February 12 – 715th 1Mby1M Mentoring Roundtable for Entrepreneurs

Entrepreneurs are invited to the 715th FREE online 1Mby1M Mentoring Roundtable on Thursday, February 12, 2026, at 8 a.m. PST / 11 a.m. EST / 5 p.m. CET / 9:30 p.m. India IST.

If you are a serious entrepreneur, register to Pitch and sell your business idea. You’ll receive straightforward feedback from Sramana Mitra, advice on next steps, and answers to any of your questions. Others can register to Attend to watch and learn.

You can learn more here and REGISTER TO PITCH OR ATTEND HERE. Please share with any entrepreneurs in your circle who may be Interested.

Featured Videos

714th 1Mby1M Mentoring Roundtable Recording

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

You can register for an upcoming roundtable here.

Roundtable Recap: February 5 – Niche is Good

During this week’s roundtable, I worked with three founders of niche startups from India.

The Reader AI App

First up, Midhun Thomson from Bengaluru, India, pitched TheReader.AI app. The product is seeing a small number of paying customers. 

KinderStories

Next, we had Ajay Sadhu from Hyderabad, India, pitch KinderStories, a niche app for pre-school teachers. 

Fosse

Then, Siddhand Agarwal from Bengaluru, India, pitched Fosse, a compliance SaaS product for Indian MSMEs.

In general, I really like niche businesses. Apropos, please read: Myth of “Unfundable” LLM Wrappers – Build Profitable AI SaaS | 1Mby1M.

You can listen to today’s recording here:

Video FAQs

Florida Startup Accelerator Ecosystem: Beyond Hype Cycles to Enduring Companies

Florida startup ecosystem, once considered peripheral, has matured into one of the most dynamic — and instructive — entrepreneurial landscapes in America. Miami’s venture boom, Tampa’s quiet SaaS strength, Orlando’s simulation innovation, and Jacksonville’s pragmatic fintech culture each tell a story of evolution. Together, they form a compelling case study on what happens when local ambition meets capital, and when that capital is either well aligned or catastrophically misaligned with sustainable entrepreneurship.

Florida Startup Accelerator Ecosystem: Tampa, Orlando, and Jacksonville – Quiet Builders in Florida’s Second Wave

While Miami has drawn the cameras and capital, Florida’s second wave of startup hubs — Tampa, Orlando, and Jacksonville — has been quietly building companies with staying power. These cities may not have Miami’s hype machine, but they do have something far more valuable: grounded founders, real customers, and ecosystems that are learning to scale sustainably.

Florida Startup Accelerator Ecosystem: Miami – The Hype, the Reality, and the Path to Sustainable Entrepreneurship

Miami has spent the last few years basking in the glow of headlines calling it the next Silicon Valley. Venture capitalists fled San Francisco for sunny waterfronts. Tech founders tweeted from beachfront offices. The city became synonymous with the great post-pandemic migration of talent.

Top Non-Equity Accelerators in Hyderabad

This article summarizes the top non-equity accelerators in Hyderabad, and compares them to 1Mby1M across key dimensions.

By Guest Authors Kaushank Khandwala and Snigdha Rani Sahoo | Reviewed by Sramana Mitra

This article, part of the Pro-Founder Series, delves into the landscape of non-equity accelerators in Hyderabad, India, offering a research-driven perspective for founders seeking support without relinquishing ownership. In the post-COVID era, where capital efficiency and sustainable growth are paramount, we analyze over 30 programs, filtering for those that prioritize founder-first principles, mentorship, and long-term value creation, aligning with the ethos of 1Mby1M and the insights from “The Accelerator Conundrum” by Sramana Mitra. This is not a ranking, but a guide to help bootstrapped entrepreneurs navigate the ecosystem and find the right fit for their validation-first journey.

Ohio Startup Accelerator Ecosystem: Smaller Hubs – Dayton, Akron, Toledo, and Youngstown

While Cleveland, Columbus, and Cincinnati dominate Ohio startup headlines, the smaller hubs—Dayton, Akron, Toledo, and Youngstown—offer unique opportunities for capital-efficient IT and IT-enabled services ventures. These cities exemplify the challenges of geographically dispersed ecosystems, including limited venture funding, smaller local markets, and the temptation for premature scaling. Yet, with the right approach, they can produce profitable, resilient startups aligned with 1Mby1M’s Bootstrap First, Raise Money Later philosophy.