Startup Ecosystem in Kolkata: A Strategy Discussion

Join us on Thursday, July 20, at 8:30 p.m. IST / 8 a.m. PDT for a special roundtable program: Brainstorming on Eastern India Startup Development. Come share your perspective, sign up to Speak and we will accommodate as many as possible with a few minutes to talk, register here. In case you missed it, you can listen to the recording of this roundtable here.

This weekend, I had hundreds of interactions on LinkedIn around the subject:

Why did Kolkata miss the startup momentum that has gained ground in the other 6 major metros? What can be done to catch up and leapfrog?

568th 1Mby1M Entrepreneurship Podcast with Abinash Saikia, EnCloudEn (Part 1)

Abinash Saikia, Co-founder of EnCloudEn and former 1Mby1M Premium member, has successfully bootstrapped his venture to an exit and discusses the process in great depth.

Sramana Mitra: Let’s start by introducing our audience to yourself as well as to the premise of EnCloudEn.

Abinash Saikia: I have had a pretty good education from IIT Chennai and, subsequently, an MBA from IIM Bangalore. I worked for a couple of years but the entrepreneurial bug was always there. I could not continue for much longer. I left my job and started a company called SmartBuildings. I was at that company for about three years. It was mostly an IoT-based energy conservation solution.

14 Courses on How To Build a Startup in the Midwest

This bundle of courses is for IT entrepreneurs who wish to start and grow a startup in the Midwest of the United States. If you are in that region, start by reviewing this course:

1. How Investors Think About Startups in the Midwest with Sramana Mitra

It will give you an inside look at the Mid-Western startup ecosystem and how you may fit into it. 

11 Udemy Courses On How To Raise Seed Funding in Latin America

If you are building a startup in Latin America, this course may enhance your understanding of Latin American startup financing. You’ll get knowledge from real-world Latin American investors as if you had a chance to have a mentor advice session with them. To apply current discount coupons, click on the courses found HERE.

11 Udemy Courses On How To Raise Seed Funding in the US Midwest

While the broader trends are similar throughout the United States, I find Midwestern investors to be very pragmatic. They’re usually more interested in capital-efficient startups and more accepting of early exits at modest multiples.

10 Lessons We Have Learned Mentoring Startups

These days, everyone seems to be a startup mentor. Whether they have ever done a startup or not, whether they have ever raised money or not, they are ready to advise entrepreneurs.

I want to share some things we have learned in running the 1Mby1M program for the past twelve years. I feel that it may be useful for entrepreneurs, investors, incubators, advisors, mentors, and other players in the startup ecosystem to hear some of the highlights.

Throughout the years, we have continuously invited entrepreneurs to come speak with me about their business ideas during our Free Public Roundtables, held almost every Thursday starting at 8 a.m. PST. Serious entrepreneurs “pitch” and sell their business idea and receive straightforward feedback, advice on next steps, and answers to any questions. Others “attend” to watch, learn, and interact through the online chat and all are welcome.

1. First, it is extremely difficult to give negative feedback to entrepreneurs without triggering a defensive reaction. I was not good at this when we started. I am very good at analyzing a business scenario, but I was never good at sugar coating the feedback in a way that is particularly nurturing or reassuring. Very early on in our experiments with online mentoring, we told entrepreneurs that this forum is for candid, constructive feedback, and that may include negative feedback. We don’t tell entrepreneurs what they want to hear. We tell them what they need to hear. While some egos get bruised, entrepreneurs have more or less accepted our approach, and have given us permission to ‘critique’ their ventures. I have, personally, gotten better at giving feedback in a palatable way. The biggest thing that has worked well is that we never, ever give negative input gratuitously. Everything has been in the spirit of helping both the entrepreneur(s) and the businesses grow. >>>

1Mby1M Incubation Radar 2022: OneNDF, New Delhi, India

OneNDF is a small business loan marketplace that handles all the loan requirements of SMBs and specializes in Secured Loans. It started off as an offline loan marketplace in 2013. It launched its video powered loan marketplace in August 2021 to provide SMBs access to credit facilities through technology. It has 95 lenders and has generated revenue of over $100k through the platform in just 4 months. 

7 Udemy Courses on How To Build an EdTech Startup

Online learning has exploded in popularity over the last decade. In Covid, the field has found a tremendous force multiplier.

Many founders are now turning to online education for startup ideas. Here’s why: it can be extremely profitable because online courses do not require physical classrooms, startup costs are more affordable and startup time frames are shorter. The ability to scale fast makes this space very attractive for new ventures.