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.

Calling All Angel Investors

We are doing a retrospective on my blog on Seed Capital from Angel Investors as part of the 1M/1M project. As we speak with a variety of angels in different regions, what strikes me is the number of startups out there looking for seed capital. >>>

Featured Videos

Angel Investing: A Growing Phenomenon Around the World

By guest author Karen E. Wilson

A new book from the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD) looks at seed and early stage financing for start-up companies and notes the impact of the recent economic crisis. With banks reluctant to provide loans to startups and venture capital firms preferring to invest in later stage companies, a growing class of experienced entrepreneurs and business people are stepping in to fill this funding gap. These “angel investors” not only provide funding but also leverage their expertise to provide mentoring to the entrepreneurial teams in which they invest, according to a new OECD report. >>>

Seed Capital: Kosch Capital Management Managing Partner Scott Kosch

Sramana Mitra: Hi, Scott. Tell us briefly about your background.

Scott Kosch: I studied economics and psychology at Claremont McKenna College, prior to trying out management consulting, and then business school at Wharton, but all along I was interested in entrepreneurial pursuits.  I’ve worn many hats: company founder, advisor, and investor. My passion has remained with the early stages of new businesses and the process of invention.  >>>

How To Achieve Great Media Coverage For Your Incubator

By guest author Irina Patterson

Who doesn’t appreciate great PR? It leads to brand recognition and more business.

Let me use a case study to explain how simple it is with 1M/1M. One of our partners, Indian Institute of Technology, Kharagpur (IIT, KGP), held a custom roundtable with us in January 2012. >>>

Strong Entrepreneurs vs. Weak Entrepreneurs

By guest author Irina Patterson

Which kind of entrepreneur do you want to be?

Great entrepreneurs always find the time to study even when they are very busy. They find the time to fill the gaps in their knowledge of how to build a business.

Weak entrepreneurs keep doing the same thing over and over again. They repeat the same mistakes that thousands of others have made before them and in doing so put themselves out of business. >>>

How to Explain One Million by One Million (1M/1M)

By guest author Irina Patterson

One of our partners asked me for an overview of 1M/1M in a letter form. He wanted an easy way to explain 1M/1M to a government agency that he is part of. >>>

Entrepreneur: How Long Should You Work For FREE?

By guest author Irina Patterson

Have you seen this? Entrepreneurs labor for years on their ideas and can’t sell their products because they have no customers.

They essentially work for free, drawing on their savings or their family and friends’ support. >>>

Entrepreneur: Is Your Business Fundable?

By guest author Irina Patterson

Have you seen this? Entrepreneurs seek funding year after year, only to never get funded. Have you wondered why? It’s simple: Most likely, it is because their business is not fundable.

What does this mean? Some businesses will just never be venture fundable, no matter what their entrepreneurs do. The only way to build them is by alternative financing. >>>

How One Entrepreneur Can Create a Big Shift for Your Incubator

By guest author Irina Patterson

One incubator manager came up with a brilliant idea.

He said, “Irina, I’ll select one entrepreneur – the most suitable for 1M/1M from my incubator, and I will let you talk to him. If he signs up, we’ll have our 1M/1M pilot entrepreneur. He will share his 1M/1M experience with the rest of our entrepreneurs and off we’ll go.”

“Brilliant,” I said. “My cell is 786-301-2456 and my Skype is irina_patterson. I am standing by, ready to talk … most important, I am ready to listen.” >>>

Vikrant Mathur: Why Joining 1M/1M Was The Best $1,000 I Ever Spent

By guest author Irina Patterson

Vikrant Mathur learned about 1M/1M in early 2010 through a friend. They went to INSEAD together.

In 2010, Vikrant’s company ifood.tv had already operated for four years without much external advice. It became a popular destination for food- and recipe-related video content. Now, Vikrant was ready to scale his company up. >>>

How You Can Help 1M/1M In 10 Minutes Or Less

By guest author Irina Patterson

“Can I help?” We hear this over and over. People are taken by the 1M/1M mission and naturally want to help.

Our mission is to guide a million entrepreneurs to reach a million dollars in annual revenue and beyond, thereby creating a trillion dollars in global GDP and 10 million jobs, by 2020. >>>

Why Did Dan Stewart Join 1M/1M?

By guest author Irina Patterson

Dan Stewart came upon 1M/1M by pure luck. A friend referred Dan, a Florida entrepreneur, to one of Sramana’s roundtable recordings. He watched it and liked it.

Why did he join 1M/1M? He had grown frustrated with his efforts at a previous startup. >>>

Incubators: Who Are Your Local Heroes?

By guest author Irina Patterson

Tell us who some of the successful entrepreneurs in your region are. We want to share their stories with the world. >>>

Entrepreneur: Have You Talked To Your Prospects Today?

By guest author Irina Patterson

You should. The sooner you talk to them, the faster you’ll succeed.

Don’t think that you need to build your product first. Not talking to your prospects will lead to a product that’s hard to sell. >>>

Why We Support “Non-fundable” Entrepreneurs

By guest author Irina Patterson

Have you seen business ideas with a market size of a few million dollars? Entrepreneurs go to investors, who tell them it’s a bad idea.

Bad indeed for investors to invest in. But even a $1 million dollar business could be a life-changing event for a first-time entrepreneur. His family. Her community. >>>