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It is hard to believe that we have been running FREE mentoring sessions for entrepreneurs since 2008, and just concluded our 150th roundtable on Nov 29. What started as an experiment four years back has really caught on, and blossomed into the foremost mentoring solution in the entrepreneurship...

Before I get into today’s roundtable, I want to point you to a discussion on Democratization of Startup Financing that I suggest you read, given your interest in early stage startups. Here’s an excerpt: In anticipation of the JOBS Act, the democratization of the startup and small business...

During this week’s roundtable, we worked with four entrepreneurs, two of whom are premium members of the 1M/1M program. One of them, John Lynch, is our oldest member. At 90, John is doing a startup company in the area of innovative story-telling and legacy preservation for seniors. I hope that...

I have been trying to get entrepreneurship development in Kolkata moving since 1995, when I started my own entrepreneurial career. At the time, I was one of the first to set up a Silicon Valley startup with a development back-end in Kolkata. The environment was hard. The infrastructure was poor...

I spent the last few days in Cochin, at the inaugural edition of TiECon Kerala. To be perfectly honest, I wasn’t sure how much entrepreneurial energy exists in Kerala today, so I had some concerns about the event. The organizers of TiECon also did not have a clear sense of what to expect...

Soon I am off to India to deliver the keynote address at TiECon in Kerala and help judge a 1M/1M Pitch-Fest competition next Friday, October 26. Then, on Thursday, November 1, I will be leading the Kolkata 1M/1M Pitch-Fest Competition at iLEAD. As part of a joint effort with local leaders to...

During today’s roundtable, we worked with two entrepreneurs, both with interesting business ideas. Khummo First, Josep Ballestes from Barcelona, Spain, pitched Khummo, a SaaS solution for hotels to collect feedback from customers through a mobile app. Josep already has a customer – a hotel...

During today’s roundtable, we spoke with three entrepreneurs. Before I get into the details of those discussions, let me alert you to an upcoming contest. On November 1st, at iLEAD in Kolkata, India, 10 companies will be selected to pitch their businesses during the Kolkata 1M/1M Pitch-Fest...

During today’s roundtable, we started the session by celebrating five of our high performing ambassadors: Danielle Faber from Ontario, Canada; Erin Frank from Madison, Wisconsin; Javier Hernández Pérez from Madrid, Spain; Shilpa Kolte from Singapore, Malaysia; and Saikat Sengupta from Kolkata...

During today’s roundtable, we spent a large part of the session working with 1M/1M premium company OrangeScape’s CTO, Mani Doraisamy, and the strategy for the company's new product KiSSFLOW. OrangeScape, by the way, is based in Chennai, India, and has been part of the 1M/1M premium program for...

During today’s roundtable, we discussed a diverse range of businesses, the best of which has a hybrid business model, with a deep understanding of e-commerce and physical supply chains. LocalFitTank First, Christina Hall from San Diego, California, pitched LocalFitTank, a service for fitness...

We started today’s roundtable with a reminder that the TradeKing-1M/1M pitch fest is on as we speak, and the application deadline is September 10. The finals are scheduled for October 4 and October 11. The contest is focused on financial technology entrepreneurs, and TradeKing, an online...

During today’s roundtable, we had two pitches and two discussions with 1M/1M premium members. instruMagic First, Eyal Eldar from Tel-Aviv, Israel, pitched instruMagic, an iPad app for playing songs on a guitar. Eyal is working with one of the largest sites for sheet music distribution and his...

During today’s roundtable, we worked with two 1M/1M premium members, one from Israel and another from Malaysia, and a pharmaceutical entrepreneur from California. Zuznow First, Racheli Levkovich from Tel-Aviv, Israel, pitched Zuznow, a mid-tier solution for transforming e-commerce web sites...

During today’s roundtable, we held the finals of the A&N Media-Elance contest co-hosted by King’s College, London. This was perhaps one of the absolute best sets of pitches at a contest final this year. Happerture First, Dr. Dele Omotosho and Michela Menting from London pitched Happerture, a...

During today’s roundtable, we turned the spotlight on Western Massachusetts, spanning the Northampton – Amherst area and the home of Smith College (my undergraduate alma mater), Amherst College, UMass, Mt. Holyoke and Hampshire College. Bakepedia First, Dede Wilson from Amherst, Massachusetts...

During today’s roundtable, we had five presenters discussing a wide range of businesses mostly from India. Aurviz Technology First, Chetan Vinchhi from Bangalore, India, pitched Aurviz Technology, a video solution whereby enterprises can provide video-based customer support. The validation for...

During today’s roundtable, we worked with five entrepreneurs in Boulder, Colorado. We saw a lot of businesses with a ‘green’ theme, as well as with themes of ‘giving’. Boulder, Colorado, it seems, is a very socially conscious community. Also, four out of the five entrepreneurs today were women...

During today’s roundtable, we turned the spotlight on Colorado and got a very nice view into what’s happening in that region. Co-hosting the roundtable with us was Innovation Pavilion in Denver, Colorado. Innovation Pavilion focuses on creating an eco-system for ideas and entrepreneurs to come...

We co-hosted today’s roundtable with London School Of Economics SU Entrepreneurs and European Student Startups. A&N Media and Elance awarded three scholarships. Today’s judges were, for A&N Media, Charlie Mortimer, Head of New Venutures, Sam Duncan-Brown, Head of Innovation, and Kim Roditi...