1Mby1M AI Investor Forum: Mark Phillips, Founder and Managing Partner at 11 Tribes Ventures (Part 3)

Sramana Mitra: Yes. Most VCs and certainly Andreessen Horowitz are operating with a unicorn chasing mindset. This particular fundraise by Andreesen Horowitz is absurd because to give returns to limited partners on a $20 billion fund makes no sense.

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Colors: June

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 – June

June | Sramana Mitra, 2019 | Watercolor, Ink | 16  x 20, On Paper

New Generative AI Customer Support Case Studies Course + Discounts

Customer support is being reinvented by Generative AI and smart entrepreneurs are seizing the opportunity. Our new Generative AI Customer Support Startup Case Studies course explores how real founders are building successful startups in this fast-evolving space.

From AI-driven automation to natural language processing, this course showcases innovative solutions transforming customer service across industries. You’ll learn how founders launched their first products, scaled their ventures and made strategic decisions around funding, platform leverage and growth. These case studies cover everything from bootstrapping while holding a paycheck to building companies with $100M+ aspirations.

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Video FAQs

May 8 – 684th 1Mby1M Mentoring Roundtable for Entrepreneurs

Entrepreneurs are invited to the 684th FREE online 1Mby1M Mentoring Roundtable on Thursday, May 8, 2025, 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

683rd 1Mby1M Entrepreneurship Podcast with Nicholas Fok, Erez Capital

Nicholas Fok from Erez Capital discusses his firm’s investment thesis.

Podcast: Play in new window | Download

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683rd 1Mby1M Roundtable Recording

You can listen to the recording of this roundtable here:

Roundtable Recap: May 1 – AI Investment Thesis with Nicholas Fok, Erez Capital

During this week’s roundtable, we had Nicholas Fok from Erez Capital discussing his firm’s investment thesis.

QuGain Quantum Tech

As for our entrepreneur pitches, up first we had Pranav Srikanth from College Park, Maryland, pitch QuGain Quantum Tech.

Face Pay Club

Then we had Joseph Riano from Ft. Lauderdale, Florida, pitch Face Pay Club, a FinTech venture.

You can listen to the recording of this roundtable here:

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Best of Bootstrapping: Serial Entrepreneur Bootstrapped First, Raised Funds Later

JobNimbus Co-founder and CEO Ben Hodson is a serial entrepreneur with a long experience in bootstrapping and fundraising. He shared how he has navigated his journey with me in 2021.

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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