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.

Educating Working Adults: Walden University President Jonathan Kaplan (Part 1)

Jonathan A. Kaplan has served as president of Walden University since September 2007. Prior to joining Walden University, Jonathan had a distinguished career in government, public policy, and law. He served in the White House as chief of staff of the National Economic Council and special assistant to the president for economic policy under President Clinton. Prior to his government service, he practiced law as an associate at Covington & Burling, a leading international law firm.

SM: Jonathan, what is your personal history leading up to this company?

JK: I was born in Boston and come from a long line of educators. My grandmother was a high school teacher, my mother chaired our local school committee, and my father headed the state board of education for many years. >>>

Featured Videos

How A Rocket Took Off: Juniper Founder Pradeep Sindhu (Part 1)

Dr. Pradeep Sindhu founded Juniper Networks in February 1996 and served as its CEO until September 1996. He has since served as the company’s vice chairman of the board and chief technical officer. From 1984 to 1996, he worked at the Xerox Palo Alto Research Center (PARC) as a member of the research staff. He earned his bachelor’s degree in electrical engineering from the Indian Institute of Technology (IIT) Kanpur, his master’s degree in electrical engineering from the University of Hawaii, and his PhD in computer science from Carnegie Mellon. >>>

Built To Enjoy: eClinicalWorks CEO Girish Navani (Part 1)

Girish Navani is the CEO and co-founder of eClinicalWorks, which offers unified electronic medical records and practice management solutions. eClinicalWorks has maintained high profitability and has over 25,000 providers as clients spanning all 50 states. Girish has also worked for Teradyne and Fidelity Investments, and he was part of the founding team of PetroVantage on behalf of Aspen Technologies. He has a bachelor’s in mechanical engineering and, from Boston University, a master’s in manufacturing engineering.

SM: What is your personal story? Where do you come from, and what prepared you for this path?

GN: I am originally from India. I moved to the United States in 1988 to pursue higher education. I earned my master’s in manufacturing engineering from Boston University. My bachelor’s in India was in mechanical engineering. >>>

Online Tutoring Still In Its Infancy: Sylvan Learning CEO Jeff Cohen (Part 1)

Jeff Cohen is the president of Sylvan Learning, a leading provider of tutoring services to students of all ages, grades, and skill levels. Before rejoining Sylvan, he served as president of Catapult Learning, which he grew from $65 million to more than $130 million. Prior to joining Catapult Learning, he was the senior vice president for business unit management at Prometric, Inc.

SM: Jeff, can you give me an overview of your background to set the stage?

JC: I have been in my current position of CEO for about 18 months. >>>

Blueprint For Saving 11 Billion Dollars In Healthcare Costs: MD On-Line CEO Bill Bartzak (Part 1)

Bill Bartzak founded MD On-Line, Inc. in 1995. Today, the company is one of the fastest-growing technology firms in the country, having been named to Inc. magazine’s Inc 500 in 2004, the Deloitte Technology Fast 500, and the Deloitte Technology Fast 50 in New Jersey. Bartzak has a strong background of bootstrapped startup ventures in multiple industries.

SM: Bill, let’s start with your background. Where do you come from? What is the beginning of your personal story?

BB: I was born in Livingston, New Jersey. I had my first job when I was nine years old delivering newspapers, because my dad was in charge of circulation for the Star-Ledger. That was the beginning of my entrepreneurial experience. >>>

Power Of The Urban Wind: Mariah Power CEO Mike Hess (Part 1)

Mike Hess is a serial entrepreneur, having started multiple companies since the late 1970s. He has also held senior leadership positions at Raychem and Raynet. He has a BS in mathematics and later studied design engineering at Stanford and network engineering at UC Santa Cruz. He is the CEO and a co-founder of Mariah Power, which started in 2005.

SM: Mike, take us back to where your personal story begins.

MH: I grew up in Silicon Valley, Santa Clara to be specific. I went to about four different schools and finally ended up with a BS in math. >>>

Another Take At Zero-Energy Buildings: Optimum Energy’s Nathan Rothman (Part 1)

Nathan Rothman is the president and CEO of Optimum Energy. He has spent the past 20 years as the president of a privately held company which structured, financed, built, and managed “green field” manufacturing plants for its clients around the world. Prior to that, Nathan founded Valiant Yacht Corporation, which was awarded the “Product of the Decade” by the pleasure boat industry. Nathan is an alumnus of Northwestern University and the Illinois Institute of Technology and is a Certified Business Energy Professional.

SM: Nathan, I would like to start with your personal story. Where are you from and what kind of environment did you grow up in?

NR: I was born and raised in the Bronx. I am a Yankees fan and am happy that they won the World Series. I went to school in Chicago at Northwestern University and the Illinois Institute of Technology. I grew up in a lower middle class family and was always entrepreneurial, even when I was a little kid. >>>

Building A National Health Information Network: NaviNet’s Brad Waugh and Tom Morrison (Part 1)

NaviNet, founded by Tom Morrison and with Brad Waugh as president and CEO, is America’s largest healthcare communications network. Tom has been involved in healthcare IT for 25 years and was a co-founder of Firepond Partners. Brad was previously CEO of $2.6 billion financial services firm Wincor Nixdorf as well as an entrepreneur who founded Watch Hill Partners.

SM: To start off, please give me the genesis of your personal stories. Where do you come from, and what in your background has led you to this path?

TM: I come from a small town in Minnesota. I worked my way through college as a pilot and was an aeronautical engineer. My academic background has nothing to do with what I am doing today. After I graduated in engineering I went on to law school. >>>

Helping You Book Vacation Rentals: FlipKey CEO T. J. Mahoney (Part 1)

T.J. Mahoney is the founder and CEO of FlipKey, a leading vacation rental service with verified vacation guest reviews. Prior to founding Flipkey he worked at Compete.com, Zefer, and Accenture. He is a graduate of Macalester College.

SM: Can you take us back to the beginning of your story? Where do you come from?

TM: I was raised in Boulder, Colorado. I was recruited to play basketball at a small school in Minnesota called Macalester College. Once I graduated, I got into the world of the Web by working as a consultant at Accenture. >>>

How A Warren Buffett Protégé Built Overstock.com: CEO Patrick Byrne (Part 1)

Dr. Patrick M. Byrne is chairman and CEO of Overstock.com, Inc., a Utah-based Internet retailer that has been publicly traded since 2002. Under Byrne’s leadership, the company’s revenue soared from $1.8 million in 1999 to $760.2 million in 2007. Before founding Overstock.com, Byrne served as chairman, president, and CEO of Centricut, LLC, and held the same three positions at Fechheimer Brothers, Inc., a Berkshire Hathaway company. He holds a bachelor’s degree from Dartmouth College in philosophy and Asian studies, a master’s degree in philosophy from Cambridge University as a Marshall scholar, and a doctorate in philosophy from Stanford University.

SM: Patrick, first tell me about you. What is your background? Where does your story begin?

PB: I was born in Indiana. We moved to Massachusetts when I was two, so I grew up in New England. I went to Dartmouth, Cambridge, and Stanford. My career has been split between academia and business. Early on I was one of those guys who did some small business ventures while I pursued a full-time career as an academic. >>>