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Mostly I'm amused, but otherwise you're pretty on point. As an outsider acquiring VC funding seems very challenging and time consuming. We perform on parity wit

Mostly I'm amused, but otherwise you're pretty on point. As an outsider acquiring VC funding seems very challenging and time consuming. We perform on parity with our VC funded competitors, and 10x growth will make us about 10 times their size. We're pulling this off without the advantages of their funding. I'd imagine we could shoot a little higher than 10x growth if we had millions of dollars to spend. Despite being better positioned with a significantly more effective growth strategy, we are not well connected, and so actually getting that VC money seems like more time and effort than we have on reserve.

hw 5y ago
Why are folks so high on VC money, aside from having the network effects of a VC? Wouldn’t you rather get a bank loan if you have access to it without diluting equity?
- gumby 5y ago
  In the US debt financing is really only available for small businesses or well established ones. There is an exception: there are specialized debt providers who lend specifically to venture funded businesses. I’m not sure if this is even an option outside the west coast.
ekanes 5y ago
Awesome. You don't want VC, and you don't need VC! Stick to it and it sounds like you'll have a great outcome, entirely under your control.
dasil003 5y ago
Hard to judge your numbers without knowing the baseline since 10x growth means very very different things at 100k MRR vs 1M MRR, but you are right that fundraising takes a lot of energy, and frankly there are strings attached whether you are connected or not. If you are already profitable and have good momentum there is huge value in controlling your own destiny.
gumby 5y ago
If you can do it without them you’re better off. You’ll own more of your business. Some businesses simply cannot operate that way (e.g. require a large cap ex) and so do need the outside money; for them the trade offs are worth it. If you already have significant traction and really can grow 10X in two years (where 10X isn’t 200K->2MM) then there should be plenty of investors interested, if you know where to find them.

hw 5y ago

Why are folks so high on VC money, aside from having the network effects of a VC? Wouldn’t you rather get a bank loan if you have access to it without diluting equity?

gumby 5y ago
In the US debt financing is really only available for small businesses or well established ones. There is an exception: there are specialized debt providers who lend specifically to venture funded businesses. I’m not sure if this is even an option outside the west coast.

ekanes 5y ago

Awesome. You don't want VC, and you don't need VC! Stick to it and it sounds like you'll have a great outcome, entirely under your control.

dasil003 5y ago

Hard to judge your numbers without knowing the baseline since 10x growth means very very different things at 100k MRR vs 1M MRR, but you are right that fundraising takes a lot of energy, and frankly there are strings attached whether you are connected or not. If you are already profitable and have good momentum there is huge value in controlling your own destiny.

gumby 5y ago

If you can do it without them you’re better off. You’ll own more of your business. Some businesses simply cannot operate that way (e.g. require a large cap ex) and so do need the outside money; for them the trade offs are worth it. If you already have significant traction and really can grow 10X in two years (where 10X isn’t 200K->2MM) then there should be plenty of investors interested, if you know where to find them.