Sramana Mitra is the founder and CEO of One Million by One Million (1Mby1M), the world’s first and only global virtual incubator/accelerator. Its goal is to help a million entrepreneurs globally reach a million dollars in annual revenue, build a trillion dollars in global GDP, and create 10 million jobs. 

Since its founding in 2010, 1Mby1M has become a powerful platform for democratization of entrepreneurship acceleration. 

Sramana also developed 1Mby1M’s Incubator-in-a-Box methodology for Corporate Incubation that is used by enterprises to manage internal and external innovation endeavors. 
 
In 2015, LinkedIn named Sramana one of their Top 10 Influencers alongside Bill Gates and Richard Branson.

Sramana has been an entrepreneur and a strategy consultant in Silicon Valley since 1994. Her fields of experience span from hardcore technology disciplines like Artificial Intelligence, Cloud Computing and Semiconductors, to sophisticated consumer marketing industries including e-commerce, fashion and education.

As an entrepreneur CEO, Sramana founded three companies: Dais (off-shore software services), Intarka (sales lead generation and qualification software using Artificial Intelligence algorithms; VC: NEA) and Uuma (online personalized store for selling clothes using Expert Systems software; VC: Redwood). Two of these were acquired, while the third received an acquisition offer from Ralph Lauren which the company did not accept. 

As strategy consultant, Sramana has consulted with over 80 companies, including public companies such as SAP, Cadence Design Systems, Webex, KLA-Tencor, Best Buy, MercadoLibre and Tessera among others. Her work has also included numerous startups and VCs. 

Sramana has a Masters degree in EECS from MIT and a Bachelors degree in Computer Science and Economics from Smith College.

From 2000 to 2004, Sramana chaired the MIT Club of Northern California’s entrepreneurship program in Silicon Valley. 

During last week’s roundtable, we had our first ever entrepreneur pitch from the tiny Indian state of Manipur, tucked away in the far 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.

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

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

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.

Sramana Mitra

Founder and CEO of the One Million by One Million (1Mby1M) Global Virtual Accelerator. Entrepreneurs can work with my Digital Mind AI Mentor trained on 20 years of my content, 700+ mentoring sessions, 1000+ case studies.

The 1Mby1M Mantra: Excess is Not a Requirement for Success. Define your own success. Life flows better when you’re living your own life, not someone else’s.

More 1Mby1M playbooks:

Fundraising Playbook for Bootstrapping Founders

Why 3-month Startup Acceleration Programs Are Often Useless. 

In The Accelerator Conundrum, we’re looking at other accelerators vs 1Mby1M: Antler, Growth Mentor, FounderPath, Capital Factory, Tech Wildcatters, Entrepreneur First, Unicorn Labs, DreamIT, LAUNCH, EWOR, Boom Startup, Plug & Play, Endeavor, Seed Start, Draper Startup House, Earnest Capital (not Calm Company Fund), Latitud Fellows, Venture Lane, StarterStory, MicroConf, OnDeck, M Accelerator, Startup Chile.

If you need help with your Validation, Positioning, Funding and Exit Strategy without parting with equity, join 1Mby1M Premium.

You can also get started with Sramana’s Digital Mind AI Mentor right away.

Come talk to me. What is holding you back? How can we help?

During last 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.

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 ecosystem. 

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.

As always, I would very much like to hear about your business, so let me invite you to come and pitch at one of our free 1Mby1M Mentoring Roundtables. We will be holding future roundtables on most Thursdays at 8am PST.

If you want a deeper relationship with me, you are very welcome to join the 1Mby1M Premium program.
 
You can also get started with Sramana’s Digital Mind AI Mentor right away.

I’m publishing this series on LinkedIn called Colors to explore a topic that I care deeply about: the Renaissance Mind. I am just as passionate about entrepreneurship, technology, and business, as I am about art and culture. In this series, I will typically publish a piece of art – one of my paintings – and I request you to spend a minute or two deeply meditating on it. I urge you to watch your feelings, thoughts, reactions to the piece, and write what comes to you, what thoughts it triggers, in the dialog area. Let us see what stimulation this interaction yields. For today – Curtains in the Wind IV

Last week NVIDIA reported its third quarter results that continued to beat all estimates. NVIDIA continues to doubt critics and analysts who are worried about the bursting of an AI-bubble. According to its predictions, they are seeing “something very different.”

