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HOT TOPICS
- The Startup Velocity Question
- Platform as a Service
- Man and Superman
- Web 3.0 = (4C + P + VS)
- The Future: End of Capitalism
- Capitalism 2.0
Bootstrap First to $10 Million from Australia, Raise $25 Million Later from the US: Ashik Ahmed, CEO of Deputy (Part 1)
If you haven’t already, please study our Bootstrapping Course and Investor Introductions page. Bootstrap First, Raise Money Later is the 1M/1M mantra. Ashik Ahmed tells his story of bootstrapping to $10 Million before raising $25 Million in the first external financing. Sramana Mitra: Where are you from? Where were you born, raised, and in what kind of background? Let’s
Capital Efficient Entrepreneurship from Arizona: Heidi Jannenga, Co-Founder of WebPT (Part 1)
Heidi and her co-founder have bootstrapped WebPT to significant traction, then raised a small angel round. 2016 revenue was $40 million. The company has sold 51% stake to private equity and the founders have already experienced significant liquidity. Excellent story of a female entrepreneur who doesn’t make excuses. She just executes. Sramana Mitra: Let’s start
Bootstrapping to $30 Million from Czech Republic: Vaclav Muchna, CEO of YSoft (Part 7)
Sramana Mitra: Have you started seeing revenues escalate from that yet? Vaclav Muchna: In the United States, this year we are going to be close to $3 million. Our business has a very long sales cycle. We expect that the bigger revenue growth is going to happen next year. Sramana Mitra: You said you did
Bootstrapping Using Services to an Awesome Business Model: Inspyrus CEO Nilay Banker (Part 7)
Sramana Mitra: You have a tremendous revenue stream. Where are you now? How far along are you? Nilay Banker: We are getting into the tens of millions of dollars. We are doubling every year in revenue. Sramana Mitra: How many people? Nilay Banker: Now, we are close to 50 people. Almost everybody is in the US.
Bootstrapping to $30 Million from Czech Republic: Vaclav Muchna, CEO of YSoft (Part 6)
Sramana Mitra: What do you do with the venture capital fund? Do you invest in companies in the Czech Republic or in eastern Europe? What is the scope? Vaclav Muchna: I suggest we take it chronologically. Sramana Mitra: Sure. Vaclav Muchna: Today, we are doing a lot of things, but the biggest pie of revenue
Bootstrapping Using Services to an Awesome Business Model: Inspyrus CEO Nilay Banker (Part 6)
Sramana Mitra: How long did it take you to be able to know that you could actually save money and for you to make money on that gain share model? How long was that process of fully validating the business model? Nilay Banker: Typically, it takes from 6 to 12 months by the time the
Bootstrapping to $30 Million from Czech Republic: Vaclav Muchna, CEO of YSoft (Part 5)
Sramana Mitra: It must have been very helpful for you to recruit a bunch of channel partners who would then go and sell that same solution to other major players. Vaclav Muchna: Exactly. Once they started with us, there was another deal with the headquarters of a central European bank. That helped us to build the relationship
Bootstrapping Using Services to an Awesome Business Model: Inspyrus CEO Nilay Banker (Part 5)
Sramana Mitra: When did you start selling the product in this whole gain share model? You said that 2008 is when you started two and a half years of services mode while you got the handle of what the problem was and what product to develop. Was 2011 your first year of selling the product?