The Accelerator Conundrum: Navigating Your Path to Startup Success

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!

Alright, let’s cut through the noise and get to the brutal truth of the startup accelerator world. Many entrepreneurs, starry-eyed and naive, leap headfirst into 3-month accelerator programs without truly understanding the long-term implications. It’s time for an incisive commentary, a necessary dissection.

1Mby1M Udemy Courses with Sramana Mitra: Financing

Raising money to build a startup is a huge challenge. To be able to raise any money at all, you must first understand how investors think. We have developed the following courses catering to entrepreneurs in different stages of their entrepreneurial journey.

1Mby1M Virtual Accelerator Investor Forum: With Kyle Asman, Managing Director at Backswing Ventures (Part 1)

Kyle Asman is Managing Director at Backswing Ventures, a firm that has a non-Unicorn investment thesis.

Sramana Mitra: Let’s get acquainted. Tell us about your background and also about Backswing Ventures.

Featured Videos

1Mby1M Virtual Accelerator Investor Forum: With Bhaskar Ghosh, Partner and CTO at 8VC (Part 1)

Bhaskar Ghosh, Partner and CTO at 8VC, discusses his firm’s investment thesis, and we have an interesting discussion about the definition of a “good” entrepreneur.

1Mby1M Virtual Accelerator Investor Forum: With Giuseppe Donvito, Partner at P101 Ventures (Part 1)

Giuseppe Donvito is Partner at P101 Ventures based in Milan. We have a wonderful conversation about Italian startups.

Sramana Mitra: Let’s start by introducing our audience to you and get acquainted ourselves as well.

Giuseppe Donvito: I’m a Partner at P101. I’ve been in the venture capital and private equity industry for more than 20 years. I have a Masters in Telecommunications Engineering, an MBA, and completed an advanced executive course at Northwestern University at Chicago.

596th 1Mby1M Entrepreneurship Podcast with Julien Pham, Third Culture Capital

Julien Pham is Founder and Managing Director at Third Culture Capital (3CC), a firm focused on investing in the healthcare space.

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596th Roundtable Recording with Julien Pham, Third Culture Capital

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

Roundtable Recap: November 17 – Spotlight on Healthcare Investing

During this week’s roundtable, we had as our guest Julien Pham, Founder and Managing Director at 3CC Third Culture Capital, a firm focused on investing in the healthcare space.

Afterlife

As for entrepreneur pitches, we first had Brett Maxfield from Los Angeles, California, pitch Afterlife, a concept-stage venture that is waiting for financing to get off the ground.

Efeedo

Next, we had Javed Christi from Saint Charles, Missouri, pitch Efeedo, a revenue stage venture in the crowded restaurant POS space, that is looking to raise financing.

You can listen to the recording of this roundtable here:

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595th 1Mby1M Entrepreneurship Podcast with Sergey Jakimov, LongeVC

Sergey Jakimov is Co-founder and Partner at LongeVC, a firm focused on the Longevity space. We discuss trends and opportunities in this sector full of whitespace waiting for the entrepreneur’s magic touch.

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595th Roundtable Recording with Sergey Jakimov, LongeVC

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

Roundtable Recap: November 3 – Spotlight on Longevity Startup Opportunities

During this week’s roundtable, we had as our guest Sergey Jakimov, Co-founder and Partner at LongeVC, a firm focused on the Longevity space. We discussed trends and opportunities in this sector full of whitespace waiting for the entrepreneur’s magic touch.

13 Layers

As for entrepreneur pitches, we first had Justin Perron from Lexington, Kentucky, pitching 13 Layers.

Climate CRO

Next, we had Dr. Justin Lancaster from Barnard, Vermont, pitching Climate CRO.

You can listen to the recording of this roundtable here:

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1Mby1M Virtual Accelerator Investor Forum: With Heather Hiles, Founder and Managing Partner at Imminent Equity (Part 1)

Heather Hiles is the Founder and Managing Partner at Imminent Equity and a pioneering entrepreneur in the Black community. Heather also has deep experience in financing Black entrepreneurs, as well as on the education side to close knowledge gaps at scale.

Sramana Mitra: Let’s get you acquainted with our audience. Tell us about you and the tracks you have traveled to get to where you are today. Tell us about what you’re working on at Imminent. What is your investment focus?

594th 1Mby1M Entrepreneurship Podcast with Kyle Asman, Backswing Ventures

Kyle Asman is Managing Director at Backswing Ventures, a firm that has a non-Unicorn investment thesis.

Podcast: Play in new window | Download

Subscribe: Apple Podcasts | Android | Google Play | Stitcher | TuneIn | RSS

594th Roundtable Recording with Kyle Asman, Backswing Ventures

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

Roundtable Recap: October 27 – Non-Unicorn Investment Thesis

During this week’s roundtable, we had as our guest Kyle Asman, Managing Director at Backswing Ventures, a firm that has a non-Unicorn investment thesis.

You can listen to the recording of this roundtable here:

>>>

593rd 1Mby1M Entrepreneurship Podcast with Giuseppe Donvito, P101 Ventures

Giuseppe Donvito is Partner at P101 Ventures based in Milan. We have a wonderful conversation about Italian startups.

Podcast: Play in new window | Download

Subscribe: Apple Podcasts | Android | Google Play | Stitcher | TuneIn | RSS

593rd Roundtable Recording with Giuseppe Donvito, P101 Ventures

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