Early Stage Entrepreneurs Headed For The $1 Million Mark

Oct. 5, 2010 - PRLog -- Despite the economic downturn, some early stage entrepreneurs are still gaining traction by offering new solutions, novel approaches, and “just right” products. As part of the One Million by One Million (1M/1M) global initiative, Silicon Valley entrepreneur and strategy consultant Sramana Mitra is profiling some promising startup ventures in her Incubation Radar series: http://www.sramanamitra.com/incubation-radar-2010/

Mitra is a passionate entrepreneur who has three of her own ventures under her belt and knows the pain of building an early stage business first hand. An MIT grad in engineering, Ms. Mitra learned business by building her own companies. She parlayed her own experience and expertise into a successful consulting practice, where she has advised over eighty small and large businesses on their positioning, product validation and go-to-market strategy.

Earlier this year Mitra launched the One Million by One Million (1M/1M) global initiative that aims to help one million entrepreneurs reach $1 million in revenue each. The 1M/1M initiative, as Ms. Mitra sees it, is a pro-active, hands-on comprehensive support for entrepreneurs through education, business coaching, feedback and personal introductions: http://www.sramanamitra.com/1m1m/

The Incubation Radar series is an outgrowth of the free, online strategy roundtables for entrepreneurs that Mitra holds every week. During each roundtable five entrepreneurs present their businesses one at a time for a strategic discussion with Mitra. Of the businesses presented, 90% are not yet ready for any kind of funding. The Incubation Radar series began as a way to give the 10% of sufficiently validated businesses some added exposure to influencers, customers, and possible investors.  These roundtables are the cornerstone programming of the 1M/1M initiative http://www.sramanamitra.com/entrepreneurship-strategy-rou...

All of the businesses featured as part of this series have had their business ideas reasonably validated by paying customers and, with continued guidance and support, have the potential to reach the elusive $1 million revenue mark.  The 1M/1M program encourages entrepreneurs to do significant idea validation in the bootstrapped mode, rather than focusing on external financing right away. By bootstrapping the early stages of the business building process, entrepreneurs develop negotiating leverage for raising money later, if at all.  

Based on her Entrepreneur Journeys research, Mitra teaches the EJ Methodology which emphasizes bootstrapping, idea validation, and crisp positioning as some of the core principles of building strong fundamentals in early stage ventures. Throughout the EJ Methodology and her Entrepreneur Journeys book series, Mitra shares numerous case studies of businesses that were built without outside capital.

Through the Incubation Radar series, validated businesses are introduced to various kinds of partners, including investors, customers, channel partners, and acquirers.  “Customers and Channel Partners are just as important as investors,” says Mitra. “They help entrepreneurs validate further and build valuation, so that if and when the companies eventually raise money, they do so at a better valuation, and preserve ownership. Early stage equity is extremely expensive, and our goal is to help entrepreneurs preserve their equity, and not lose their shirt.”

1M/1M is an educational program, not a funding broker. While connecting the dots for some entrepreneurs, the initiative is also extremely committed to helping those entrepreneurs who are not yet ready for any dots to be connected by teaching the basics of entrepreneurship. Some businesses being shepherded through the program will also be featured on Incubation Radar.

Some early stage ventures profiled include:
·InnovizeTech
·LOGOPremiums
·FreeLunched
·Hospitality Star
·Off The Quad
·Actifio
·Tissuepro
·Norton Scientific
·Fabulousyarn
·Ringio
·Techcello
·Temetic Research
·Sock Monkeys Clothing
·Phitch
·Reftree
·Altitude Fasique
·SurgeForth
·MyOnlineToolbox
·La Grande Dame

Early stage entrepreneurs interested in getting on the radar of the potential customers, investors, channel partners, and acquirers who monitor the Incubation Radar series can register to “pitch” at an upcoming roundtable or can pitch to be featured on Sramana Mitra’s blog following these instructions: http://www.sramanamitra.com/articles/profiling-questionna...

Additional 1M/1M resources:
·Free online 1M/1M strategy roundtables for entrepreneurs held every week: http://www.sramanamitra.com/entrepreneurship-strategy-roundtables/
·Instruction for entrepreneurs interested in being featured on Sramana Mitra’s blog: http://www.sramanamitra.com/articles/profiling-questionnaire/
·The EJ Methodology: http://www.slideshare.net/sramana/ej-methodology-4606340


·Entrepreneur Journeys book series is available from Amazon.com: http://amzn.to/d8mTsx
·“One Million by One Million” group on LinkedIn: http://www.linkedin.com/groups?mostPopular=&gid=3320699
·“One Million by One Million” page on Facebook: http://www.facebook.com/1Mby1M?ref=ts
·“One Million by One Million” on Twitter: @1Mby1M

Ms. Sramana Mitra is available to comment on when a venture is or is not ready for financing and early stage funding. Media contact: Maureen Kelly, maureen@sramanamitra.com

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About Sramana Mitra:
Sramana Mitra is a technology entrepreneur and strategy consultant in Silicon Valley and runs the 1M/1M initiative. She has founded three companies, writes the business blog, Sramana Mitra on Strategy (http://www.sramanamitra.com) and is the author of the Entrepreneur Journeys book series, including Entrepreneur Journeys, Bootstrapping: Weapon Of Mass Reconstruction, Positioning: How To Test, Validate And Bring Your Idea To Market, the recent Innovation: Need Of The Hour (June 2010), as well as Vision India 2020 (all available from Amazon.com).