NVIDIA’s Growth Focus

Analysts may be worried about the AI bubble. But NVIDIA is not very concerned. Recent quarterly reports have revealed how companies like Meta are seeing improvement in user metrics due to the deployment of new generative AI capabilities. Meta is just one such example. As more companies migrate their non-AI solutions to AI offerings, they will see the benefits of AI through higher revenues, user engagement, and other metrics.
This trend is not restricted to gen-AI solutions. Organizations are already investing in agentic and robotic AI and are seeing increased efficiencies from these investments. Higher demand for generative, agentic, and robotic AI will translate to higher AI compute requirements, and NVIDIA is well-positioned to address these.

NVIDIA anticipates $3-$4 trillion in annual AI infrastructure spending by the end of the decade. In recent quarters, demand for AI tools has always exceeded their expectations, and NVIDIA is convinced that the trend will continue.

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?

Gus Tai: Venture capital is a cyclical industry and I believe will continue to have these exuberant cycles. I think entrepreneurs are more informed and are seeking things like secondaries to get liquidity. And I wonder what the social contract is between entrepreneurs and venture investors: do entrepreneurs walk away from slow growing companies more readily. I don’t know. In any case, I think the challenge for this market in particular is sorting through experimental customer spending and durable customer spending. 

Sramana Mitra: We’re in the golden age of bootstrapping. Startups are scaling very fast and raising money at astronomical valuations. They assume revenue is inherently recurring. This is not the case. Churn is high. Lovable, for example, could be a very successful company, but the amount of money they have raised may not be commensurate with the exit price they can command. Churn is going to be the determining factor. How do we educate entrepreneurs not to shoot themselves in the foot like this?

Gus Tai: I think the main question is how does a company in this environment make sure it really understands the customer. Given how fast technology is advancing, it’s harder right now to know what customer needs will be. It’s generally not a good idea to scale a service that will quickly become outdated. And there’s a lot of experimental purchasing right now.

2026 will be a milestone year for Ultralight Startups.

The foundational shifts are undeniable:

AI and Automation: Advanced AI tools are allowing solo founders and micro-teams to accomplish tasks that once required entire departments: marketing, customer service, even rudimentary code generation. 

Global Talent Pools: The virtual work paradigm, solidified in recent years, means access to specialized talent worldwide, at competitive rates, without the overhead of physical offices.

Cloud Everything: SaaS tools and cloud infrastructure have further democratized access to enterprise-grade capabilities, making expensive on-premise solutions obsolete for lean operations.

Focus on Profitability: The market continues to reward businesses that demonstrate solid unit economics and profitability early, favoring ultralight models that generate revenue efficiently.

These forces converge to empower a new breed of entrepreneur: those who can validate and scale a business with minimal burn, often reaching repeatability and profitability with unprecedented speed and capital efficiency. 

They are not merely bootstrapping; they are building with surgical precision, leveraging every available tool to remain agile and robust.

2026 will showcase these ultralight startups not as niche experiments, but as powerful, scalable forces demonstrating that agility and efficiency are the new growth engines.

I have been advocating Bootstrap First, Raise Money Later (Or not at all) for 20 years. 

Initially, no one listened.

Now, I’m starting to feel vindicated.

The Golden Age of Bootstrapped Entrepreneurship is upon us. Finally.
Hallelujah!

If you're ready to build your dream business sustainably, join 1Mby1M Premium. We take no equity. 

https://lnkd.in/gB69hhqK

You can also get started with Sramana’s Digital Mind AI Mentor right now.

https://lnkd.in/gSTTasgN

Tell me (I’m not a potential investor, I am your potential mentor): What are your real challenges for 2026?

Last month, Apple reported its quarterly earnings that outpaced all market expectations. With the recent release of new products and capabilities, Apple is forecasting a blockbuster December quarter.

