Do Not Chase Investors Before Chasing Customers

Sridhar Vembu built Zoho with zero outside funding to a billion-dollar ARR SaaS company. I wrote the first piece ever written on him in 2007 in my Forbes column. No one had yet heard of Zoho. But VCs were already salivating. Sridhar validated my philosophy of how I advise startups when he came to see

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August 14 – 698th 1Mby1M Mentoring Roundtable for Entrepreneurs

Entrepreneurs are invited to the 698th FREE online 1Mby1M Mentoring Roundtable on Thursday, August 14, 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,

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697th 1Mby1M Entrepreneurship Podcast with JP Persico, shuckerVC

Jean-Philippe ‘JP’ Persico, Cofounder and Managing Partner at shuckerVC, discusses his firm’s investment thesis.

Roundtable Recap: August 7 – 1Mby1M AI Star Data Poem’s Investor Pitch

During this week’s roundtable, first we had Jean-Philippe ‘JP’ Persico, Cofounder and Managing Partner at shuckerVC, discuss his firm’s investment thesis. Data Poem As for our entrepreneur pitches, up first we had Bharath Gaddam from New York pitch Data Poem. Bharath is a premium member of the 1Mby1M program and has bootstrapped an AI venture

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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

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697th 1Mby1M Roundtable for Entrepreneurs Starting in 30 Minutes

Today’s 697th FREE online 1Mby1M Roundtable for Entrepreneurs is starting in 30 minutes, on Thursday, August 7, at 8 a.m. PDT / 11 a.m. EDT / 5 p.m. CEST / 8:30 p.m. India IST. CLICK HERE to join. PASSWORD: startup  All are welcome!

New AI Cybersecurity Startup Case Studies Course and Coupons

Cybersecurity is one of the most dynamic sectors in tech, and one of the most challenging for startups to break into. Our new course, AI Cybersecurity Startup Case Studies, is designed to help you navigate this high-stakes industry with real-world examples of startups using AI to solve today’s most urgent security problems. Whether you’re an

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Best of Bootstrapping: Bootstrapped Art.com First, Raised $30 Million Later

Art.com Co-founder Josh Chodniewicz bootstrapped for 10 years before raising a $30 million first round of funding. He shared his journey with me in 2022. Sramana Mitra: Let’s start at the very beginning of your journey. Where are you from? Where were you born, raise, and in what kind of background? Josh Chodniewicz: I was born

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