Under Processing...

Fall 2021 DataStax – 1Mby1M Startup Challenge Application

Scholarships are only open to anyone who is using Apache Cassandra™, Datastax Enterprise or Astra DB as a core component of their business. And to get in the game, you need to apply. 

Application deadline has been extended, APPLY NOW!

Complete and submit your application as a Word document or PDF to maureen@1mby1m.com. No PowerPoints and plain emails. Submit a professional looking document.

If you have questions, please contact jack.fryer@datastax.com.

Be prepared to provide the following information and answer all questions below:

1) Your Name

2) Business Name

3) Phone

4) Email

Please answer the following questions about your business:

These are the questions investors will ask you during a pitch, and what you need to ask yourselves. Please be sure to answer these strategic planning questions convincingly to improve your probability of success. To validate a business idea, the following questions need compelling answers.

  1. Please describe your business / idea: What is the value proposition? Who is the customer?
  2. Validation: Have you validated your business with customers?
  3. Positioning: Are you able to articulate the precise positioning of your solution?
  4. Monetization: Free is NOT a business model. How do you monetize?
  5. TAM: How big is your market opportunity? This determines your financing and go-to-market strategy in a significant way.
  6. Bootstrapping: Have you done enough bootstrapping before approaching investors? Is your company fundable, or is it one that needs to be bootstrapped all the way? Do you have a preference between bootstrapping and raising capital? Are you bootstrapping using services to get to higher growth business? Are you bootstrapping with a paycheck?
  7. Financing: Over 99% of the entrepreneurs who go out to raise money get rejected. Are you planning to raise money? Do you understand what it takes to raise money, what investors are looking for? Is your company fundable? Do you know how to assess what is fundable and what is not? Are you getting rejected by investors? Do you need to move to Silicon Valley? Do you know what the current valuation range is for your company? Can you enhance the valuation? What are the levers? What are your different types of financing options and what are the mechanics of those?
  8. Customer Acquisition: What is your customer acquisition strategy, cost, conversion rate, channels, channel costs?
  9. Team: Who is on your team? How do you balance between your need to keep costs down and getting things done, as well as presenting a reasonably complete team to potential investors, in case you are soliciting financing? 

Please answer the following questions about yourself:

  1. What is your understanding of the 1Mby1M Premium program? What do you expect to get out of it?
  2. Have you completed the free 1-hour Bootstrapping Course explaining 1Mby1M’s philosophy?
  3. How many roundtables have you attended / listened to? What have you experienced during those that compels you to apply for this scholarship?
  4. Do you have experience with online learning? Discuss something you have learned on your own by using an online learning platform. What do you find is good and bad about online learning? Can you handle a largely self-motivated program where you have to do 80-100 hours of online learning on your own? To get a flavor of the 1Mby1M course modules, you can look at our Udemy courses.
  5. Do you know how to sell a new idea to a customer? Have you ever been successful at this?
  6. Do you know how to sell a new idea to an investor? Have you ever been successful at this?

Complete and submit your application as a Word document or PDF to maureen@1mby1m.com. No PowerPoints and plain emails. Submit a professional looking document.

Winners will be announced on November 11, 2021.

To learn more about 1Mby1M, please click here.

If you have questions, please contact jack.fryer@datastax.com