Best of Bootstrapping: From Laid-off Engineer to Successful Startup Co-founder

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

Michelle Munson is Co-founder of Aspera, a company she began after being laid off. Aspera was her realization that she could not only control her own career path, but also create jobs for other people in a culture she established. I hope this conversation from 2009 inspires everyone who has been let go by their employers. Aspera was acquired by IBM in 2017.

SM: Michelle, where does your story begin?

MM: I grew up in Kansas, on a farm. My family is a five-generation farm family that raises Angus cattle as well as wheat, corn and soybeans. There is a long-standing family tradition in both the line of business and the location. My mom is a retired university professor. I grew up in Kansas, went to school there and went to college at Kansas State University. That is an interesting point with me; I was accepted to MIT and went to Kansas State.

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GitLab Relies on a Comprehensive DevOps Suite to Address Growth

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1Mby1M Virtual Accelerator Investor Forum: With Dheeraj Pandey, Founder of Nutanix (Part 1)

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Sramana Mitra: We’re going to continue the conversation we’ve had where we talked about his background as a founder of a successful high-growth company. We’re going to talk about investment today. Let’s start by however you want to introduce yourself and your companies.

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Colors: Blue Vastness  VI

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 – Blue Vastness  VI

Blue Vastness  VI | Sramana Mitra, 2021 | Watercolor, Pastel, Brush Pen | 8  x 8, On Paper

Bootstrapping a FinTech Startup by Piggybacking with Services: Quavo Co-Founder David Chmielewski (Part 1)

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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?

Catching Up On Readings: Web3

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September 22 – 591st 1Mby1M Mentoring Roundtable for Entrepreneurs

Entrepreneurs are invited to the 591st FREE online 1Mby1M Mentoring Roundtable on Thursday, September 22, 2022, 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!

590th Roundtable Recording

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