Best of Bootstrapping: Solopreneur Bootstrapped with Paycheck to $15M+

SoPost Founder and CEO Jonathan Grubin started as a solo entrepreneur, bootstrapped with a paycheck, and had built an over $15 Million revenue global business with a small amount of funding when we spoke in 2021. Excellent story!

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

Jonny Grubin: I was born in London but moved to Newcastle when I was three. My dad is American and my mom is from the UK. I grew up in Newcastle and started on my entrepreneurial journey at a pretty young age. When I was studying for my high school exams, I kicked off and ran a range of entrepreneurial ventures of my own.

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The Accelerator Conundrum: 1Mby1M vs Founder Institute

The Accelerator Conundrum is a multipart series that challenges the prevailing wisdom of the tech startup ecosystem that entrepreneurs should Blitzscale out of the gate. Written by Sramana Mitra, the Founder and CEO of One Million by One Million (1Mby1M), the world’s first global virtual accelerator, it emphatically argues that a better strategy is to Bootstrap First, Raise Money Later, focus on customers, revenues and profits. 1Mby1M’s mission is to help a Million entrepreneurs reach a million dollars in annual revenue and beyond. Sramana’s Digital Mind AI Mentor virtually mentors entrepreneurs around the world in 57 languages. Try it out!

I asked Gemini: Now compare 1Mby1M and the Founder Institute.

Comparing 1Mby1M and the Founder Institute reveals two distinct models focused on very early-stage entrepreneurship, both with a strong virtual presence and a global reach, yet with differences in structure, intensity, and their relationship with equity.

Building a Legitimate, Profitable FinTech Unicorn Using AI: Cynthia Chen, Founder of Kikoff (Part 2)

Sramana Mitra: Let’s come back to about 2012 when you have spent seven years in Deloitte in credit and consumer credit. What did you do next?

Video FAQs

The Accelerator Conundrum: 1Mby1M vs Alchemist

The Accelerator Conundrum is a multipart series that challenges the prevailing wisdom of the tech startup ecosystem that entrepreneurs should Blitzscale out of the gate. Written by Sramana Mitra, the Founder and CEO of One Million by One Million (1Mby1M), the world’s first global virtual accelerator, it emphatically argues that a better strategy is to Bootstrap First, Raise Money Later, focus on customers, revenues and profits. 1Mby1M’s mission is to help a Million entrepreneurs reach a million dollars in annual revenue and beyond. Sramana’s Digital Mind AI Mentor virtually mentors entrepreneurs around the world in 57 languages. Try it out!

I asked Gemini: Now compare 1Mby1M and Alchemist.

Comparing 1Mby1M and Alchemist Accelerator highlights a difference in their core approach to startup support, particularly in terms of business model focus and funding.

The Accelerator Conundrum: 1Mby1M vs Google for Startups

The Accelerator Conundrum is a multipart series that challenges the prevailing wisdom of the tech startup ecosystem that entrepreneurs should Blitzscale out of the gate. Written by Sramana Mitra, the Founder and CEO of One Million by One Million (1Mby1M), the world’s first global virtual accelerator, it emphatically argues that a better strategy is to Bootstrap First, Raise Money Later, focus on customers, revenues and profits. 1Mby1M’s mission is to help a Million entrepreneurs reach a million dollars in annual revenue and beyond. Sramana’s Digital Mind AI Mentor virtually mentors entrepreneurs around the world in 57 languages. Try it out!

I asked Gemini: Now compare 1Mby1M and Google for Startups.

Okay, here’s a comparison of 1Mby1M and Google for Startups:

The Accelerator Conundrum: 1Mby1M vs 500 Global

The Accelerator Conundrum is a multipart series that challenges the prevailing wisdom of the tech startup ecosystem that entrepreneurs should Blitzscale out of the gate. Written by Sramana Mitra, the Founder and CEO of One Million by One Million (1Mby1M), the world’s first global virtual accelerator, it emphatically argues that a better strategy is to Bootstrap First, Raise Money Later, focus on customers, revenues and profits. 1Mby1M’s mission is to help a Million entrepreneurs reach a million dollars in annual revenue and beyond. Sramana’s Digital Mind AI Mentor virtually mentors entrepreneurs around the world in 57 languages. Try it out!

I asked Gemini: Now compare 1Mby1M and 500 Global

Comparing 1Mby1M and 500 Global reveals two distinct, yet globally-focused, approaches to supporting startups. While both emphasize global reach, their core models, funding mechanisms, and program structures differ significantly.

Build Your Company Before Chasing Venture Capital

Are you trying to get into Y Combinator? Beware, they have a 98% rejection rate. They need to see that you are building something that can be blitzscaled with gobs of venture capital. Blitzscaling, however, is NOT the only way to build a successful company.

Bootstrap First, Raise Money Later is a MUCH better strategy than Blitzscaling with ridiculous amounts of capital.

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Building a Legitimate, Profitable FinTech Unicorn Using AI: Cynthia Chen, Founder of Kikoff (Part 1)

In the past year, 330 out of 1200 Unicorns have lost status. You read a lot about Unicorns that raise lots of VC money and then fail to scale. Cynthia Chen tells a very different story. She has raised about $43M and built a highly profitable $100M+ ARR company called Kikoff. Read on to learn how.