During today’s roundtable, we announced that Microsoft Israel will be offering 1M/1M scholarships to Israeli entrepreneurs. On Monday, March 12, at 5:30 p.m. IST, Microsoft Israel and Israel Startup Network will be co-hosting a 1M/1M roundtable for entrepreneurs at Microsoft in Raanana, Israel. Up to ten entrepreneurs will be selected to pitch their businesses to me, and a panel of judges will select the top three companies who will each be awarded a full year tuition from Microsoft to the 1M/1M premium program, valued at $1,000 each. Entrepreneurs in Israel can find more details and registration information here.
As for the presenters today, we saw one business that is ramping nicely and another concept that is not validating.
WiC
First, Arun Purohit from Pune, India, pitched WiC by Simplibuy, a web portal where consumers can share information about where to buy products and services for cheap. Arun has about 1,200 users and has raised some angel money last year. He is rightly focused on ramping up his user base, content, as well as getting a clear handle on the metrics and monetization models.
I steered Arun away from advertising and suggested that he explore the lead generation model as his anchor business model. Also, we went over his strategy for generating content creation. Using campus interns is a decent strategy and can also help generate SEO traffic. I’d like to see a realistic cash flow analysis of how this model can help the business turn profitable without running too much red ink.
Survival Quarters
Next, John Lynch from Santa Barbara, California, pitched Survival Quarters, an idea for turning cargo containers into small apartments. As we peeled the onion, we could not find any consumer segment that would be willing and able to buy Cargo containers to turn them into apartments. The segment that has the need for affordable housing cannot afford to buy the containers or the land to put them on. I advised John against pursuing this business.
You can listen to the recording of today’s roundtable here. 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 1M/1M public roundtables. We will be holding future roundtables on the following dates starting at 8:00 a.m. PST:
Thursday, March 1, Register Here.
Thursday, March 8, Register Here.
Thursday, March 15, Register Here.
If you want a deeper relationship with me, you are very welcome to join the 1M/1M premium program. If you have any questions about the program, please, first study the website, especially What to expect from the 1M/1M premium program and the FAQs. If you have additional questions, please email me, and I would be very happy to respond. Please note that I work exclusively with 1M/1M entrepreneurs.
I also invite you to join the 1M/1M mailing list for the ease and convenience of getting updates. This way we can stay in touch, and it will help you to decide if 1M/1M is a program for you.
Sramana Mitra is the founder of the One Million by One Million (1M/1M) initiative, an educational, business development and incubation program 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. From 2008 to 2010, Mitra was a columnist for Forbes. 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.
As for the presenters today, we saw one business that is ramping nicely and another concept that is not validating.
WiC
First, Arun Purohit from Pune, India, pitched WiC by Simplibuy, a web portal where consumers can share information about where to buy products and services for cheap. Arun has about 1,200 users and has raised some angel money last year. He is rightly focused on ramping up his user base, content, as well as getting a clear handle on the metrics and monetization models.
I steered Arun away from advertising and suggested that he explore the lead generation model as his anchor business model. Also, we went over his strategy for generating content creation. Using campus interns is a decent strategy and can also help generate SEO traffic. I’d like to see a realistic cash flow analysis of how this model can help the business turn profitable without running too much red ink.
Survival Quarters
Next, John Lynch from Santa Barbara, California, pitched Survival Quarters, an idea for turning cargo containers into small apartments. As we peeled the onion, we could not find any consumer segment that would be willing and able to buy Cargo containers to turn them into apartments. The segment that has the need for affordable housing cannot afford to buy the containers or the land to put them on. I advised John against pursuing this business.
You can listen to the recording of today’s roundtable here. 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 1M/1M public roundtables. We will be holding future roundtables on the following dates starting at 8:00 a.m. PST:
Thursday, March 1, Register Here.
Thursday, March 8, Register Here.
Thursday, March 15, Register Here.
If you want a deeper relationship with me, you are very welcome to join the 1M/1M premium program. If you have any questions about the program, please, first study the website, especially What to expect from the 1M/1M premium program and the FAQs. If you have additional questions, please email me, and I would be very happy to respond. Please note that I work exclusively with 1M/1M entrepreneurs.
I also invite you to join the 1M/1M mailing list for the ease and convenience of getting updates. This way we can stay in touch, and it will help you to decide if 1M/1M is a program for you.
Sramana Mitra is the founder of the One Million by One Million (1M/1M) initiative, an educational, business development and incubation program 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. From 2008 to 2010, Mitra was a columnist for Forbes. 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.