Sramana Mitra

From this article it seems creditkarma has been profitable since 2015. --> https://www.sramanamitra.com/2018/06/06/credit-karma-delays-its-ipo-pl…

Stitch Fix is a profitable company that recently had an IPO. Their business is mostly subscription: each month they send a small selection of clothes chosen by a stylist. The customers keeps (and pays for) the ones they like, and returns the rest. Here's an overview: https://www.sramanamitra.com/2017/06/15/billion-dollar-unicorns-stitch…

There is a time pressure for them to IPO given the terms of some loans they took out in 2016. It seems the loan included penalties tied to how long it takes them to IPO. Apparently for every six months thereafter till the stock lists, the interest rate will keep going up by 1%. (http://www.sramanamitra.com/2017/03/08/2017-ipo-prospects-spotify-dela…

>This is a common mistake: building a product based on assumptions, and not on the market's demand. I've learned not to add a feature before I have someone who paid an advance. I first came across this sort of advice here: The Montana Mogul: RightNow CEO Greg Gianforte (Part 1) http://www.sramanamitra.com/2008/07/31/the-montana-mogul-rightnow-ceo-… Interesting story. RightNow was later sold to Oracle, IIRC, for a good amount. Greg used a similar technique to what you advise.

They were expecting to do $60m in 2014 - http://www.sramanamitra.com/2014/07/11/bootstrapping-a-web-hosting-com… I know we left them 4 years ago because how they implement bandwidth caps on private IPs, which a few years later another company also had the same problem with and nicely wrote it up on their blog: https://docraptor.com/blog/gone-in-60-seconds-how-we-moved-from-linode… Linode's attempt to keep us (spending $5k a month at the time, but we've grown substantially with AWS now. Linode were at $22m in 2011, so we'd have been 0.3% of their total revenue): "We will certainly be sorry to see you go." That may just be because they were fed up of us after we opened 27 support tickets about the same networking issue over the course of 11 months though.

I can guarantee you that Vembu would not have said it the way you are suggesting & the timing of the "memo". See this link http://www.sramanamitra.com/2007/07/16/happily-bootstrapping-zoho-ceo-… where he was categorical that he is not going to be giving options and there was no expectations. I think the real issue is not about sharing wealth since it can be shared through other mechanisms for the core team - faster promotions, more cash comp, better work environment... Its really about whether you want to keep it private. If you want to keep it private, then what is the value of the options if there is no exit? I presume this is the same thinking that James Goodnight at SAS (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/SAS_Institute#Company_and_software) & Mike Bloomberg would have gone through to try and keep the company private.

The iPhone [1] [1] - http://www.sramanamitra.com/2008/02/24/the-iphone-as-a-minimum-viable-…

She gives away her time to critique entrepreneurs presentations (See http://www.sramanamitra.com/entrepreneurship-strategy-roundtables/ ) in roundtables that are free to call in and available afterward on her site. She has written four books on bootstrapping and researched a number of success stories. They are as useful in their way as "Founders at Work" or "Four Steps to the Epiphany." I am not affiliated with her but admire both what she and Eric Ries are trying to do to provide practical guidance to entrepreneurs who are bootstrapping.

I am of the same opinion. You may want to check out my new book, Entrepreneur Journeys (Volume One): http://www.sramanamitra.com/2008/09/09/entrepreneur-journeys-now-on-am… Sramana

I've seen some hyperbolic statements on Google/Motorola/Samsung vs. Apple FRAND patent litigation recently, as if such tactics were unprecedented, and the amounts asked scandalous. I would suggest every person who is getting emotional in the Apple-Android dispute to have a look at this document on 4G FRAND patents: http://www.investorvillage.com/uploads/82827/files/LESI-Royalty-Rates.… It gives some context: Audiences can expect to see the same licensing challenges that first appeared in GSM (2G) and which re-appeared in UMTS (3G) starring again in LTE (4G). The plot is essentially the same: lots of essential patents and many different patent holders. And an interesting quote from Motorola (undated, accessed in 2009): Motorola expects that its essential patent royalty rate for LTE systems and equipment will be approximately 2.25 percent. I'll leave to the courts to decide if this is an appopriate royalty rate for an iPhone. Note that there is a trend of declining rates: Qualcomm used to collect between 4% and 5% of the sales price for FRAND patent royalties[1]. This has since declined to about 3% [2]. As for court actions, Nokia settled with Apple in 2011[3] over FRAND patents[4] for €800m. Apple would also pay Nokia €8 per device, equivalent to 1.75% of the sales price. That being said, I agree that injunctions should not be granted on FRAND patents. I can't imagine a case where it makes sense. [1]…

In addition to being more nimble than the big players, Zoho also competes very aggressively on pricing. One way they can afford to do that is through their unique approach to hiring: "We hire young professionals whom others disregard. We don’t look at colleges, degrees or grades. Not everyone in India comes from a socio-economic background to get the opportunity to go to a top ranking engineering school, but many are really smart regardless. We even go to poor high-schools, and hire those kids who are bright, but are not going to college due to pressure to start making money right away. They need to support their families. We train them, and in 9 months, they produce at the level of college grads. Their resumes are not as marketable, but I tell you, these kids can code just as well as the rest. Often, better." (via http://www.sramanamitra.com/2008/01/22/silicon-valleys-unknown-indian/…