Catching Up On Readings: State of Retail Tech

This report from CB Insights illustrates the state of retail tech. Funding and deals in retail tech continued to fall but there was strength in early stage deals. For this week’s posts, click on the paragraph links.

Featured Videos

Roundtable Recap: April 27 – Lots of Issues with TAM Modeling

During this week’s roundtable, we worked with four entrepreneurs. Several have issues with TAM modeling.

Pistis

First up, we had Kirill Demishev from Tbilisi, Georgia, pitch Pistis, a loyalty program for car rental companies.

Counsl

Next, we had James Loft from London, UK, pitch Counsl, a 2-sided marketplace for professional services.

Glimpz

Then Dhruv Tiwari from Atlanta, Georgia, pitched Glimpz, a 2-sided marketplace for music discovery.

Organic Aqua Solutions (OaS)

Next Saket Kumar from South Delhi, India, pitched Organic Aqua Solutions (OaS), a water purification technology.

You can listen to the recording of this roundtable here:

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Best of Bootstrapping: Bootstrapped to $10M from Canada

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

Jory Lamb, CEO / Founder of VistaVu Solutions, started as an entrepreneur as a 23-year old in rural Canada. He shared his 18 year journey with me in 2014.

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?

Jory Lamb: I grew up in Saskatchewan, Canada. I was also born there. My dad was a schoolteacher and my mom ran local food stores called Red Roosters. We used to own three Red Roosters, which would be the equivalent of 7-11 stores in the late 70s to the mid 80s. I went on to the University of Saskatchewan and graduated with a business degree.

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Video FAQs

Blocking Ransomware at the Hard Drive Level: John Benkert, CEO of Cigent (Part 4)

Sramana Mitra: When you did the spin off and InQTel was part of that process, were they aware of the kind of go-to-market that you were going to pursue?

John Benkert: We explained what we wanted to do and why we wanted to do it. They were great partners and gave us great feedback.

Sramana Mitra: How much did you raise from InQTel?

Best of Bootstrapping: Bootstrapped with a Paycheck from Atlanta to Exit

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

Here is Ingenious Med Founder Steve Liu’s early story from 2014. Yet another instance of a very successful company being built in the bootstrapping using a paycheck mode. Harris Novum acquired Ingenious Med in 2021.

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

Steve Liu: I was born in the United States. I was born in DC and lived in Virginia my whole life. My parents were immigrants but not your typical immigrants. My father came to UVA for his undergraduate studies. I grew up pretty typical with Asian parents. I’m sure you know what I’m talking about.

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605th Roundtable for Entrepreneurs Starting NOW: Live Tweeting by @1Mby1M

Today’s 605th FREE online 1Mby1M Roundtable for Entrepreneurs is starting NOW, on Thursday, April 27, 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!

605th Roundtable for Entrepreneurs Starting in 30 Minutes: Live Tweeting by @1Mby1M

Today’s 605th FREE online 1Mby1M Roundtable for Entrepreneurs is starting in 30 minutes, on Thursday, April 27, 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!

Blocking Ransomware at the Hard Drive Level: John Benkert, CEO of Cigent (Part 3)

Sramana Mitra: Let’s double-click down on what you said. I get the sense that you have a company where you were experimenting with some technology. You were experimenting with how to protect data. Explain more about the technology.