Sramana Mitra: What happens next?
Bob Allison: If I’d sold it for $200 million then, I’d have a different storyline. One of the things I didn’t know very well at that time was how to value my business. We did an exchange. There was some cash. It was primarily stock. In 1990, there was a big collapse in the marketplace. That affected Mimic. After that, I went to work for Aero Electronics.
>>>Join us on Thursday, July 20, at 8:30 p.m. IST / 8 a.m. PDT for a special roundtable program: Brainstorming on Eastern India Startup Development. Come share your perspective, sign up to Speak and we will accommodate as many as possible with a few minutes to talk, register here. In case you missed it, you can listen to the recording of this roundtable here.
The startup ecosystem around the world is driven by the notion that Venture Capital funding is essential to building companies.
This isn’t true.
>>>Join us on Thursday, July 20, at 8:30 p.m. IST / 8 a.m. PDT for a special roundtable program: Brainstorming on Eastern India Startup Development. Come share your perspective, sign up to Speak and we will accommodate as many as possible with a few minutes to talk, register here. In case you missed it, you can listen to the recording of this roundtable here.
This weekend, I had hundreds of interactions on LinkedIn around the subject:
Why did Kolkata miss the startup momentum that has gained ground in the other 6 major metros? What can be done to catch up and leapfrog?
>>>If you haven’t already, please study our Bootstrapping Course and Investor Introductions page.
Abacus Group Founder CEO Chris Grandi has significant domain knowledge in the hedge fund industry. When we spoke in 2015, he had self-financed a successful company offering to secure virtualization services to the segment with high service levels.
Sramana Mitra: Let’s start at the very beginning of your story. Where are you from? Where were you born, raised, and in what kind of background?
Chris Grandi: I was born and raised on the East Coast outside of Washington DC, and I grew up in suburban Maryland. For university, I went to the West Coast and attended UCLA. I then continued on to graduate work. I got my MBA from Harvard Business School. I moved out to San Francisco, California where I’ve been for approximately 20 years.
I’m publishing this series on LinkedIn called Colors to explore a topic that I care deeply about: the Renaissance Mind. I am just as passionate about entrepreneurship, technology, and business, as I am about art and culture. In this series, I will typically publish a piece of art – one of my paintings – and I request you to spend a minute or two deeply meditating on it. I urge you to watch your feelings, thoughts, reactions to the piece, and write what comes to you, what thoughts it triggers, in the dialog area. Let us see what stimulation this interaction yields. For today – Le Chemin Rouge II
Le Chemin Rouge II | Sramana Mitra, 2021 | Watercolor, Pastel, Brush Pen | 9 x 12, On Paper
Bob has a background in semiconductors where the key business model for selling chips is getting them into design wins. In PEAR, Bob has parlayed this model into a platform business catering to many top brands who bring Digital Health products to market on their platform.
There is a lot to learn for entrepreneurs from this case study about a unique and relevant go-to-market strategy, as software eats the world, and ALL companies have to now become tech companies.
>>>This report from CB Insights lists the 100 most promising private AI companies in its seventh edition of its annual list. This year’s winners are working on generative AI infrastructure, emotion analytics, and general-purpose humanoids. For this week’s posts, click on the paragraph links.
>>>Entrepreneurs are invited to the 610th FREE online 1Mby1M Mentoring Roundtable on Thursday, June 29, 2023, at 8 a.m. PDT/11 a.m. EDT/5 p.m. CEST/8:30 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. All are welcome!