From MIT PhD Student to Machine Learning Entrepreneur: Verta.ai CEO Manasi Vartak (Part 3)

Sramana Mitra: If you’re an MIT founder, I don’t think gender matters at all.

Manasi Vartak: Based on my experience, I would push back. It’s definitely different. I don’t think it’s terrible. MIT gives you a significant leg up. The other thing that was helping here was that it was an open-source tool that people were using. It wasn’t a question of building, it was more of getting people to pay for it.

Sramana Mitra: You have the product out there as an open-source tool.

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Thursday, April 7 – 570th 1Mby1M Mentoring Roundtable for Entrepreneurs

Entrepreneurs are invited to the 570th FREE online 1Mby1M Mentoring Roundtable on Thursday, April 7, 2022, at 8 a.m. PDT/11 a.m. EDT/4 p.m. CET/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!

From Developer to 2-Time Successful AI Entrepreneur with Exits: Behamics CEO Valon Xhafa (Part 5)

Sramana Mitra: How long did you work in Europe and when did you start coming into the US market?

Valon Xhafa: I worked in Europe for two years and then we started to gain a lot of traction. We suddenly found out that we were getting traction from US.

Sramana Mitra: How were you finding customers?

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Analysis of AppLovin’s Wurl Acquisition

According to a recent report, the global mobile apps market is estimated to grow at 21% to reach $654 billion by 2025. Palo Alto-based AppLovin’s (Nasdaq:APP) software solutions provide advanced tools for mobile app developers to grow their businesses by automating and optimizing the marketing and monetization of their apps.

From MIT PhD Student to Machine Learning Entrepreneur: Verta.ai CEO Manasi Vartak (Part 2)

Sramana Mitra: Tell me more about the transition from being a PhD student to becoming a startup founder.

Manasi Vartak: As with all startups, it’s fun and hard. While I was wrapping up my PhD, I had been reasonably connected in the VC community in Boston. I was on the student team that ran a VC program, so I got exposed to the VC world. I started gathering information and talking to people who might want to buy the system we were building. Also, trying to learn about fundraising and building a team. It was many months before I incorporated and got things rolling.

Best of Bootstrapping: Bootstrapping a Vertical CRM Product using Services

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

Cleverping CEO Haysam Ali has built a $10 million services business and alongside, he has bootstrapped a vertical CRM product for the telecom industry. Read on to understand the nuances.

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

Haysam Ali: I was born in Brazil. My entire family is from Lebanon. My dad was born and raised in Lebanon. He moved to Sao Paulo when he was middle-aged. My mother is Italian. My background is mixed. I went to college in Australia when I was 16. I went to business school there. I moved back to Brazil for college. I went to school for advertising in one of the major colleges around here.

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April 7 – 570th 1Mby1M Mentoring Roundtable for Entrepreneurs

Entrepreneurs are invited to the 570th FREE online 1Mby1M Mentoring Roundtable on Thursday, April 7, 2022, at 8 a.m. PDT/11 a.m. EDT/4 p.m. CET/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!

From Developer to 2-Time Successful AI Entrepreneur with Exits: Behamics CEO Valon Xhafa (Part 4)

Sramana Mitra: How did you decide who was going to be the CEO?

Valon Xhafa: It was a common agreement. We didn’t have a concrete discussion about who’s going to be the CEO. For us, the vision mattered more. This was a really important thing. I learnt from my friends that they have a lot of issues with their co-founders about this specific decision instead of focusing on building the MVP.

Having a co-founder with whom you have a common agreement and having open communication is really important. We have different perspectives on different things. My co-founder is more like going step by step and checking stuff. I’m a bit more into going faster and spending more money. We average out in the middle.