What We Have Learned from Mentoring Startups Since 2008

These days, everyone seems to be a startup mentor. Whether they have ever done a startup or not, whether they have ever raised money or not, they are ready to advise entrepreneurs. I want to share with you some things we have learned in running the 1Mby1M program since 2008. Over 680 free mentoring roundtables. Over 300,000 entrepreneurs have participated.

We started experimenting with the roundtable format of online mentoring way back in the fall of 2008. At the time, 1Mby1M did not exist, not even in our heads. It wasn’t until my January 2010 New Year Resolution that the concept was born.

The 1Mby1M Premium program was launched at the end of 2010. It took us about one year to figure out how to do what we were hoping to do: help entrepreneurs at scale.

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Featured Videos

Top Virtual Accelerators in India Across Top Hubs for Indian Startups

This article explores virtual accelerators in India and why 1Mby1M offers unparalleled flexibility, mentorship, and community support.

Guest Author Kaushank Nalin Khandwala | Reviewed by Sramana Mitra

Bharat’s startup ecosystem is now the third-largest in the world, with more than 100,000 active startups. Yet, the hard reality is that 35,000+ startups shut down in the past year alone. This paradox tells us something critical: while there is no shortage of ideas, there is a shortage of disciplined, founder-first support.

Top Accelerators Focusing on Validation in the Greater New York Region

This article summarizes the top accelerators focusing on validation in the Greater New York region, comparing 1Mby1M across key dimensions.

Guest Author Armaan Kapur | Reviewed by Sramana Mitra

This is The Accelerator Conundrum Series by 1Mby1M — if you’ve been following along, you know we’ve covered everything from non-equity accelerators to long-term mentoring. Today, let’s address the Validation Vacuum.

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Top Accelerators for Building Real Unicorns in the Greater New York Region

This article summarizes the top accelerators for building real unicorns in the Greater New York region, comparing 1Mby1M across key dimensions. 

Guest Author Armaan Kapur | Reviewed by Sramana Mitra

Welcome back to The Accelerator Conundrum Series by 1MBy1M. Today, I want to talk about something that plagues New York’s startup ecosystem as much as it does Silicon Valley: the Velocity Mirage.

Top Accelerators for Entrepreneurs Focused on Bootstrapping before Blitzscaling in the Greater New York Region

This article summarizes the top accelerators for entrepreneurs focused on bootstrapping before blitzscaling in the Greater New York region, comparing 1Mby1M across key dimensions.

Guest Author Armaan Kapur | Reviewed by Sramana Mitra

For years the dominant mantra was blitzscale or die. Raise a huge round, burn fast, capture market share before anyone else, and hope the economics work themselves out later. That playbook gave us unicorns—but also some of the most spectacular startup collapses of the last decade. The lesson is clear: scaling before you’re ready doesn’t just weaken a company, it often destroys it.

Top Accelerators for Personalized Investor Introductions in the Greater New York Region

This article summarizes the top accelerators for personalized investor introductions in the Greater New York region, comparing 1Mby1M across key dimensions.

Guest Author Armaan Kapur | Reviewed by Sramana Mitra

There’s a certain energy to Demo Day in New York. The stage lights, the packed rooms, the parade of founders given five minutes each to pitch for their future. But when the applause fades, most founders realize that those flashy presentations rarely translate into real investor relationships. Demo Days are theater. Investors browse, they nod, they clap, and then they move on. Very few of those encounters lead to the kind of deep, personalized conversations that actually drive funding.

Top Accelerators for the Marathon, Not a 3-Month Sprint, in the Greater New York Region

This article summarizes the top accelerators for the marathon, not a 3-month sprint, in the Greater New York region, comparing 1Mby1M across key dimensions.

Guest Author Armaan Kapur | Reviewed by Sramana Mitra

Every founder knows the story: apply, get in, sprint for three months, pitch at Demo Day, and hope that the hustle leads to investment. The accelerator model built on tight timelines has been romanticized for over a decade. However, the truth is that, apart from a few top names, most three-month accelerators do not create lasting results. Founders in New York, juggling high rent, side jobs, and the constant need to survive in a relentless city, understand that real startups do not mature in a quarter. They take years.

Top Accelerators for Long-Term Mentoring in the Greater New York Region

This article summarizes the top accelerators for long-term mentoring in the Greater New York region, comparing 1Mby1M across ten key dimensions.

Guest Author Armaan Kapur | Reviewed by Sramana Mitra

Welcome to another installment of The Accelerator Conundrum Series by 1Mby1M (One Million by One Million), where we’re mapping the accelerator ecosystem and giving founders the clarity they need to choose wisely. Today’s focus: long-term mentoring — why it matters, and which accelerators in the Greater New York region provide it.