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.

Roundtable Recap: August 11 – Exit Options for Indian Startups

During this week’s roundtable, we had as our guest Mohanjit Jolly, Partner at Iron Pillar, and a long time player in the Indian startup ecosystem. Among other topics, we had an interesting discussion about Exit options for Indian startups.

Interamplify

As for our entrepreneur pitch, we first had Natalia Aldama from Mucia, Spain, pitching interamplify, an SEO service.

You can listen to the recording of this roundtable here:

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Featured Videos

1Mby1M Virtual Accelerator Investor Forum: With Cameron Kramlich, General Partner of Angelneers (Part 1)

Cameron Kramlich, General Partner at Angelneers, offers a rare perspective in support of solo entrepreneurs.

1Mby1M Virtual Accelerator Investor Forum: With Anup Jain, Managing Partner of Orios Venture Partners (Part 1)

Anup Jain, the Managing Partner at Orios Venture Partners, discusses the Indian startup ecosystem and its trends and nuances.

Sramana Mitra: Tell us a bit about your background as well as about Orios.

Anup Jain: I’m an accidental VC. I didn’t grow up in this ecosystem, but I’m very passionate about entrepreneurship. When I started my corporate career with Procter & Gamble, it was a dream job. I’ve always been excited about doing innovations and disruptions. It brings about meaning to all stakeholders.

1Mby1M Virtual Accelerator Investor Forum: With Janam Mehta, Partner of Campus Fund and Venture Investments at JSW Ventures (Part 1)

Janam Mehta, Partner at Campus Fund and Venture Investments at JSW Ventures, discusses the progress of the Indian startup ecosystem.

Sramana Mitra: Tell us about a bit of your background as well as what are you up to with the investments.

1Mby1M Virtual Accelerator Investor Forum: With Evan Zimmerman, Chairman of Jovono (Part 1)

Evan Zimmerman, Chairman of Jovono, discusses his fund’s investment philosophy, especially around pre-seed and seed.

Sramana Mitra: Tell us a bit about yourself and Jovono. Let’s get acquainted.

Evan Zimmerman: I started my first company when I was a teenager. It was a consumer product company called Mighty Mug. I was successful and sold millions of units. From there, I went on to start Jovono which is a venture capital firm that invests in paradigm-shifting founders. They’re solving hard problems and building delightful products.

584th 1Mby1M Entrepreneurship Podcast with Bhaskar Ghosh, 8VC

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.

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Roundtable Recap: July 28 – What is a “Good” Entrepreneur?

During this week’s roundtable, we had as our guest Bhaskar Ghosh, Partner and CTO at 8VC, discussing his firm’s investment thesis. We had an interesting discussion about the definition of a “good” entrepreneur.

UpTerra

As for our entrepreneur pitch, we had Roland Van der Meer from San Francisco, California, pitch UpTerra, a fascinating AgTech company that is already at $3M in revenue.

You can listen to the recording of this roundtable here:

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584th Roundtable Recording with Bhaskar Ghosh, 8VC

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

583rd 1Mby1M Entrepreneurship Podcast with Pawel Maj, Warsaw Equity Group

Pawel Maj, Investment Director, Warsaw Equity Group, discusses post-seed and pre-series A funding in Eastern and Central Europe in the context of his firm’s investment thesis.

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583rd Roundtable Recording with Pawel Maj, Warsaw Equity Group

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

Roundtable Recap: July 21 – Spotlight on Post-Seed and Pre-Series A Funding in Europe

During this week’s roundtable, we had as our guest Pawel Maj, Investment Director, Warsaw Equity Group. We discussed post-seed and pre-series A funding in Eastern and Central Europe in the context of his firm’s investment thesis.

Matomela Group

For our entrepreneur pitches, we first had Mthetho Phakathi, from Pretoria, South Africa, pitch Matomela Group, a manufacturing venture.

Interlpure

Next, Rigdha Banerjee from Jersey City, New Jersey, pitched Intelpure, a clothing rental marketplace concept.

You can listen to the recording of this roundtable here:

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580th 1Mby1M Entrepreneurship Podcast with Anup Jain, Orios Venture Partners

Anup Jain, Managing Partner at Orios Venture Partners, discusses the Indian startup ecosystem and its trends and nuances.

Podcast: Play in new window | Download

Subscribe: Apple Podcasts | TuneIn | RSS

582nd 1Mby1M Entrepreneurship Podcast with Cameron Kramlich, Angelneers

Cameron Kramlich, General Partner at Angelneers, offers a rare perspective in support of solo entrepreneurs.

Podcast: Play in new window | Download

Subscribe: Apple Podcasts | TuneIn | RSS

582nd Roundtable Recording with Cameron Kramlich, Angelneers

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

Roundtable Recap: July 7 – Rare VC in Support of Solo Entrepreneurs

During this week’s roundtable, we had as our guest Cameron Kramlich, General Partner at Angelneers. Cameron offers a rare perspective in support of solo entrepreneurs.

Ecleia

For our entrepreneur pitch, we had Tania Jose Maria from Bengaluru, India, pitch Ecleia, a travel portal that would use affiliate commissions as a core monetization strategy.

You can listen to the recording of this roundtable here:

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