Best of Bootstrapping: PhishMe was Bootstrapped Using Services First, Raised Money Later

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

Following up on our ‘Bootstrapping Using Services‘ and ‘Bootstrap First, Raise Money Later’ case studies, here is the story of PhishMe, a cyber security company that has scaled nicely. Following my conversation with Co-founder Rohyt Belani in 2015, PhishMe was acquired by BlackRock in 2018.

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?

Rohyt Belani: I am originally from India. I was born and raised in India. I was there till the age of 22. I did my engineering in India.

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Last Week to Apply for the DataStax – 1Mby1M Startup Challenge

One Million by One Million (1Mby1M) is the first global virtual accelerator, headquartered in Silicon Valley. 1Mby1M aims to nurture a million entrepreneurs to reach a million dollars each in annual revenue.

Check out The DataStax – 1Mby1M Startup Challenge.

Watch – Learn — APPLY – Submit Your Application by October 28, 2021.

To experience the One Million by One Million program, register for a FREE Roundtable Mentoring Session. All who register will receive the recording by email, even if you can’t attend live. When registering, be sure to mention DataStax in ‘How did you learn about?’ so you can receive credit when your application is being judged.

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Thought Leaders in Cyber Security: Saviynt CEO Amit Saha (Part 3)

Sramana Mitra: The other driver, I imagine, is the selection of different products. There is so much innovation happening in the cybersecurity space. It has become very difficult for small companies innovating on specific point products to get into the Global 2000. The Global 2000 CIO’s are really swamped with new products to absorb and evaluate. A specialized managed service provider who does all that product and technology selection would be very attractive.

Amit Saha: Managing and abstracting the customer from the complexity of the tools and integrated them is critical. Another aspect is, identity is moving closer to the business workflow. We have a product called third-party access governance. That access governance in Global 2000 customers varies from industry to industry.

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10 Udemy Courses on How to Raise Seed Startup Funding

One frustrating observation remains with me. Entrepreneurs constantly come to us for assistance with their funding in situations where their chances of fundraising are ZERO.

We can’t do anything to assist them, regardless of how strong our investor connections are. We can’t help startups get funding until they are fundable. It pains me to see so many entrepreneurs who have no concept of what it takes to raise funds.

Cloud Stocks: UiPath Envisions Advanced ML Capabilities

The global intelligent process automation market is expected to grow at 11.5% CAGR from $8.1 billion in 2018 to reach $20.7 billion by 2026. New York-based UiPath (NYSE: PATH) recently announced its second-quarter results that continued to outpace market expectations.

Thought Leaders in Internet of Things: Ayyeka CEO Ariel Stern (Part 3)

Sramana Mitra: What is the level of adoption of the kind of end-to-end solutions you’re talking about at the city or state level?

Ariel Stern: Not that high. Some cities or municipalities are very advanced. They have a strong leadership team. They have a strong appetite for innovation. They understand that digital innovation is key for the operation and adopt digital tools. The number of such utilities is very low for numerous reasons.

Thursday, October 28 – 551st 1Mby1M Mentoring Roundtable for Entrepreneurs

Entrepreneurs are invited to the 551st FREE online 1Mby1M Mentoring Roundtable on Thursday, October 28, 2021, 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!

Best of Bootstrapping: Seismic Audio CEO Bootstrapped a $10 Million E-Commerce Business

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

E-commerce companies are relatively easy to bootstrap. In 2015, Steve Acree shared his journey bootstrapping Seismic Audio to almost $10 million in revenue.

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

Steve Acree: I was born in Tennessee, about 60 miles north of Memphis. I went to school for computers but I’ve never used my degree. I chose the wrong computer industry. I chose the repair side instead of the software side.

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