4 ms·
Actually, at YC we tell every company we fund that ideally they would treat every dollar they raise from investors as the last, and get profitable from the mone
by snowmaker 6y ago
Actually, at YC we tell every company we fund that ideally they would treat every dollar they raise from investors as the last, and get profitable from the money they raised already.
Not every company can do that (i.e., Boom, which is building supersonic airplanes) but if you can, you should.
- gip 6y agoAt equal execution, I suspect there is often (but not always) a direct relationship between investment and speed of execution / time to profitability (since with more investment it will be easier to attract great talent and iterate faster). Assuming what I'm saying above is correct, that means that YC is advising founders to take the slow road to profitability? (Nothing wrong with that!)
- snowmaker 6y agoNot quite. The ideal situation is to not have to raise money, by being default alive: http://www.paulgraham.com/aord.html http://www.paulgraham.com/aord.html Just because you don't have to raise money doesn't mean you never do. Sometimes founders who are running a profitable business and don't need investors will nonetheless choose to raise money because someone offers it on very good terms and they believe they can use it to grow faster.
- brianwawok 6y agoIf founders did not need to raise money, you would be out of a job yah?
- aabhay 6y agoWhich of the companies in your portfolio have successfully done this? I.e. reach profitability early on then not raise future funding rounds?
- brianwawok 6y agoWould also like to hear from other YC alums about how much pressure they felt to hire faster than they were comfortable with vs stay steady and profitable?