Why Every Startup Should Join Sramana Mitra’s 1mx1m Program, Part I: Who is Sramana Mitra and What does she hope to accomplish?

This is the first in a series of posts that will focus on the 1mx1m program. I have decided to do this in order to let startups know exactly what they can gain from this one-of-a-kind program - and how they can significantly increase their chances for success. The simple truth is that I love startups – especially Israeli startups – and I want to do everything I can to help them succeed. I can think of no better gift to them than creating awareness of this wonderful program. ... Arlene Marom

Hi, Everyone,

I believe that Sramana Mitra’s 1mx1m Premium Program is an incredible opportunity for startups, and because I so completely believe in 1mx1m as a road to rapid, solid success, I will use this series of posts to discuss why startups should join this program.

I’ll begin by answering these two questions: 

1. Who is Sramana Mitra?        

2. What does Sramana hope to accomplish?

Who is Sramana Mitra?

Sramana Mitra is a successful Silicon Valley entrepreneur, the founder of 3 startups: Dais (off-shore software services), Intarka (sales lead generation and qualification Software; 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.

Sramana is also a strategy consultant in Silicon Valley with expertise and experience spanning hard-core technology disciplines such as semiconductors to sophisticated consumer marketing industries including fashion and education. As a 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. 

Sramana has also worked with numerous startups and VCs, and she played interim VP Marketing roles for seven ventures. Sramana has a proven track record in turnarounds, both small private companies (e.g., think3, with Joe Costello) and divisions of larger companies (e.g., a $100 million business unit of Cadence, with Lavi Lev). She has also created major growth strategies through new market penetration, M&A, industry roll-ups, etc.

Sramana has developed a well-regarded methodology for Positioning which she has used repeatedly in different situations and across a variety of market segments. Sramana has a Masters degree in EECS from MIT and a Bachelors degree in Computer Science and Economics from Smith College. Her writings are widely syndicated [Forbes 2008, 2009, 2010]. She has authored Entrepreneur Journeys, a series of books focused on demystifying entrepreneurship. Entrepreneur Journeys (Volume One), Bootstrapping, Weapon Of Mass Reconstruction (EJ Volume Two), Positioning: How To Test, Validate, And Bring Your Idea To Market (EJ Volume Three), and Innovation Need Of The Hour (EJ Volume Four) are now available from Amazon.com. In addition, Sramana has authored Vision India 2020, a futuristic retrospective on India set in the year 2020, in which she has developed 45 of her own billion dollar business ideas leveraging India’s strategic strengths.

Sramana’s Bio: http://www.sramanamitra.com/bio/   

Sramana’s Blog: http://www.sramanamitra.com/

Sramana typically charges her high-end customers $5000 per day for her consulting engagements. Though she is constantly approached by startups for feedback and advice, until now, there has been no business model for her to engage with this group. The 1M/1M program is a way for her to help thousands of startups around the world. 

What does Sramana hope to accomplish?

In 2010, Sramana founded the One Million by One Million initiative to help a million entrepreneurs around the globe to reach a million dollars in annual revenue by 2020, build $1 trillion in GDP, and create 10 million jobs. This is the first time that this level of strategy consulting, business development, and mentoring has been attempted in a scalable format. Sramana is trying to solve a very complex problem of helping a large number of entrepreneurs around the globe at a very affordable price-point.

As you may know, I have been working with startups since 1995, and I have seen too many great companies with wonderful technology just disappear. There are many reasons for startup failures, most of which are preventable. For this reason, I am excited about Sramana’s program because it is the first one that will actually prevent the errors that cause so many startups to waste precious time and money … and often ultimately cause their downfall. The 1mx1m Program offers everything you will need to succeed. (Unless your idea won’t work, in which case, Sramana’s no-holds-barred approach will save you from years of struggle.)

- The coursework is based on the tribal knowledge of Silicon Valley, which has been painstakingly gathered by Sramana through years of successful personal experience and hundreds of hours of interviews with successful companies - plus her thoughtful, spot-on analysis of the successes that were achieved and the decisions that were made along the way. 

- Beyond the coursework, this program will enable you to be mentored, on an ongoing basis, by one of Silicon Valley’s leading strategists. 

- You will learn how to bootstrap your startup – which will keep you afloat during difficult times, and enable you to achieve significantly higher valuations if you do decide on VC funding at a later stage.

- Sramana’s extensive Rolodex will be leveraged to introduce you to potential customers – and, when you are investment-ready, Sramana will introduce you to relevant investors.

The Membership Fee is a Non-refundable $1000 for unlimited usage for a year.  It is possible to pay in installments with a credit card. For the equivalent of just $83.33 per month, you will get some of the best advice available today from one of Silicon Valley’s most respected strategists, plus Sramana’s ongoing guidance and mentorship over a year’s time --- as well as her wide-ranging connections to customers and investors! You won’t find a better, more effective opportunity anywhere.

REGISTER HERE for the Premium 1mx1m Program: http://t.co/vAFYPq9

Join the FREE Strategy Roundtables! 

Sramana’s FREE weekly strategy roundtables address positioning, financing, and other aspects of startup ventures. Up to 1k people can attend each 60-minute session, but only the first 5 who register to pitch will be able to make a 3-minute presentation.  Sramana will review the material in real-time, provide feedback on each pitch, and address positioning questions from the entrepreneur. Then, she will take questions about positioning from other participants. All attendees can join the conversations via live chat. Everyone is welcome. 

You are welcome to present or just to listen in on the next FREE 1M/1M strategy roundtables: December 15 and 22, 8 AM Pacific Time, 18:00 Israel Time. You can register here: http://1m1m.sramanamitra.com/free-public-roundtables

If you plan to pitch (3-minute, 4-slide pitch), Sramana requests that you prepare yourself by answering this great list of questions, in order to clarify your story: http://www.sramanamitra.com/clarify-your-story-excerpt/

It may be difficult to answer all the questions, but you should try to address the following in your pitch:

- A validated customer value proposition

- Detailed segmentation analysis and target customer definition at a fairly granular level

- A customer acquisition strategy that is pragmatic

- A concise summary of whatever customer validation work you have done

Note: Since customer validation is such a critical part of her analysis, please be certain to have done some before presenting to her.

We hope to see you at these FREE strategy roundtables, which will give you an inkling of what Sramana can do for you.

More of the specific benefits of the 1mx1m Program will be discussed in upcoming posts.

All the best,

Arlene Marom

Organizer, IsraelStartupNetwork

FREE SERVICE for ISN Members: TweetFest

Hi, Everyone,

Just want to remind you about our important free service!

We tweet about our startups - and our team in the US and elsewhere Retweet our tweets.

Some of our team members have +20k followers, so you have an opportunity to get quite a lot of exposure.

If you would like us to tweet about you, send me a tweet of 123 characters including spaces, and include your URL and Twitter name. If preparing the tweet is problematic for you, just send me the info you would like to include and I will prepare the tweet.

Note: You do NOT need to be on Twitter to be tweeted about.

If you are not yet a member, join our group of +1500 entrepreneurs HERE: www.meetup.com/IsraelStartupNetwork

All the best,

Arlene Marom

Arlene at Tech-River dot com