Apple’s Product Focus

Apple is going into the current quarter with a significant product and services lineup. The latest iPhone 17 has received a strong market response. The phone has been designed with contoured edges, thinner borders, and durable materials like Ceramic Shield 2. It comes with a 6.3-inch Super Retina XDR display, smoother scrolling, more immersive gaming, and an adaptive refresh rate up to 120Hz.

Recent upgrades made to the Apple Watch are also providing users with features such as hypertension notification and sleep score to help them manage their health better. AirPods Pro 3 earbuds are also boasting of improved sound quality and active noise cancellation. The company also introduced system-wide design updates through “liquid glass” interfaces and new OS releases, creating a unified cross-device experience.

Besides end user products, Apple also improves its power-efficient performance with the fast A19 Pro chip and M5. These chips are accelerating AI workflows across its product portfolio. Apple released new Apple Intelligence features across its offerings. Apple Intelligence now offers features like live translation for real-time language translation, visual intelligence for visual search, and Workout Buddy for AI-assisted personalized motivational insights based on a user’s workout data and fitness history.

Apple’s recent quarter illustrates how Apple is focusing on leveraging custom silicon and embedding AI across its ecosystem. Apple is tightly coupling hardware, software, and silicon to deliver highly integrated experiences. ...

In the startup world, everyone talks about mentorship. But do you truly understand the critical difference between Transactional Mentoring and Relationship Mentoring? Your choice here can make or break your venture.

Transactional Mentoring is the quick hit. It's the 30-minute speed-dating session at an accelerator, the fleeting advice from a rotating cast of "advisors." 

You get generic feedback, often disconnected from your deep challenges. 

It's a checkbox exercise, designed for volume, not depth. 

This approach, prevalent in many short-term programs, prioritizes superficial interactions over genuine understanding, leaving entrepreneurs with fragmented advice and little sustained guidance.

Relationship Mentoring, the 1Mby1M way, is profoundly different. It's about a sustained, strategic partnership. It involves:

Deep Immersion: Mentors truly understand your business, its nuances, and your unique journey.

Strategic Continuity: Consistent, evolving guidance that builds upon previous discussions, navigating pivots and long-term goals.

Unwavering Support: A mentor who's invested in your long-term success, beyond a Demo Day pitch.

Accountability: A guiding hand that pushes you to execute, iterate, and achieve revenue.

One-off advice is fleeting. True mentorship is an ongoing dialogue, a strategic alliance built on trust and a shared commitment to building a sustainable, revenue-generating business. 

Don't settle for scattered insights. Demand the continuity and depth that only a true mentoring relationship can provide. Your startup deserves a lasting partner, not just a passing acquaintance.

If you're ready to build your dream business intelligently, join 1Mby1M Premium. We take no equity.

You can get started with Sramana’s Digital Mind AI Mentor right away.

Tell me, what are you struggling with?

Salesforce recently announced mixed third quarter results. But its outlook was impressive. As Salesforce continues to expand its AI offerings, it announced plans to cross $60 billion in revenues by 2030.

Salesforce’s AI Acquisitions:

Salesforce continues to see significant impact from AI. Its AI chatbot offering Agentforce is operating at annualized revenue of more than $500 million. Salesforce said it has more than 9,500 paid deals for the solution as of date compared with 6,000 as of September. As part of its AI focus, Salesforce announced the acquisitions of Regrello, Bluebirds, and Waii.

Salesforce has not had a strong year so far as the market has been concerned that improving AI capabilities will shrink the requirement for Salesforce’s products. The stock has fallen nearly 30% in the year compared with Nasdaq’s 21% growth. Its stock is trading at $259.53 with a market capitalization of $248.5 billion. It touched a 52-week high of $367 last year, and has recovered from the year low of $221.96 that it had fallen to last month.

