Roundtable Recap: August 24 – Your Positioning Must Deliver

During this week’s roundtable, we worked with two startups. They have an issue in common: inconsistency between their Positioning and their ability to deliver on their stated value proposition.

Gigsboard

First up, we had Sujith Kattathara Bhaskaran from Kochi, India, pitching GigsBoard, a next generation Upwork.

Trade Consultancy

Then Maggie pitched a trade consultancy. Her skill set and proposed value proposition do not seem to be aligned. They need to be.

You can listen to the recording of this roundtable here:

>>>

Featured Videos

Best of Bootstrapping: Bootstrapped a Niche E-commerce Venture

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

This conversation with Modded Euros Co-founder Sean Dawes from 2019 is a comprehensive discussion on how to bootstrap a niche e-commerce venture with a lean team and effective use of inventory financing. You can listen to the podcast interview here and watch the interview here:

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 background?

Sean Dawes: I was born and raised in Philadelphia. I haven’t gone too far away from my hometown as my company is based out of West Chester, Pennsylvania, which is 20 or 30 minutes outside of Philadelphia.

>>>

Cloud Stocks: Shopify Turns to AI and Crypto

Ontario-based Shopify (NYSE: SHOP) recently announced its quarterly results that surpassed market expectations. Shopify remains focused on emerging technologies of AI and cryptocurrency to keep driving growth.

Video FAQs

615th 1Mby1M Roundtable for Entrepreneurs Starting NOW: Live Tweeting by @1Mby1M

Today’s 615th FREE online 1Mby1M Roundtable for Entrepreneurs is starting NOW, on Thursday, August 24, 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!

615th Roundtable for Entrepreneurs Starting in 20 Minutes: Live Tweeting by @1Mby1M

Today’s 615th FREE online 1Mby1M Roundtable for Entrepreneurs is starting in 20 minutes, on Thursday, August 24, 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!

Best of Bootstrapping: Bootstrapped with Services, Raised Money, Acquired by Salesforce

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

John Stewart and his co-founder have built MapAnything from Charlotte, North Carolina and Atlanta, Georgia. When we spoke in 2018, he had raised over $40 million in funding, proving that you can build sizable VC-funded SaaS businesses from anywhere. MapAnything was sold to Salesforce in May 2019.

Sramana Mitra: Let’s start at the very beginning of your journey. Where are you from? Where did you grow up? Give us some early story.

John Stewart: I’m from upstate New York. I’m from a middle class background. My mother was a stay-at-home mom. My father was in the construction business. He was an architect. I went to school in New England for Mechanical Engineering at Worcester Polytechnic Institute in western Massachusetts and graduated in 1997.

>>>

Best of Bootstrapping: Bootstrapped, Raised Money, and Exited from Karnataka, India

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

Robosoft Founder Rohith Bhat started a services company in his hometown – a small town on the west coast of Karnataka, India. When we spoke in 2017, fifteen years later, the company was generating $18 million in revenue and had raised two sizable rounds of VC funding. In 2021, TechnoPro acquired Robosoft for $108 million. I find this story exhilarating!

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?

Rohith Bhat: I was born in Udupi, India. It’s a small town on the west coast of the country. Then I went to the local school and university and studied engineering and computer science in 1992. Once I finished engineering, I had an opportunity to go on to work for a company in Japan for Recosoft. I worked for this company for around three and a half years.

>>>

Cloud Stocks: Atlassian’s AI Investments Please the Market

Enterprise collaboration solutions provider Atlassian (Nasdaq: TEAM) recently announced its fourth quarter results that sent the stock soaring 24% in the after-hours trading session. Like others in the industry, Atlassian too is betting on AI to improve its offerings.