saved
No revenue is enough revenue
gist
Yoni Rechtman says there is no longer a Series A revenue number. The old $1M-then-$3M ARR bar has become a moving mix of growth rate, absolute scale, and story simplicity, because later-stage investors only want the obviously great company. Rate and level can compensate, but a complicated narrative taxes momentum. Founders should become a financial earworm: obvious category, obvious traction, no TAM justification.
ideas
- The bar changed kind, not just height. $1M, then $2M, then $3M ARR used to be a workable Series A target; now there is no single revenue number.
- Obvious means big, fast, and simple. Later investors sit out anything that is not the can't-miss public-company-scale category.
- Rate and level compensate. Zero growth empties a large topline; near-zero topline empties great growth.
- Complexity taxes traction. X-for-Y and N-to-M-in-Z-months help; justifying TAM means you have already lost.
- Become a financial earworm. Frame the company so simply the story spreads without explanation, and grow.
quotes
“Now there really is no answer; it’s a dynamic set of inputs rather than a simple target.”
“the things that make something obvious are big, fast, and simple.”
“Simple, powerful stories let great numbers shine.”
“As soon as you’re justifying the size of your opportunity, you’ve probably already lost.”