Bootstrapping in Pennsylvania: OnSIP CEO Mike Oeth (Part 3)

Sramana Mitra: This went live in 2004? Mike Oeth: The company went live in 2004. The OnSIP Hosted PBX was October 2006. It was actually nice not being funded by VCs. We had the flexibility to change our business plan and go out and see what was working and what wasn’t. The SIP Trunking was

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Bootstrapping in Pennsylvania: OnSIP CEO Mike Oeth (Part 2)

Sramana Mitra: What year does that bring us up to? Mike Oeth: 2002. Sramana Mitra: Where were you located? Still in Connecticut or had you moved out by now? Mike Oeth: At that point, I had moved down to Yardley, Pennsylvania. RCN is based in Princeton, New Jersey; so for a while, I was commuting

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Bootstrapping in Pennsylvania: OnSIP CEO Mike Oeth (Part 1)

The theme of entrepreneurs building robust companies without outside capital continues in the story of OnSIP. Sramana Mitra: Let’s start at the beginning of your personal story. Where were you born, raised, and in what kind of circumstances? Mike Oeth: I was born in the MidWest, specifically in Speedway, Indiana. It’s the home of Indianapolis

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Scaling a Cloud Telephony Company in India: Knowlarity CEO Ambarish Gupta (Part 7)

Sramana Mitra: Given that it is such a high-touch customer service model, the question that I’m trying to ask you is. Right now you’re heavily venture-funded and you can finance your cost. At scale, does this company have the unit economics to become profitable? Ambarish Gupta: Well, that’s true. The unit economics of this product is

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Scaling a Cloud Telephony Company in India: Knowlarity CEO Ambarish Gupta (Part 6)

Sramana Mitra: What’s his background? What did he do after IIT? Ambarish Gupta: Like most IIT guys, he went to Silicon Valley and worked for startups for eight to nine years. I got him back. He was also my colleague in McKinsey in the Pittsburgh office. He has a PhD in Highway Engineering from the University of Illinois. Then, he worked in McKinsey

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From Friends and Family Funding to $30 Million Exit: Vertical Response Founder Janine Popick (Part 7)

Sramana Mitra: Very nice story. What are you up to now? Janine Popick: I don’t know. I’m trying to figure out what I’m going to do next. I’m a marketer but I am also into product management and technology to grow small businesses. Maybe, something along those lines in a consultative fashion. It’s been 14 years so

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Scaling a Cloud Telephony Company in India: Knowlarity CEO Ambarish Gupta (Part 5)

Sramana Mitra: What kind of companies do you recruit as channel partners? Ambarish Gupta: These are like a tiny version of SIs in India. SMBs in India for their technical support requirements depend on large local companies who for example distribute laptops, computers, and computer accessories. Sramana Mitra: How do you find them?

From Friends and Family Funding to $30 Million Exit: Vertical Response Founder Janine Popick (Part 6)

Sramana Mitra: Interesting. In 2007, you said you were at about $5 million in revenue? Janine Popick: Around that time, yes. Sramana Mitra: You have just raised that $1.2 million friends and family round. You haven’t raised any more money beyond that? Are you profitable at this point? Janine Popick: Yes, we’re profitable at this

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