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.

Bringing On WebEx 2.0: DimDim CEO DD Ganguly (Part 1)

DD Ganguly is the CEO of DimDim, a company which offers free online meeting platforms. He began his career as an entrepreneur by starting Advanced Internet Management, which was bought out by CA. He then served as the VP of Product Development at CA until founding DimDim. He studied computer science at IIT, Kharagpur and earned his master’s from Syracuse. >>>

Featured Videos

From English Prof to Tech Startup CEO: Steve Adams of Sabrix (Part 1)

Most technology executives with over 20 years of experience did not start their careers as English professors. They certainly don’t start as British literature PhDs teaching in Louisiana. Meet Steve Adams, CEO of Sabrix. Anything but ordinary, Steve has tremendous vision and an incredible track record of success. He worked his way from an entry-level tech writer to VP of marketing, senior VP of marketing, to the president and CEO of multiple high tech companies. Today he is the CEO of Sabrix, a managed tax service company for small- and mid-sized companies. A perfect fit for a British lit PhD, don’t you think?

SM: Steve, give me some context about where you come from. What is your personal story?

SA: I actually came from academia. I have a PhD in British literature and was a university professor for seven years. >>>

How Rafat Ali Found a Job (Part 1)

Rafat Ali is a journalist, pioneering blogger, and entrepreneur. Editor & Publisher has called Rafat “journalism’s poster boy for career independence from news companies”. I am very pleased to share his story of persistence and success.

SM: Where are you from? Where did you grow up?

RA: I was born in the UK, but my family is from the northern part of India. My father was a professor and lived in the US, the UK, and other parts of Europe. For the first five years of my life, I grew up in Denver. Then we moved back to India, where I lived until I was 25. >>>

More Bootstrapping: VirtualTourist.com Co-Founder J.R. Johnson (Part 1)

VirtualTourist.com is a Web 3.0 travel community where users and locals share real travel advice and experiences. It is a source of unbiased, user-generated travel content and a premier resource for travelers seeking an insider’s perspective on their upcoming travels. Real travel tips, reviews, and photos are provided by a community of over 1 million users, bring real context to travelers as they plan their next journey.

SM: Let’s start by going back to the beginning. Where does your journey start?

JJ: I was born in Manhattan Beach, California but raised in Westlake Village, a middle-class suburb on the Ventura County/L.A. County border. >>>

Building Indian Mobile Banking: mChek CEO Sanjay Swamy (Part 1)

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

Sanjay Swamy is the CEO of mChek, a mobile payment platform developed in collaboration with VISA. The company has enabled users to access their Indian bank-issued credit or debit card via their cell phones. It has quickly become India’s largest mobile payments platform.

SM: Tell me where your journey begins. Where were you born and raised?

SS: I grew up in India. I was born in Chennai but I am from Bangalore. >>>

Still Bullish On Salesforce.com

Despite crossing the $1 billion annual revenue milestone, Salesforce.com’s shares plunged amidst concerns about its “slow growth” and lower-than-expected deferred revenue and guidance. >>>

British Brothers: Scansafe Founders Roy and Eldar Tuvey (Part 1)

ScanSafe pioneered web-based Secure Web Gateway, which blocks malware and secure web-based messaging. Founded in 1999 by brothers Roy and Eldar Tuvey, ScanSafe is a company that invented a new market. In 2007 ScanSafe was named one of the top 100 technology startups in the world by Red Herring and was recognized as a technology innovator and visionary company by Gartner.

SM: Where do you come from? What is your background?

RT: I was born in Israel but my family moved to London when I was very young. I spent a lot of time in Israel until I was 13, but I mainly grew up in London. >>>

Luminus Devices Founder and Chief Technology Officer Alexei Erchak (Part 1)

Alexei Erchak founded Luminus in 2002 after being awarded his PhD in materials sciences and engineering from MIT. There he designed and tested photonic lattice LED technology which has evolved into PhlatLight, the most powerful LED in the world. PhlatLight offers a 20,000-hour life span and high production volumes (low cost), which has been enticing to TV manufacturing since Samsung elected to use PhlatLight in 2007 for a range of rear-projection televisions. This success has led to expansion of the PhlatLight product line to a wider range of applications.

SM: Alexei, take us back to where your journey begins. Where are you from and how did you get into Luminus?

AE: I grew up in Saratoga Springs, New York. I went to Skidmore College there, which is a small but fairly renowned liberal arts college. I majored in math and physics. >>>

The Montana Mogul: RightNow CEO Greg Gianforte (Part 1)

Greg is a serial entrepreneur and author of Bootstrapping Your Business. He was awarded the 2003 Ernst and Young Entrepreneur of the Year. His current company, RightNow, was founded in 1998, had an IPO in 2004, and has passed $100 million in revenue.

SM: To start, let’s talk about your background.

GG: I am an engineer. My undergraduate degree is in electrical engineering and my masters degree is in computer science. >>>

Pioneering Data On-Demand: Salary.com CEO and Serial Entrepreneur Kent Plunkett (Part 1)

Kent Plunkett is the CEO of Salary.com. His efforts there earned him the Ernst & Young Entrepreneur of the Year award for 2007. He has domain expertise in data on-demand and data syndication, with expertise leveraging this at all levels from the enterprise to the consumer.

SM: Where do you come from? Give us some context about where you grew up and some context that leads us up to Salary.com venture.

KP: I grew up in the Boston area. I was a big fan of Ted Turner, one of the original entrepreneurs of the ’70s. >>>