Why do 3-month accelerators generate so many startup carcasses? They are a staple of the startup ecosystem, often promising rapid growth. Yet, the data paints a grim picture:

Dead: 15.2%

Walking Dead: 68.7% (stagnant, unable to raise, merely sustaining)

Failed (Dead + Walking Dead): 83.9%

These figures resonate with the broader startup failure rates 

~75% of venture-backed startups still fail despite securing capital 

~90% of all startups eventually fail

This raises critical questions:

Could many of these failed ventures have thrived as bootstrapped businesses, growing organically, profitably, and sustainably, instead of chasing immediate blitzscaling?

How do we tackle this alarming Infant Entrepreneur Mortality?

Is the traditional 3-month accelerator model fundamentally flawed, demanding a longer, more patient pivot?

Can genuine validation, including necessary pivots, realistically occur within just three months?

Is giving up 10-15% equity for a mere $100-$250k investment truly the right model for early-stage incubation and acceleration?

If you're ready to build your dream business intelligently, join 1Mby1M Premium. We take no equity. 

https://lnkd.in/gB69hhqK

You can also get started with Sramana’s Digital Mind AI Mentor right away.

https://lnkd.in/gSTTasgN

Want to try it?

I’m sure you are reading lots of posts about ultralight startups scaling rapidly with the help of AI. What you’re not reading, perhaps, is commentary about the high churn rates of these startups. High churn makes a startup unfundable.

Here’s an analogy: You’re trying to fill up your bathtub. But you forgot to plug the drain. As water fills the tub, water is also escaping from the tub. And the tub never fills up.

All Unicorn-chasing VCs - Pre-seed, Seed, Series A - want you to Blitzscale.

What is Blitzscaling? Going from 0 to $100M revenue in 5-7 years.

Have you built a bootstrapped venture and got yourself customers, revenues and profits? Wonderful!

But what is your churn?

If churn is high, there’s no way you can build a high velocity company.

And then, you are NOT fundable.

Don’t just recruit customers. If you want to become fundable, recruit the RIGHT customers who stay and engage for the long term. Those who bring high Life Time Value (LTV). 

That requires precise positioning.

Join 1Mby1M Premium. You will get coaching on Positioning, Messaging, Repeatability, Market Sizing, and other GTM issues, all the ingredients of fundability. And, yes, you will also get personal introductions to VCs.

You can get started with Sramana’s Digital Mind AI Mentor right now here: 

Ask yourself: Are you ready to raise funding? Do you need help getting there?

Techie founders generally operate in their comfort zones: they like to write code. They often start developing software before validating with customers. As such, they often build solutions looking for problems.

Do NOT write code before you immerse yourself in customers and develop a deep understanding of what pain you are solving.

It’s not a good idea to build a product for several years without paying customers.

It’s definitely not a good idea to build MVP without customers in the loop.

Yet, in 1Mby1M, I see all these behaviors all the time.

You need to position your product against a market gap, a real customer pain that isn’t serviced by existing solutions.

Otherwise, you really do not have much justification for existence as a business.

If you choose to seek my advice, please join 1Mby1M Premium.

You can get started with Sramana’s Digital Mind AI Mentor right now. 

Ask yourself:

What pain is my product solving?

Who is my ideal customer?

How can I get meetings with such target customers and get their input?

Are these prospects going to pay if I build this product?

In what timeframe can I get to paying customers?

You're building B2B SaaS or an AI solution. You know the market demands real value. Bootstrapping isn't just an option; it's a strategic advantage. It forces focus, customer validation, and sustainable growth from day one. Build a robust, profitable company without immediate reliance on external capital. How do you turn innovation into repeatable revenue? Leverage the 1Mby1M virtual accelerator's Bootstrapping Playbook for B2B SaaS and AI Founders.

1Mby1M's core maxim: bootstrap to repeatability, then blitzscale. For B2B SaaS and AI, validate your Minimum Viable Product (MVP), achieve initial adoption, and prove a consistent, predictable sales cycle. Your goal is a repeatable acquisition model generating consistent revenue. Achieve this, and you've earned the right to bootstrap first, and raise money to blitzscale later. This puts you in control, attracting capital on your terms.

