How Real Unicorn Startups Are Actually Built

There are two completely different ways to build a Unicorn: Bootstrap First, Raise Money Later (the 1Mby1M way), or Speculatively Blitzscale. Your probability of success with the first method is much higher. Let’s look at an example.

Validate Your Startup Idea Before Writing Any Code

Techie founders generally operate in their comfort zones: they like to write code. They often start developing software before they validate with customers. As such, they often build solutions looking for problems. Do NOT write code before you immerse yourself in customers and develop a deep understanding of what pain you are solving.

Startup Success Comes from Customers Not Speculators

I want to share with you an insight from running the 1Mby1M program since 2008. Over 700 free mentoring roundtables with over 300k entrepreneurs. Thousands of case studies of successful entrepreneurs – the who’s who of tech startups – through interview based methodology development. It is a complex exercise to give people a message that

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Ownership Still Matters

Ownership matters. If you end your startup journey with a $50 million exit and own 60% of the company, you make $30 million dollars. But if you have raised a ton of money and own just 5%, you need a $600 million exit to make that same $30 million. Much harder to get to.

Chase Customers Instead of Concept Financing

First time entrepreneurs, for the most part, do not qualify for Concept Financing. If you are hitting up pre-seed VCs in search of Concept Financing, you are wasting your time.

Bootstrapping a Bulk Book E-Commerce Business: BookPal CEO Tony DiCostanzo (Part 3)

Sramana Mitra: After you sold the healthcare business? Tony DiCostanzo: Yes. I didn’t think of the book company as having a big potential because at that time, it was limited to probably about 20 different books that we sold consistently. Some of those books were from different publishers, but I didn’t really represent all the other books

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Ultra-Light Startup to $20 Million in Revenue: WatchUWant CEO OJ Whatley (Part 7)

Sramana Mitra: How many people do you have? OJ Whatley: We currently have 20 employees. Sramana Mitra: That’s very good – 20 employees, $20 million in revenue. OJ Whatley: Half of those are sales associates. Sramana Mitra: That is my next question. What is the composition?  Half are sales associates, what is the other half

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Ultra-Light Startup to $20 Million in Revenue: WatchUWant CEO OJ Whatley (Part 6)

Sramana Mitra: Regardless, in 2008 you were generating business at your own site. Talk to me specifically about your own site – developing your own site, business on your own site, the traffic. How much business do you do today on your own site? OJ Whatley: Back then, as it is today, it’s primarily keyword-driven.

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