How a Seed Startup VC Thinks Case Study with Sramana Mitra

The 1Mby1M Methodology is based on case studies. In each 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.

One frustrating observation remains with me. Entrepreneurs constantly come to us for assistance with their funding in situations where their chances of fundraising are ZERO.

We can’t do anything to assist them, regardless of how strong our investor connections are. We can’t help startups get funding until they are fundable. It pains me to see so many entrepreneurs who have no concept of what it takes to raise funds.

To all new entrepreneurs out there: please study how to evaluate your chances of obtaining funding.

If you want to understand the entire early-stage investment ecosystem, it consists of friends and family financing, pre-seed, seed, post-seed, small Series A, and large Series A, and we cover those stages in our Udemy courses one by one.

In this course, we introduce you to the seed stage.

A fundable and proven business is essential if you want introductions to angels and VCs.

The reality is that less than 1% of businesses are fundable. What that means is more than 99% of the entrepreneurs waste their energy on pitching their unfundable businesses to investors. Hugely unproductive and unhealthy.

There is a reason why savvy entrepreneurs have been using the Bootstrap First, Raise Money Later strategy.

Generation after generation of entrepreneurs have used bootstrapping to get to a fundable stage, so they can call the shots at the negotiation table with their potential investors.

I have nothing against funding. I have scores of friends who are investors and I respect their work.

But my heart belongs to entrepreneurs who are capable of doing the heavy lifting of extensive validation. That’s where we can add the most value and that’s why we are in the trenches with those true entrepreneurs every day.

Bootstrapping is a proven financing approach for a tech company until it has validated its product with paying customers. Study various types of bootstrapping and combine them to your liking. Choose those that are the most suitable for you. Apply the methodology.

Only when you bootstrap to validation should you think about outside capital. Get to know how investors think, so you can speak their language and attain that elusive holy grail of investor-entrepreneur fit.

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