Phase 1: Deep Validation & Market Fit

Problem-Solution Fit: Deeply understand your target businesses' pain points. Use the 1Mby1M Core Curriculum to define your Ideal Customer Profile (ICP) and the specific problem your SaaS/AI solves.
No-Code/Low-Code MVP: Resist over-engineering. Build a functional, lean MVP using no-code or low-code tools. Prove your solution works before heavy development.
Customer Immersion: Talk to at least 50 target customers. Validate pricing, features, and workflow integration. Their feedback is gold.
Strategic Positioning with Sramana: Bring your findings to me. We'll refine your messaging, ensuring your B2B SaaS/AI is positioned precisely for your market.
Market & Competitive Analysis: Understand your total addressable market (TAM) and competitive landscape. Identify your unique differentiator.

Phase 2: Repeatable Sales & Growth

First Customers & Case Studies: Acquire initial paying B2B customers. Work closely to gather testimonials and build compelling case studies.
Define Your Sales Process: Document your sales cycle. Is it inbound or outbound? How long? Conversion rates at each stage? Crucial for repeatability.
Metrics that Matter: Track B2B SaaS KPIs: MRR, Churn, LTV, CAC, Gross Margins. These prove your business model.
Expand and Optimize: Once repeatable, focus on expanding customer segments or refining your product based on market demand.

As a bootstrapped B2B SaaS or AI founder, your proven product-market fit, repeatable sales, and positive unit economics are your strongest assets. You're building a valuable company from the ground up.

If you're ready for this strategic, disciplined approach, join 1Mby1M Premium. We’re an equity-free accelerator. You build on your own terms.

What specific B2B pain are you solving?
Who is your ICP and what's your ICP segmentation?
What are your core product features that solve the pain?
What is your customer acquisition channel and cost (CAC)?
What is your current MRR/ARR and churn rate?

You can get started with Sramana’s Digital Mind AI Mentor right now.

You have a day job and a startup dream. Smart. Most startups fail due to lack of market need or running out of cash. By bootstrapping with a paycheck, you mitigate both risks. 

You get validated, build traction, and achieve repeatability without burning savings or seeking early, dilutive capital. This is about building a robust foundation, on your terms.

How do you strategically leverage your day job to build your venture? The 1Mby1M Premium Accelerator offers a proven Playbook.

Your Day Job as Fuel: Bootstrap to Repeatability

1Mby1M's core maxim: bootstrap to repeatability. Use your paycheck to fund validation, product development, and initial customer acquisition. 

Your goal: prove a consistent, predictable revenue stream before leaving your job or raising external capital. This controlled approach lets you focus on building a sustainable business, not just chasing funding.

Phase 1: Strategic Validation & Lean Building

1. Define Your Unfair Advantage
2. Validate Mercilessly
3. Lean MVP Development
4. Customer Immersion
5. Strategic Positioning with Sramana
6. Market & Competitive Analysis

Phase 2: First Customers & Repeatable Revenue

1. Acquire First Paying Customers
2. Define Your Sales Process
3. Track Key Metrics
4. Optimize & Automate

Your day job provides invaluable stability, allowing you to build strategically with minimal risk. When you transition, it will be based on proven traction and repeatable revenue, commanding a stronger position for growth or fundraising.

If you're ready to build your dream business intelligently, join 1Mby1M Premium. We take no equity.

You can also get started right now with Sramana’s Digital Mind AI Mentor. 

Your Homework (from the 1Mby1M Curriculum):
What pain are you solving?
Who is your Ideal Customer Profile (ICP)?
What is the leanest MVP to test your hypothesis?
What is your initial pricing strategy?

What is your estimated CAC and LTV for early customers?

Thinking of joining a 3-month accelerator? Stop. If you apply without validating your idea first, you're essentially gambling. You don't know if your concept has legs, yet you're forced to commit to Blitzscaling right out of the gate. 

This high-pressure, rapid-growth approach demands absolute certainty in your product-market fit, something you simply won't have at the idea stage.

If you discover you need to pivot – a common and healthy occurrence in early-stage startups – a 3-month accelerator is the worst place to do it. There's simply not enough time for the crucial work: deep customer discussions, iterative experiments, and the fundamental learning of core methodologies. 

