and safety, global billing, human resources, and legal functions. Prior to eBay, he was a senior vice president and chief information officer for Gateway, Inc. He has also held management and leadership positions at Bay Networks, Quantum Corporation, Thomas-Conrad Corporation, and IBM. A respected member of the Silicon Valley technology community, Maynard sits on the boards of several successful companies, including Salesforce.com and Admob. Maynard holds a bachelor of arts degree from Florida Atlantic University >>>