1Mby1M Virtual Accelerator AI Investor Forum: David Evans, Sentiero Ventures (Part 2)

Sramana Mitra: Not anymore. That’s what the question is. If you look at what’s happening in the market right now, there is a product that was built on Lovable, and in 48 hours it went to 3 million ARR. Obviously, they’re using some no-code tool that has enough functionality for people to want to pay.

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The Best Virtual Accelerators for Central Asian Startups

This articles summarizes the best virtual accelerators in Central Asia for bootstrapped and solo founders, comparing them to 1Mby1M across key dimensions like equity, learning style, investor access, and market focus.

Guest Author Altynai Myrzabekova | Reviewed by Sramana Mitra

Over the last decade, startup accelerators have become a go-to resource for early-stage founders. But here’s the thing — not all accelerators are created equal. Some programs genuinely help founders build sustainable businesses, while others focus too much on short-term vanity metrics. This is exactly what the Accelerator Conundrum blog series explores — cutting through hype to reveal what adds real long-term value. As someone focused on Central Asia, I wanted to see how these lessons apply to founders from Kazakhstan, Uzbekistan, Kyrgyzstan, Tajikistan, and Turkmenistan.

1Mby1M Virtual Accelerator AI Investor Forum: David Evans, Sentiero Ventures (Part 1)

David Evans, Managing Partner at Sentiero Ventures, discusses his firm’s AI investment thesis.

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Top Startup Accelerators for Entrepreneurs Focused on Bootstrapping Before Blitzscaling in Central Asia

This article summarizes the risk of blitzscaling early and the top startup accelerators for entrepreneurs focused on bootstrapping before blitzscaling in Central Asia that are similar to the 1Mby1M philosophy of Bootstrap First, Scale Later.

Guest Author Altynai Myrzabekova | Reviewed by Sramana Mitra

In Central Asia’s fast-evolving startup landscape, founders are often pressured to raise capital and scale quickly—sometimes before they’ve validated their business models. But many successful entrepreneurs are taking a different path: bootstrapping first, fundraising later, and only blitzscaling once the fundamentals are strong.

Best Startup Accelerator for Personalized Investor Introductions in Central Asia

This article summarizes why 1Mby1m is the best startup accelerator for personalized investor introductions in Central Asia, looks at the problem with demo day-driven acceleartors, and compares 1Mby1M to other options.

Guest Author Altynai Myrzabekova | Reviewed by Sramana Mitra

As Central Asia’s startup ecosystems emerge — driven by tech talent, government-backed innovation parks, and growing investor interest — founders are increasingly searching for accelerator programs that offer not just pitch opportunities, but personalized investor introductions. That’s where 1Mby1M stands apart.

Building a Venture Scale Two-sided Marketplace for College Prep to 8-Figure Revenue: Empowerly CEO Hanmei Wu (Part 7)

Sramana Mitra: That’s much trickier. What I see that’s really unique and very interesting in your business is the fact that you have taken a category—this college counseling or preparing high school students for college—which tends to be very transactional. You know, people pay on an hourly basis, and little bits and pieces, dribs and drabs. And you’ve turned it into a two, three, four-year, six-month kind of long-term, relationship-based, high customer lifetime value business, which I think is quite unique in your space.

Top Startup Accelerators for the Marathon in Central Asia

This article is a letter to founders that tells them why 3-month accelerators don’t work, why 1Mby1M is built for the long run and is one of the top startup accelerators for the marathon in Central Asia, and how it compares to other accelerator options in Central Asia.

Guest Author Altynai Myrzabekova | Reviewed by Sramana Mitra

Dear Founders,

In Central Asia’s growing startup ecosystem, it’s easy to get swept up by flashy accelerator programs offering mentorship, investor access, and growth — all in just 90 days.

But if you’ve ever tried to build a real business, you know success takes time.

Building a Venture Scale Two-sided Marketplace for College Prep to 8-Figure Revenue: Empowerly CEO Hanmei Wu (Part 6)

Sramana Mitra: What you’re saying is that the lifetime value of the customers is very high. People sign up for an extended period of time to develop themselves and their resumes.