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.

From Semiconductors to Green Power: Borrego CEO Mike Hall (Part 1)

Mike Hall serves as CEO and board member for Borrego Solar Systems, Inc. Mike has been with Borrego Solar since 2002. Prior to joining the company, he worked as a product development engineer for Applied Materials in Santa Clara. He holds a MS in Chemical Engineering from Stanford University and a BS in Chemical Engineering from the University California, Santa Barbara.

SM: Tell us a bit about yourself. Where did you grow up and where do you come from?

MH: I grew up in San Diego. I had a pretty normal childhood and was an athlete in high school. I went to college at University of California, Santa Barbara. >>>

Featured Videos

The Future Of Venture Capital: Trinity Ventures Partner Gus Tai (Part 1)

Gus Tai is a General Partner at Trinity Ventures and joined the firm in 1996. He focuses on consumer-enabling technologies and services and enterprise software. His past investments include Blue Nile, eSurance, Photobucket and Sygate. He has an undergraduate degree in mathematics from Harvard and an MS in engineering and an MBA from MIT.

SM: Gus, as far as I remember you entered the venture business in 1996. What was it like, and what were the rules of the game? Why did you enter the venture business?

GT: I entered the venture business in 1996 after several years of observing it. I probably knew more about the business than most people outside of the industry. >>>

From Startup To 500 Million Dollars: VistaPrint CEO Robert Keane (Part 1)

If you haven’t already, please study our free Bootstrapping course.

Robert Keane is the president and CEO of VistaPrint, which he founded in 1995 to provide small businesses print tools to market their business. Robert’s vision for VistaPrint emerged from his experience with the development of a retail kiosk design and printing system as well as from his knowledge of the small business desktop publishing software market. He earned his B.A. in Economics from Harvard College in Cambridge, Mass. and his M.B.A. from INSEAD in Fontainebleau, France.

SM: Take us back to where your story begins. Where are you from?

RK: I grew up outside of Buffalo, New York by the Canadian border. I went to school at Harvard and worked in Boston for a while before moving to France. >>>

Helping Moms Juggle: Juggling Mother Sara Sutton Fell, CEO of Flexjobs (Part 1)

Sara is the CEO of Flexjobs. Prior to this, she was the co-founder of JobDirect, an entry-level job service for college graduates. After JobDirect, she founded Flexjobs to promote professional, legitimate telecommuting jobs. Flexjobs embodies the telecommuting philosophy, and its own staff is located throughout the country where they work from their homes.

SM: To start, tell us the genesis of your story. Where are you from? What kind of environment did you grow up in?

SS: I had a wonderful childhood. I had more parents than fewer parents. My parents divorced when I was six and both remarried; I had four parents and four siblings. It was a nice, chaotic, busy life! >>>

Innovating In Sustainable Building Materials: Hycrete CEO David Rosenberg (Part 1)

David founded what is now Hycrete, Inc. in 2002, when he joined his family’s specialty chemical company. His family has been involved in inventing and manufacturing novel specialty chemicals for over 30 years. David still works closely with his family in both research and development and manufacturing. David is a leader in sustainable construction.

SM: Let’s start where your story begins. Where did you grow up and what was your family like?

DR: I grew up in New York City as a third generation Bronx kid. I went to North Carolina for college and then came back after college. >>>

Healthcare Supply Chain Management: Medassets CEO John Bardis (Part 1)

John Bardis is the chairman, president and CEO of MedAssets. He has over 23 years’ experience in the healthcare industry and has held various senior management positions with companies such as Baxter, Kinetic Concepts, and Theratx. He has also served as a member of the Advisory Board for High Bar Capital.

SM: Let’s start with your background. Where do you come from?

JB: I am originally from the Chicago area. I went to the University of Wisconsin on a wrestling scholarship. I ended up transferring and finished my education on a wrestling scholarship at the University of Arizona in Tucson. >>>

Toward Zero-Energy Buildings: Kevin Surace, Serious Materials (Part 1)

Kevin Surace is on a mission to significantly reduce the use of fossil fuels and their effect on the environment. As CEO of Serious Materials, Kevin leads the company in its mission to reduce energy use and CO2 generation of the world’s largest contributor, our buildings.

SM: Take us back to where your personal story begins. Where are you from?

KS: I am from upstate New York, and I grew up in Herkimer until third or fourth grade. Herkimer is a suburb of Utica and has about 5,000 people. My father was an executive with GE so we moved to the suburbs outside of Syracuse. >>>

Your Personal Assistant: Rearden Commerce CEO Patrick Grady (Part 1)

Imagine the scenario of a senior executive on a business trip. Before the executive heads out to dinner a restaurant selection is in order. Enter Rearden Commerce and their virtual personal assistant. The executive simply opens the platform and receives restaurant recommendations. How? The platform already knows meal preferences, price ranges (per diem rate) which are approved for the trip, and how far away each restaurant is from his current location (think GPS here). Rearden Commerce offers a virtual personal assistant which offers corporations a value proposition of significant savings in travel budgets, and offers travelers a single interface for their entire trip (plane, car, hotel, food, entertainment, taxi, and the list goes on). Patrick Gradey, CEO and founder of Rearden shares his story with us.

SM: Where do you come from?

PG: I grew up in the suburbs of New York. My parents were immigrants from Ireland. My mother was from England and was a nanny. It was the great American dream. >>>

Mark Hoffman’s Fourth Run: Enquisite (Part 1)

SM: Mark, where does your story begin? What is the genesis of your incredible career?

MH: I grew up in a very small town in the southwest corner of Minnesota. It was a farming community of 3,000 people. It had a good school system. I had a Huck Finn and Tom Sawyer existence while I was younger. >>>

Streamlining Hospitals: Omnicell CEO Randy Lipps (Part 1)

SM: Start out with your background. Where are you from and where does your story start?

RL: I grew up in Texas and Louisiana. My father was a chemical engineer who ran research at a large minerals and gold development company. I came from a very engineering-oriented family. >>>