Best of Bootstrapping: Bootstrapped a Cybersecurity Venture with a Paycheck

Christian Geyer convinced the board of his employer to let him incubate a cybersecurity startup idea as a division of the company with an express intent of spinning it off. Now, ACTFORE has been spun out, doing almost $20M in bootstrapped annual revenue, and may soon find a lucrative exit. This is a phenomenal story

Read Full Article »

699th 1Mby1M Roundtable Recording

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

Best of Bootstrapping: Serial Entrepreneur Bootstrapped PropTech Ventures

LuxuryProperty Founder Jason Hayes has worked at the cusp of real estate and digital marketing for 35 years and built three successful ventures. All of them are bootstrapped, organically grown, and capital efficient businesses. Here is our discussion from 2023. Sramana Mitra: Let’s start at the very beginning of your journey. Where are you from?

Read Full Article »

Startup Funding is a Low Probability Game

Startup funding is a low probability game. LESS than 1% GET funding. Over 99% get rejected. How do you play this game and win? Learn from great Unicorn founders like Fred Luddy (ServiceNow), Christian Chabot (Tableau), and Greg Gianforte (RightNow). Entrepreneurs typically go to VCs like beggars. Is there a better way? You bet there

Read Full Article »

Start With Customers Not Investors

For our Seed Capital series of podcasts, I’ve interviewed hundreds of investors, especially micro-VCs and angels who play an important role in the early-stage game. The toughest round of funding an entrepreneur will seek to raise is Pre-seed. How do you increase your odds? Pre-seed has the lowest probability of success. Over 99% of the

Read Full Article »

July 31 – 696th 1Mby1M Mentoring Roundtable for Entrepreneurs

Entrepreneurs are invited to the 696th FREE online 1Mby1M Mentoring Roundtable on Thursday, July 31, 2025, at 8 a.m. PDT / 11 a.m. EDT / 5 p.m. CEST / 8:30 p.m. India IST. If you are a serious entrepreneur, register to Pitch and sell your business idea. You’ll receive straightforward feedback, advice on next steps,

Read Full Article »

July 24 – 695th 1Mby1M Mentoring Roundtable for Entrepreneurs

Entrepreneurs are invited to the 695th FREE online 1Mby1M Mentoring Roundtable on Thursday, July 24, 2025, at 8 a.m. PDT / 11 a.m. EDT / 5 p.m. CEST / 8:30 p.m. India IST. If you are a serious entrepreneur, register to Pitch and sell your business idea. You’ll receive straightforward feedback, advice on next steps,

Read Full Article »

Seedstrapping to Exit

In 1Mby1M, we like Seedstrapping to Exit. An example would be Adya’s acquisition by Qualys. Adya raised a small seed round. I introduced them to Philippe Courtot, CEO of Qualys. Qualys acquired Adya. For our Seed Capital series of podcasts, I’ve interviewed hundreds of investors, especially micro-VCs and angels who play an important role in

Read Full Article »