Startups Anonymous Est. 2013 · Read-only archive
Questions

B2B SaaS Startup – Growth good, but not explosive. Should I be freaked out or excited?

I work as an early employee at a b2b SaaS startup and since launching our product last year (halfway through 2013), we have been growing at a good clip, but not what I would consider explosive. We are doing around ~75k/MRR right now after about 16 months on market. Is that a solid growth rate to get big? Since I have a low % of ownership, it is in my interest to make sure that company can grow large. Would you be excited or freaked out? Will we be able to get to a big ($50m+) exit? Or is it too early to tell?

I know the founders are good and they seem to have a good plan to get big, but I just have no idea since it is my first time working at a startup. I’m happy here at the company but just really curious about how big it can grow. I think the company has raised about $3-4m but needs to raise more soon.

4 answers from the community

AAnonymous· Nov 8, 2014

it's too early to tell, because the competition could be nippin on your heels as you post your question.

AAnonymous· Nov 8, 2014

Hard to say just given the data you've provided. What would be more interesting to know is the shape of the growth line - is MRR growing fairly evenly - e.g. about 5K / month, or is it growing at an increasing rate? What's churn like? Are you getting upsells from existing business? If so, how much of your biz is from the growth of existing customers vs. the acquisition of new customers? Finally, how much does it cost to acquire a customer vs the value of that customer?

AAnonymous· Nov 11, 2014

If I am understanding this, this is really a question by an EMPLOYEE looking for his "Facebook" moment of cashing in. If this deal is as it should be, it would be years (at least 4) before you saw any real money. Also, the amount is great. I think too many "one shots" have given people the idea they can or should be millionaires overnight. The reality is, it takes quite awhile. The other option is looking at long-term growth vs the short-minded the Silicon Valley is awash in, and thus, the high failure rate.

AAnonymous· Nov 12, 2014

Agree with directly above. The numbers are good. Very good.

And correct, you won't see any upside to your equity for years