640th Roundtable for Entrepreneurs Starting in 15 Minutes: Live Tweeting by @1Mby1M

Today’s 640th FREE online 1Mby1M Roundtable for Entrepreneurs is starting in 15 minutes, on Thursday, May 16, at 8 a.m. PDT / 11 a.m. EDT / 5 p.m. CEST / 8:30 p.m. India IST. CLICK HERE to join. PASSWORD: startup  All are welcome!

Featured Videos

Bootstrapping First, then Raising Money to Build a $10M+ Generative AI Startup: Anthony Scodary, Co-Founder of Gridspace (Part 1)

Gridspace is a wonderful case study of a speech technology company on the bleeding edge of Machine Learning and Generative AI. You will learn how the founders managed to bootstrap to large paying customers and then raise strategic funding. You will also learn the nuances of how they used various Open Source components and existing ML models to get to a point where they can afford to develop more original technology. You will also learn the importance of solutions versus technology platforms.

Best of Bootstrapping: Bootstrapped an IoT Company from NC

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

North Carolina, at one point, had a large concentration of cellular technology companies. Some of that talent then came together around IoT, including Bob Witter, Co-founder of Device Solutions. He shared his journey with me in 2016.

Sramana Mitra: Let’s start at the very beginning of your journey. Where are you from? Where were you born, raised, and in what kind of circumstances?

Bob Witter: I was born in Springville, New York. It’s in the western part of New York. I grew up in central New York. I went to school at State University of New York and graduated in 1981 with degrees in Computer Science and Mathematics. I started my career in Rochester with Eastman Kodak company in the medical products division that was brand new at that time. I learned a great deal about how to do medical products that has certainly served me well even today at Device Solutions.

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Video FAQs

Building a Generative AI Venture from Portugal: João Aroso, CEO of Leadzai (Part 7)

Sramana Mitra: Well, either it’s going to go there or your product is going to be able to handle this kind of dynamic pricing model check where you can determine at what price point can you still be profitable and can cater and if that’s viable ROI-wise for your customer? If you can do that dynamic negotiation at scale, that could be a dynamic pricing at scale, and that would work as well. 

What are we talking in terms of average deal size? How much does a campaign generate revenue, lead wise.

The Startup Velocity Question: Joining Forces Through M&A

Let’s look further at the issue of solid companies that have achieved $10M, $20M, $50M in revenue, close to breakeven, but not necessarily growing at an exponential pace. 

One commonly used strategy is to combine two companies in a related space to achieve growth and rationalize expenses.

The Startup Velocity Question: Linear vs. Exponential Growth

Since this series was published, I have had many conversations with friends in the industry who have added to the issues on the table.

In particular, one that caught my attention is the issue of solid companies that have achieved $10M, $20M, $50M in revenue, close to breakeven, but not necessarily growing at an exponential pace. In some instances, market shifts have caused revenues to flatten or even decline.

Best of Bootstrapping: Bootstrapped an Online Education Company

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

Tod Browndorf, CEO of Coggno, has built an interesting online education company focused on specific niche course types. Read on to learn more from our conversation in 2016.

Sramana Mitra: Let’s start at the very beginning of your personal journey. Where are you from? Where were you born, raised, and in what kind of background?

Tod Browndorf: Wow! We’re really going way back. I’m originally from the east coast. I was born in South Carolina but was raised in New York and New Jersey for most of my life. I lost my father when I was 10 and a half years old. I started working very early in life. He was in the manufacturing business. I started working early through school. I travelled the world pretty extensively. I lived in Australia for quite a while. I lived in the Middle East and eventually started my career in Finance. I started off as a trader on Wall Street, then later here in San Francisco.

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Cloud Stocks: Amazon Sees Momentum on AI Front

Amazon (NASDAQ: AMZN) recently announced its first-quarter results that surpassed market expectations. Its stock hit a 52-week high following its result announcement.