There's no "one" path for VC-backed startups.
Sometimes it's a speedrun. 8% of companies who raised Series C were under 4 years old.
Sometimes there are long, grinding gaps. 7% of Series C companies were over 9 years old.
Data below is for rounds raised in the last 18 months, but the patterns have held true for years.
There are companies that start hot and then stall out. There are others who start slowly and then catch fire 5 years in. But most face a period of wandering in the wilderness. As Paul Graham said of startups, "The surest route to success is to be the cockroach of the corporate world".
Deep respect for the entrepreneurs who pour so much of their lives into this uncertain journey 🙏
#startups #venturecapital #founders
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