You're on a clock, and that clock isn't conducive to the deliberate exploration and adjustment needed for a successful pivot.

And consider the cost: if you come out of a 3-month accelerator without a truly validated business and some serious funding, you've just wasted 10-15% of your precious equity. 

What then? Are you expected to "accelerator hop" to another program, giving up another 10-15%? This dilutes your ownership prematurely, leaving you with little equity to raise meaningful capital later or to truly benefit from a profitable exit.

No. There's a far better way.

Do your critical validation work within 1Mby1M without giving up any equity. In fact, our approach teaches you to start selling and build repeatability from day one. We guide you through the process of securing paying customers and proving your business model before you ever consider outside investment.

IF you achieve repeatability, THEN apply to YC. Only once you have a proven, predictable revenue stream should you venture into Blitzscaling. Alternatively, if that's not your path, we can connect you directly with VCs, and you still part with no equity.

Why do I say you should get to repeatability before going down the Blitzscaling path? Because, frankly, not every startup can blitzscale. Most, however, can bootstrap to profitability and sustainable growth. Our focus is on building robust businesses, whether they scale to a unicorn or lead to a profitable small exit.

If you need guidance while you bootstrap, join 1Mby1M Premium. We don't charge equity. And if your business eventually has what it takes to blitzscale, we can absolutely prepare you for that path as well. 

You can get started with Sramana’s Digital Mind AI Mentor right now. 

What are you working on? How far are you from Validation? From Repeatability?

You've built traction. Revenue is flowing. Now, you're eyeing external capital. Great. You have an unfair advantage. 

How do you secure capital on your terms, without diluting your hard-earned ownership prematurely? By leveraging the 1Mby1M Premium Accelerator's proven Playbook.

1Mby1M’s core maxim: bootstrap to repeatability, then raise to blitzscale. 
Show consistent, predictable revenue before you even think about outside money. 

Your goal isn't just an idea; it's a profitable, repeatable sales engine. Once you've achieved this, you can then bootstrap first, and raise money to blitzscale later. This puts you in control.

Strategic Positioning for Fundraising -

Refine Your Investment Thesis: Your business isn't just an idea; it's a proven model. Articulate your investment thesis with hard data. Why now? Why you?
Master Your Metrics: Investors speak numbers. Use the 1Mby1M Core Curriculum to define and track your KPIs: LTV, CAC, churn, gross margins – all of it. Demonstrate your repeatable engine.
Benchmark Against Reality: Study 1Mby1M Case Studies of bootstrapped companies that successfully raised. Understand their trajectories and how they presented their value.
Stress-Test Your Story: Use our Private Roundtables to fine-tune your pitch. 
Target the Right Capital: Not all money is good money. We'll help you identify investors who align with your bootstrapping ethos and long-term vision.

Execution and Negotiation -

Craft a Compelling Narrative: Beyond numbers, tell your story. How did bootstrapping lead to unique insights and traction? How will capital accelerate what you've already proven?
Engage Investors Smartly: We'll guide you on targeted investor outreach, focusing on warm introductions and best fit.
Negotiate Terms: Protect your equity. Understand term sheets, dilution, board seats, and exit preferences. We provide direct support to ensure terms support your continued growth, not just an immediate cash injection.

As a bootstrapped founder, your greatest asset is your proven, repeatable traction, revenue, and customer validation. You're selling a rocket ship that's already cleared the launchpad.

This is about strategic capital to amplify demonstrated success. If you're ready to raise smart, not desperate, join 1Mby1M Premium. We take no equity. You maintain control.

You can get started with Sramana’s Digital Mind AI Mentor right now. 

Let’s get to work. Can you show Repeatability?

Self-motivation is non-negotiable for entrepreneurship.

Are you eyeing a 3-month accelerator because you lack self-motivation? Please don't.

An accelerator is no crèche. It's not for babysitting or spoon-feeding. It's for responsible, highly self-motivated adults.

The entrepreneurial path works only for individuals who can handle immense pushback from the market, customers, and investors. 

