2025 Resolution: Bootstrap a Startup with a Paycheck as a Plan B Against Layoffs

Unless you are self-employed, you can be fired anytime.

And if that happens, it’s best to be ready.

Michelle Munson was laid off.

She went on to start Aspera.

She sold Aspera to IBM.

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Featured Videos

AI Investor Forum: Gus Tai on AI in Education (Part 6)

Sramana Mitra: We just discussed very thoroughly the K through 12, but in higher education, where we are dealing with much more complex topics and material, having the framework of a college or a university framework of teachers and professors, having a grading system or a degree system etc. and being part of that construct is actually helpful.

AI Investor Forum: Gus Tai on AI in Education (Part 5)

Sramana Mitra: This is interesting. It’s a little bit of a diversion, but I recently had an experience with a very close friend of mine who very readily condemned Joe Biden for pardoning his son. I don’t feel so strongly about that pardon because this is a father who has lost two children and a wife, and this is his only surviving son. Given that power, he is bound to make that choice. In my opinion, I don’t know any parent who would not make that choice. If I do the theory of mind experiment, I don’t see any father or any parent making any other choice given that power. The real question is, should a president have that kind of pardoning power?

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January 16 – 668th 1Mby1M Mentoring Roundtable for Entrepreneurs

Entrepreneurs are invited to the 668th FREE online 1Mby1M Mentoring Roundtable on Thursday, January 16, 2025, at 8 a.m. PST / 11 a.m. EST / 5 p.m. CET / 9:30 p.m. India IST.

If you are a serious entrepreneur, register to “pitch” and sell your business idea. You’ll receive straightforward feedback, advice on next steps, and answers to any of your questions. Others can register to “attend” to watch, learn, and interact through the online chat.

You can learn more here and REGISTER TO PITCH OR ATTEND HERE. Register and you will receive the recording by email, even if you are unable to attend. Please share with any entrepreneurs in your circle who may be interested.

667th 1Mby1M Roundtable Recording

In case you missed it, you can listen to the recording of this roundtable here:

Roundtable Recap: January 9 – Please Study Methodology

During this week’s roundtable, we had three pitches.

ImeJob

Up first Victor Mondal from Bangalore, India, pitched ImeJob a freemium service for technical recruitment.

Effling Kids

Next, Pankaj Kumar from Uttra Pradesh, India, pitched Effling Kids a pre-school education app.

SilentOffices

Then Bala Subramanian from East Brunswick, New Jersey, pitched SilentOffices, an agent AI concept.

In each case, I feel that studying methodology would help tremendously in determining how to put one foot before the other.

You can listen to the recording of this roundtable here:

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AI Investor Forum: Gus Tai on AI in Education (Part 4)

Sramana Mitra: Now, the equation starts to change as we get to higher education, right? There’s the big experiment that came out of MIT and Harvard edX, which started putting all the lectures online. It was the beginning of these massive online open courses (MOOCs). Today’s technology can go much further with all this personalization and Generative AI stuff. However, the same model of children being able to learn more with that personalized, infinitely patient teacher or professor in college still holds.

2025 Resolution: Bootstrap a Startup with a Paycheck and 1Mby1M

We are in 2025.

Hundreds of thousands of tech businesses have already been built successfully.

Let’s learn from those who have come before us.

Girish Navani started eClinicalWorks, a healthcare IT venture by bootstrapping with a paycheck. Girish scaled to over $500M in revenue.

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