617th 1Mby1M Roundtable Recording

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

Featured Videos

Best of Bootstrapping: Entrepreneurial Couple Bootstrapped an E-commerce Business

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

Nomad Lane Co-Founders Kish Vasnani and Vanessa Jeswani bootstrapped to multi-million dollars in revenue selling a private label product before quitting their jobs. In this story, you also get to see the nuances of running successful (and not so successful) crowdfunding campaigns. Very interesting journey and insights.

Sramana Mitra: Let’s go back to the very beginning. Where are you from? Where were you born, raised, and in background?

Kish Vasnani: I was born in Jaipur, India and moved to the US when I was about one year old. I grew up around the Atlanta area and finished school there. I moved to New York to help a friend of a friend start a software company, which was also bootstrapped. We were able to sell that to Thomson Reuters. I had the itch again to go out on my own. Very candidly, I was also fired from a couple of other jobs over the course of two years.

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Roundtable Recap: September 8 – Niche is Great

During this week’s roundtable, we worked with five startups at various stages.

Royal Bengal Greentech

First up, we had Pallavi Luharuka from Kolkata, India, pitching Royal Bengal Greentech, a bio-plastic venture. We discussed her financing strategy.

eRentals

Then Fatima Zahra from Mumbai, India, pitched eRentals, a rental marketplace.

Bongostock

Next, Francis Chimburu from Dar es Salaam, Tanzania, pitched Bongostock, a wholesale liquor business.

Unicorn Startup Game

Philippe Dallaire from Montreal, Canada, then pitched Unicorn Startup Game.

TAFNE

From New Castle, Delaware, Troy Ashe pitched TAFNE loyalty rewards membership.

You can listen to the recording of this roundtable here:

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617th 1Mby1M Roundtable for Entrepreneurs Starting NOW: Live Tweeting by @1Mby1M

Today’s 617th FREE online 1Mby1M Roundtable for Entrepreneurs is starting NOW, on Thursday, September 7, 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!

617th Roundtable for Entrepreneurs Starting in 30 Minutes: Live Tweeting by @1Mby1M

Today’s 617th FREE online 1Mby1M Roundtable for Entrepreneurs is starting in 30 minutes, on Thursday, September 7, 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 Using Services to $10M and an Exit

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

Among the biases of the Venture Capital industry that need to be categorically ignored, Bootstrapping Using Services happens to be on the top of the list. Zimit Founder and co-CEO James Cramer shares yet another fantastic textbook case study. Zimit was acquired by Workday in September 2021.

Sramana Mitra: Let’s start at the beginning of your journey. Where are you from? Where were you born and raised? What kind of background did you have?

James Cramer: I was born in Southern California. I grew up in a family that moved around a lot. My dad worked in the automotive industry, and so every few years we would change locations. That put me in Seattle, Southern California, the Carolinas, and then ultimately in Florida.

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Best of Bootstrapping: Bootstrapped for 30 Years

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

Dean Guida, CEO and Founder at Infragistics, has a real passion for the elegance, simplicity, and beauty of software development. He has built a company celebrating these values.

Sramana Mitra: We will start at the beginning of your journey. Where are you from? Where were you born and raised?

Dean Guida: When I was six years old, my mom and dad got divorced. I moved to Miami, Florida. I saw how much my mom struggled to make money for us, When I was eight years old, I just wanted to work. I convinced the maintenance man in the apartment that I was living in to let me do his work. He would pay me off the books.

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Best of Bootstrapping: Serial Entrepreneur Bootstraps First, Raises Funds Later

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

Ben Hodson, Co-founder and CEO of JobNimbus, is a serial entrepreneur with a long experience in bootstrapping and fundraising. Read on to see how he has navigated his journey.

Sramana Mitra: Let’s start at the very beginning of your journey. Where are you from? Where were you born and raised? What kind of background did you have?

Ben Hodson: I say that I am from the Seattle area. I was born in Washington State on the east side of the state, but I moved to the west side when I was very young. I went to the University of Washington. I got a degree in business. Then I was interested in computers, so I did a second degree in computer science as well.

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