You must structure your day to achieve critical goals, all defined by YOU. No boss, no teacher, no manager. Just you.

Don't use an accelerator as your source of motivation. If you join a 3-month sprint, what then? You need to push for 3 years, then another 3, then potentially another 3. This journey demands sustained internal drive.

At 1Mby1M, we support diverse entrepreneurs: bootstrapping with a paycheck, ideating, validating, fundraising, across B2B, e-Commerce, EdTech, and more. Each needs a structured, personalized learning process to stay on track.

Our weekly Roundtables let you discuss your situation, and I'll help structure your agenda. As you progress, I'll guide your next steps. 

But you must do the work, and for that, you must stay motivated. I am not your babysitter.

1Mby1M is like an entrepreneurship gym. We have all the "workout machines," from Bottom-up TAM analysis to B2B Sales strategy. You learn our Methodology, apply it, discuss with me for feedback, then iterate. Learn more, apply more.

If this approach resonates, then and only then should you join 1Mby1M Premium. Otherwise, your subscription will be another unused gym membership, and you won't get in shape.

You can also get started with Sramana’s Digital Mind AI Mentor right away.

If you are self-motivated, however, you are most welcome. I love working with bright, self-motivated individuals hungry for guidance.

Come talk to me. What is your situation? Your roadblocks? How can I help?

Entrepreneurs, we constantly chase capital. But not all money is created equal. Distinguishing between smart money and dumb money is critical for your startup's survival and sustainable growth.

Dumb money is just that: cash, and nothing more. 

It comes from investors who lack deep industry understanding, offer no strategic value, and provide no network access. 

They often invest based on hype or FOMO, seeking quick flips, and can become a significant headache, demanding unrealistic returns or meddling without understanding your business. 

They won't help you navigate the inevitable operational challenges or open doors to customers. In fact, they can be a drain on your most valuable resource: time.

Smart money, on the other hand, is capital plus leverage. It comes from investors who bring:

Deep Domain Expertise: Practical insights into your industry and market.

Strategic Guidance: Not just advice, but a willingness to roll up sleeves and help solve real problems.

Valuable Network: Direct access to customers, partners, and follow-on investors.

Patience & Alignment: An understanding of the long game, valuing sustainable growth over superficial metrics.

At 1Mby1M, we constantly emphasize: don't go to VCs as beggars, go as kings. This means building a fundable business first, leveraging customers and revenue for leverage. 

Only then can you truly attract smart money – investors who see your proven traction and bring genuine value beyond just a check.

If you're ready to build your dream business intelligently, join 1Mby1M Premium. We take no equity. 

https://lnkd.in/gB69hhqK

You can also get started with Sramana’s Digital Mind AI Mentor right away.

https://lnkd.in/gSTTasgN

Choose wisely. Your equity is precious. Don't trade it for just any money; demand the strategic partnership that propels you forward.

Come talk to me. What kind of funding are you considering? On what terms?

We're hiring winter Interns. It's a short and sweet internship, perfect for Inter- term and as we used to call it at MIT, IAP.  You will do a lot of research and write some really interesting articles. Perfect to show off your startup knowledge to future employers and grad school admissions folks.

https://lnkd.in/gg92shiF

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.css-6ytdur{background-image:linear-gradient(284deg, rgba(39, 43, 72, 1) 0%, rgba(33, 47, 183, 1) 100%);color:transparent;-webkit-background-clip:text;background-clip:text;}Sramana Mitra's Linkedin Analytics

Sramana Mitra

Performance Score.css-goub6s{font-size:var(--chakra-fontSizes-md);font-weight:500;color:var(--chakra-colors-gray-600);display:block;margin-top:var(--chakra-space-1);}Sramana Mitra's LinkedIn Performance

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Sramana Mitra's Best Posts .css-1emoo84{font-size:var(--chakra-fontSizes-md);font-weight:400;color:var(--chakra-colors-gray-600);}(last 30 days)

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Sramana Mitra's Linkedin Analytics

Performance ScoreSramana Mitra's LinkedIn Performance

Sramana Mitra's Best Posts (last 30 days)