Startups are getting old.
Not like passé, but literally aged. For instance, companies who raised their Series A rounds in 2019 were a median of 2.6 years old. Those who raised that same round in 2024 were 3.5 years old.
And that pattern of increased time from incorporation holds across basically every stage.
So what's up?
Likely a combination of factors. Startups are taking in more capital in convertible instruments before they ever hit priced equity - so the comparison of seed across those years includes some stretching of the term.
Of course the funding downturn has played into this, with time between rounds lengthening for many companies. And the lack of IPOs isn't a big help either.
The data is clear—founders should plan on this taking at least a decade if they're looking to go public and at least is doing a lot of work in that sentence.
Respect!
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Peter Walker
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