Startup: Bootstrap First, Raise Money Later | Sramana Mitra
What you'll learn
- How to bootstrap a startup through in-depth interviews with successful entrepreneurs who have bootstrapped first all the way to building multi-million dollar bu
- What the new innovations and business models are that will allow bootstrapping an idea to validation and profitability.
- When to bring on a team when bootstrapping a startup.
- When to start raising funds for your startup and go to VCs as kings, not beggars.
- How to scale your startup when bootstrapping with limited resources.
- What the exit options are when bootstrapping a startup.
Requirements
- The only requirement for this course is an open mind and a willingness to learn.
Description
The 1Mby1M Methodology is based on case studies. In this course, Sramana Mitra shares the tribal knowledge of tech entrepreneurs by giving students the rare seat at the table with the entrepreneurs, investors and thought leaders who provide the most instructive perspectives on how to build a thriving business. Through these conversations, students gain access to case studies exploring the alleys of entrepreneurship. Sramana’s synthesis of key learnings and incisive analysis add great depth to each discussion.
Learn the importance of bootstrapping, key techniques, and how bootstrapping can help gain attention from investors.
Hundreds of thousands of entrepreneurs get rejected by investors and accelerators every year. Y Combinator rejects over 98% of their applicants. Andreessen Horowitz rejects 99% of theirs. In this mind-boggling stream of rejections, there are numerous high potential companies that need to bootstrap their way to fundability or sustainability.
Sramana does not want entrepreneurs to waste their precious time and money. The waste stems from a widespread misunderstanding of how investors think. Over 99% of founders chase funding before they are fundable. Here, Sramana teaches how bootstrapping can help a startup reach that fundable stage. Once fundable, a startup can go to investors like a king, not a beggar.
What is bootstrapping? Bootstrapping means building a business without external financing. This differs from businesses funded by investors.
Nowadays, startups can be built while a founder is still fully employed. Many entrepreneurs start as solo founders and achieve great progress until they need a team. Virtual teams are common these days and easily affordable. Sramana encourages entrepreneurs not to quit their day job until their business becomes fundable or sustainable.
In a world battered by economic uncertainty, Sramana Mitra believes, entrepreneurship is the only sustainable path forward. And core to the success of these ventures is the art of bootstrapping.
The 1Mby1M courses are all heavily based on interview-based case studies on Innovation, Business Models, Go To Market Strategies, Validation Principles, and various other nuances of an entrepreneur's journey. We offer extensive opportunities for entrepreneurs to learn the lessons from the trenches from successful entrepreneurs who have done it before.
Who this course is for:
- Ambitious entrepreneurs with limited resources who want to pursue an idea for which they have both passion and expertise.
- Engineers who want to turn their tech knowledge into a multi-million dollar revenue businesses by becoming startup founders rather than remain employees.
- Aspiring founders who want to increase their chances of getting accepted into a top startup accelerator such as Y Combinator, Techstars, and 500 Startups
- Any entrepreneur who wants to learn from successful entrepreneurs who have done it before and from investors who have supported them.
- Professors teaching technology entrepreneurship courses anywhere in the world.
Instructor
- 4.7 Instructor Rating
- 2,638 Reviews
- 21,087 Students
- 87 Courses
Sramana Mitra is Founder and CEO of One Million by One Million (1Mby1M), a global virtual accelerator that aims to help one million entrepreneurs globally to reach $1 million in revenue and beyond. She is a Silicon Valley entrepreneur and strategy consultant, she writes the blog Sramana Mitra On Strategy, and is author of the Entrepreneur Journeys book series and Vision India 2020. As an entrepreneur CEO, she ran three companies: DAIS, Intarka, and Uuma. Sramana has a master’s degree in electrical engineering and computer science from the Massachusetts Institute of Technology. In 2015, Sramana was named one of LinkedIn’s Top 10 Influencers, alongside Bill Gates and Richard Branson.