Best of Bootstrapping: Why Ownership Matters

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

For those of you rushing to raise venture capital with a deck of slides or a minimum viable product, let me offer you a challenge: How can you get to a $20 million pre-money valuation in Series A, raise $5 million, and keep control of 80% of the equity?

That’s what Christian Chabot, founder of Tableau Software, can teach you from his real-life experience. Chabot, needless to say, did so by bootstrapping the early stages of his company, validating the customer need, building a great product in the domain of analytics and visualization, and generating serious revenue and OEM partnerships before going out to raise any venture financing at all.

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Man and Superman: India’s Prospects in the Age of AI (Part 3)

Tuberculosis is still rampant in the more resource-constrained areas of the world from India, Southeast Asia, and South Africa. There are about 10 million to 11 million TB cases every year. It’s still a problem. A lot of people still die from TB. So here, we have Indian AI technology addressing a big medical problem, and having a huge impact.

Best of Bootstrapping: Bootstrapped with Sophisticated Strategic Maneuvering

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

BioConnect Founder CEO Rob Douglas has built a thriving founder-financed business from Toronto using very sophisticated strategic maneuvering. I just loved discussing the strategic nuances of this business. You’ll learn a LOT from reading this story from 2018.

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?

Rob Douglas: I’m a Canadian. I was born just outside of Toronto. I have grown up in and around the city of Toronto. I’m married. I have two kids. Both of them are in their 20’s. I have spent most of my entrepreneurial life primarily focused on markets outside of Canada. US and EMEA have been primary markets over my career.

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Thursday, Nov. 30 – 626th 1Mby1M Mentoring Roundtable for Entrepreneurs

Entrepreneurs are invited to the 626th FREE online 1Mby1M Mentoring Roundtable on Thursday, November 30, 2023, 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. All are welcome!

Man and Superman: India’s Prospects in the Age of AI (Part 2)

Now, I stand before you in 2023. The world has evolved. AI has quickened pace. There is both good news and bad news in that quickening of technological advancement. Let us start with the good news.

India has leapfrogged to an extremely positive strategic position. Some of this is due to the movements in geopolitics. American hegemony has ended. China has emerged as a parallel power with imperialistic ambitions. The West wants India on its side to counterbalance China.

Man and Superman: India’s Prospects in the Age of AI (Part 1)

(Sramana Mitra discusses India’s Prospects in the Age of AI at the Ramakrishna Mission Institute of Culture in Kolkata, India on November 3, 2023)

It’s a real pleasure for me to return to this forum after four years. Thank you very much, Maharaj, for having me again and again. History is evolving rather quickly at the moment.

Catching Up On Readings: Thanksgiving 2023

Happy Thanksgiving to all our readers! This feature from TechCrunch looks at how Black Friday online sales hit a record $9.8B in the US and $70.9B globally. For this week’s posts, click on the paragraph links.

Building a Terrific EdTech Venture in India: Pallav Pandey, CEO of Uolo (Part 6)

Sramana Mitra: This is very interesting. The way you’ve stepped through the line of thinking of why you’ve arrived at these decisions is very instructive. Where are your schools?

Pallav Pandey: All over India. These schools are very different from typical SME clusters. SME clusters are very local. That is not how schools are. Schools are evenly distributed across India. The only way you can go and cover schools is if you figure out a telephonic way to reach out.

Sramana Mitra: Definitely.