Best of Bootstrapping: Bootstrapped to $30M from the Czech Republic

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

This is a wonderful story of a Czech entrepreneur, Vaclav Muchna, Co-owner and CEO of Y Soft. At age 22, at a time when his country was far from ready to support entrepreneurs, he struggled through immense odds and has built a global business. Read on for inspiration and excellent lessons from our discussion in 2017.

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?

Vaclav Muchna: I was born in Czech Republic. I studied electronics in high school, which I didn’t like. It was not possible back then that would parlay into the software industry. Because the country was not so developed, access to technologies was limited. I really didn’t like the school. I was born and raised in Prague and then moved to Brno which is the largest city.

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August 10 – 615th 1Mby1M Mentoring Roundtable for Entrepreneurs

Entrepreneurs are invited to the 615th FREE online 1Mby1M Mentoring Roundtable on Thursday, August 10, 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!

Best of Bootstrapping: Bootstrapped to $10M First, Raised $25M Later

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

“Bootstrap First, Raise Money Later,” is the 1Mby1M mantra. Ashik Ahmed, Co-founder of Deputy, shared his story in 2017 of bootstrapping to $10 Million from Australia before raising $25 Million from the US in the first external financing.

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

Ashik Ahmed: I was born in Bangladesh. In 1997, my whole family migrated to Melbourne in Australia. I did my high school education as well as university in Melbourne. Then we moved to Sydney where I started working for my co-founder. My co-founder and I founded Deputy in 2008.

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Video FAQs

Catching Up On Readings: IPO’s First Half 2023

This feature from Zacks looks at how IPOs fared in the first half of 2023. Total proceeds raised were $7.6 billion this year, up 91.3% from last year. For this week’s posts, click on the paragraph links.

Roundtable Recap: August 3 – Interesting Labor Arbitrage Idea

During this week’s roundtable, we worked with two startups.

Withstand Fitness

First up, we had Swagatika Priyambada from Odisha, India, pitch Withstand Fitness. I liked the idea of a labor arbitrage on personal trainers from India. Currently, personal trainers cost a fortune in the US.

8020 Excellerate

Then Ardi Ghorashy from Markham, Canada, pitched 8020 Excellerate, an executive coaching venture that is already in revenue.

You can listen to the recording of this roundtable here:

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Best of Bootstrapping: Bootstrapped Multiple Education Software Companies

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

Lane Rankin, Founder at Illuminate Education, was first a teacher, then a school and school district administrator. His background is not of a typical tech entrepreneur. However, his deep domain knowledge and relationships in the education field have propelled him to become a very successful EdTech entrepreneur. Great story!

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

Lane Rankin: I’m currently in California. I was born in Seattle, Washington. I have a Bachelors degree in Applied Mathematics and went on to get a Masters in Leadership. I started my first company back in 1999.

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Non-Technical Founders Building a Venture Scale SaaS Company: Sendoso CEO Braydan Young (Part 5)

Sramana Mitra: When you made that decision to bring in an enterprise, you were feeling this tension. Did you add to enterprise customers?

Braydan Young: We added.

Sramana Mitra: I thought that’s what you would be doing. People want more enterprise customers.

Braydan Young: We looked at churn. We could look and see who’s doing the sending in the platform. Mid-market enterprises were consistent senders. They would send all the time. You can close SMB faster, but they can’t influence your roadmap.

614th Roundtable Spotlighting Women Entrepreneurs Starting NOW: Live Tweeting by @1Mby1M

Today’s 614th FREE online 1Mby1M Roundtable for Entrepreneurs is starting NOW, on Thursday, August 3, at 8 a.m. PDT/11 a.m. EDT/5 p.m. CEST/8:30 p.m. India IST. CLICK HERE to join. MEETING NUMBER: 2553 231 4090 PASSWORD: startup  All are welcome!