Entrepreneur Couple Bootstrapping an E-Commerce Business Using a Paycheck and Crowdfunding: Nomad Lane Co-Founders Kish Vasnani and Vanessa Jeswani (Part 1)

If you haven’t already, please study our Bootstrapping Course and Investor Introductions page.  Kish and Vanessa bootstrapped to multi-million dollars in revenue selling a private label product before quitting their job. In this story, you also get to see the nuances of running successful (and not so successful) crowdfunding campaigns. Very interesting journey and insights.

Putting the Freshworks IPO in Context (Part 2)

Freshworks’ Financials Within two years of its launch, Freshdesk joined the 1Mby1M Million Dollar Club. Revenues were estimated to have grown to a $10 million annual run rate by the end of 2013. In December 2011, the company raised its first Series A funding for $1 million, $5 million in 2012, and $31 million in

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Putting the Freshworks IPO in Context (Part 1)

On Nov 13, 2009, I wrote an article in my Forbes column titled India’s Next Celebrities. It was a year after the financial crisis. Never mind the recession. In India, entrepreneurial energy has continued to grow. It still exists only in small pockets. And the sophistication of the entrepreneurial ecosystem has a long way to

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12 Udemy Courses on How to Come Up With New Tech Startup Business Ideas

You want to do a startup. So, you need an idea to build around. The Covid-19 pandemic has changed consumer behavior in a major way. As we move through the virus-era, much more will likely change. With this realization, we ran a poll asking which topics readers would like me to cover and discuss. The

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Building a Fintech Company from Luxembourg: STOKR CEO Tobias Seidl (Part 1)

If you haven’t already, please study our Bootstrapping Course and Investor Introductions page.  Much is happening by way of innovation in fund raising exchanges in the field of FinTech. Here is a story from Europe. Sramana Mitra: Let’s start at the very beginning of your journey. Where are you from? Where were you born, raised, and in what kind

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Bootstrapping Using Services to $10M: Zimit CEO James Cramer (Part 1)

Among the biases of the Venture Capital industry that need to be categorically ignored, Bootstrapping Using Services happens to be on the top of the list. Read on for yet another fantastic textbook case study. Sramana Mitra: Let’s start at the beginning of your journey. Where are you from? Where were you born and raised?

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Building a Unicorn and Establishing the Customer Success Category: Nick Mehta, CEO of Gainsight (Part 1)

I spoke with Nick back when Gainsight was very young. Much has happened since. This conversation catches us up on the interim years since 2013. Gainsight recently raised money from Vista Equity at a $1.1 billion valuation.

Bootstrap First, Raise Money Later: Ben Hodson, CEO of JobNimbus (Part 1)

Ben is a serial entrepreneur with a long experience in bootstrapping and fundraising. Read on to see how he has navigated his journey. Sramana Mitra: Let’s start at the very beginning of your journey. Where are you from? Where were you born and raised? What kind of background did you have?