711th 1Mby1M Mentoring Roundtable Recording

Why the VC Industry Must Shrink

If you’re trying to understand what’s really happening in the VC industry, Sramana Mitra’s conversation with veteran investor Gus Tai is essential viewing. In this recorded session from the 1Mby1M Roundtable, they each share candid, contrarian insights on why the venture capital industry needs to shrink, what’s driving the current pullback, and how these shifts affect founders, especially solo and bootstrapped entrepreneurs. Their analysis cuts through the noise and offers a clear perspective on where funding is heading and how entrepreneurs can navigate the market more intelligently.

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

You can register for the next roundtable here.

>>>

Roundtable Recap: December 11 – The Global Venture Capital Industry Needs to Shrink in Size – A Conversation with Gus Tai

During this week’s roundtable, we had Gus Tai, veteran Venture Capitalist and a close friend, in conversation with me on why the Venture Capital industry needs to shrink in size.

We kicked off the conversation with a couple of charts showing the trajectory of the industry over the last decade and analyzed the trends.

Clearly, this is a contrarian perspective. The entire discussion is FULL of contrarian perspectives.

Here are some points we covered:

Sramana Mitra: We’ve had a hyper-active Venture Capital industry since the mid-nineties when the Internet came into being as an engine of innovation. In thirty years, the industry has accumulated enough data to show that the vast majority of VC-funded startups fail. Some fail altogether. Some succeed in building customers, revenues and profits, but are slow growth, and their exit prospects are not in line with the capital raised. So they become zombies. And yet, entrepreneurs still believe Entrepreneurship = Financing. They mindlessly chase venture capital and raise money without a clear idea of how they plan to build a high velocity company. Dumb money abounds. They set hundreds and thousands of entrepreneurs up for failure. How do we change this dynamic?

>>>

December 11 – 711th 1Mby1M Mentoring Roundtable for Entrepreneurs

Entrepreneurs are invited to the 711th FREE online 1Mby1M Mentoring Roundtable on Thursday, December 11, 2025, at 8 a.m. PST / 11 a.m. EST / 5 p.m. CET / 9:30 p.m. India IST.

If you are a serious entrepreneur, register to Pitch and sell your business idea. You’ll receive straightforward feedback from Sramana Mitra, advice on next steps, and answers to any of your questions. Others can register to Attend to watch and learn.

You can learn more here and REGISTER TO PITCH OR ATTEND HERE. Please share with any entrepreneurs in your circle who may be Interested.

710th 1Mby1M Mentoring Roundtable Recording

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

Register for our next roundtable here.

Roundtable Recap: December 4 – 2026 Will Be a Golden Year for Solo Founders

During this week’s roundtable, we had two founders pitch their ideas. Remember, not all business ideas are viable. And the vast majority of business ideas are not fundable.

Farmience

First we had Tejas M K from Chennai, India, pitch Farmience I advised him to narrow down his target market and validate unit economics. There’s a very good chance that this business is not viable, nor fundable.

Fly

Next, we had Rhi Gladney from Las Vegas, Nevada, pitch Fly. This business idea could be built as a bootstrapped 2-sided marketplace with much tighter positioning.

We’re hearing a tremendous amount of complaints about bias against solo entrepreneurs in the incubator, accelerator and venture capital eco-system. 

Let me be very clear: 1Mby1M categorically supports solo entrepreneurs. Our accelerator is designed to incubate, accelerate and scale solo and bootstrapped founders. We believe solo entrepreneurship will explode in 2026. If you are looking for an accelerator that explicitly supports solo entrepreneurs, 1Mby1M is your partner. Please join us. We welcome you with open arms. Solo entrepreneurs succeed more often than you think.

You can listen to the recording here:

>>>

December 4 – 710th 1Mby1M Mentoring Roundtable for Entrepreneurs

Entrepreneurs are invited to the 710th FREE online 1Mby1M Mentoring Roundtable on Thursday, December 4, 2025, at 8 a.m. PST / 11 a.m. EST / 5 p.m. CET / 9:30 p.m. India IST.

If you are a serious entrepreneur, register to Pitch and sell your business idea. You’ll receive straightforward feedback from Sramana Mitra, advice on next steps, and answers to any of your questions. Others can register to Attend to watch, learn, and interact through the online chat.

709th 1Mby1M Roundtable Recording

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

Roundtable Recap: November 20 – Manipur Discovers 1Mby1M

During this week’s roundtable, we had our first ever entrepreneur pitch from the tiny Indian state of Manipur, tucked away in the fast Eastern corner, by the Myanmar border. In a discussion at the end of the session, we learned that the state has about 90 startups, and a WhatsApp group has about 180 entrepreneurs and aspiring founders.

This reminded me why I started 1Mby1M: to democratize entrepreneurship education, incubation and acceleration.

BioLeads

As for our entrepreneur pitches, first we had Ritvik Dubey from Toronto, Canada, pitch BioLeads. We discussed TAM and Fundability.

Ridezz

Next, we had Sunny Paliwal from Jaipur, India, pitch Ridezz, a 2-wheeler ride sharing app. We discussed how to bootstrap to validation.

Nibiaa

Then we had Aeroshil Nameirakpam from Imphal, India, pitch nibiaa. Imphal is the capital of Manipur. Nibiaa is generating a small amount of revenue. The company has good potential to grow, but needs to tighten its go-to-market strategy quite a bit. It can be done.

You can listen to the recording here:

>>>