The Accelerator Conundrum: The Future of Startup Acceleration – A Continuous Journey, Not a 3-month Sprint

The Accelerator Conundrum is a multipart series that challenges the prevailing wisdom of the tech startup ecosystem that entrepreneurs should Blitzscale out of the gate. Written by Sramana Mitra, the Founder and CEO of One Million by One Million (1Mby1M), the world’s first global virtual accelerator, it emphatically argues that a better strategy is to Bootstrap First, Raise Money Later, focus on customers, revenues and profits. 1Mby1M’s mission is to help a Million entrepreneurs reach a million dollars in annual revenue and beyond. Sramana’s Digital Mind AI Mentor virtually mentors entrepreneurs around the world in 57 languages. Try it out!

We’ve reached the end of this incisive journey, laying bare the uncomfortable truths about the traditional 3-month equity-based accelerator model. 

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July 3 – 692nd 1Mby1M Mentoring Roundtable for Entrepreneurs

Entrepreneurs are invited to the 692nd FREE online 1Mby1M Mentoring Roundtable on Thursday, July 3, 2025, 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 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.

691st 1Mby1M Entrepreneurship Podcast with David Evans, Sentiero Ventures

David Evans, Managing Partner at Sentiero Ventures, discusses his firm’s AI investment thesis.

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The Accelerator Conundrum: Equity Preservation

The Accelerator Conundrum is a multipart series that challenges the prevailing wisdom of the tech startup ecosystem that entrepreneurs should Blitzscale out of the gate. Written by Sramana Mitra, the Founder and CEO of One Million by One Million (1Mby1M), the world’s first global virtual accelerator, it emphatically argues that a better strategy is to Bootstrap First, Raise Money Later, focus on customers, revenues and profits. 1Mby1M’s mission is to help a Million entrepreneurs reach a million dollars in annual revenue and beyond. Sramana’s Digital Mind AI Mentor virtually mentors entrepreneurs around the world in 57 languages. Try it out!

Let’s address what is, perhaps, the single most critical advantage of a model like 1Mby1M over the traditional accelerator: equity preservation. 

In the world of startups, your equity is your wealth, your control, and your ultimate payoff. 

691st 1Mby1M Roundtable Recording

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

Roundtable Recap: June 26 – AI Investment Thesis with David Evans, Sentiero Ventures

During this week’s roundtable, we had David Evans, Managing Partner at Sentiero Ventures, discussing his firm’s AI investment thesis.

Espotz

As for entrepreneur pitches, up first we had Parshavv Jain from Ontario, Canada, pitch espotz.

Inflahormony

Next, we had Yamini Bynagari from San Ramon, California, pitch Inflahormony.

Void

Then we had Venkat Kalyan from Brisbane, Australia, pitch Void.

We also had extensive discussion on equity versus non-equity accelerators. If this topic interests you, please follow my blog series The Accelerator Conundrum.

You can listen to the recording of this roundtable here:

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The Accelerator Conundrum: Continuity, Not Cohort

The Accelerator Conundrum is a multipart series that challenges the prevailing wisdom of the tech startup ecosystem that entrepreneurs should Blitzscale out of the gate. Written by Sramana Mitra, the Founder and CEO of One Million by One Million (1Mby1M), the world’s first global virtual accelerator, it emphatically argues that a better strategy is to Bootstrap First, Raise Money Later, focus on customers, revenues and profits. 1Mby1M’s mission is to help a Million entrepreneurs reach a million dollars in annual revenue and beyond. Sramana’s Digital Mind AI Mentor virtually mentors entrepreneurs around the world in 57 languages. Try it out!

Having exposed the limitations of the fixed-term, location-bound accelerator “cohort,” it’s crucial to highlight another defining strength of the 1Mby1M model: its emphasis on a continuity. It fundamentally alters the quality and longevity of the guidance and support you receive.

1Mby1M Virtual Accelerator AI Investor Forum: Warren Packard, AI Fund (Part 5)

Sramana Mitra: Let me point out a couple of things that I’m hearing here that are going to be really interesting for our audience. Number one is, AI is calling to question pricing in enterprise software right now in a big way, right?