Edited: I was hired pre series A. We scaled rapidly right into an exit to a FAANG company. Company was ~3 years old at the time of acquisition. šHere is how to re-create this scenario and join a company that may actually reach a liquidation event, because if not, then why bother? ā 1. Look at the leadership team and founders - are they super strong? ā¢Do they have a history of acquisition or liquidation events in their past? ā¢History of taking companies to IPO? ā¢History of building and scaling large products to large markets? ā¢This reduces risk for investors meaning the business will be well capitalized and therefore increase the likelihood of a liquidation event for you and the team. ā¢Theyāve simply done it before! You will also learn much more. ā¢Note on the CEO IMHO: In todayās market - I prefer having a CEO that is engineering/product driven, not a business/Ops minded CEO. Will net a better outcome. ā 2. Look at the investors - are they truly top funds or just mediocre ones? ā¢Do the VCs have a history of funding world class CEOs/companies? ā¢Are the angels well known in their respective industries? ā¢You can tell a lot about a startup (and their likelihood of success) based on their cap table. ā 3. Look at QoQ growth rate for key metrics like ARR, NRR, UA, or other meaningful KPIs. ā¢35% QoQ ARR growth is a super strong benchmark, and when youāre super early, it can be 50%+ ā¢Also, is the product great? Like really great? ā¢Donāt be shy to ask for these metrics. If they arenāt growing rapidly out of the gate, there is inherently more risk. ā 4. Headcount growth, and time in between capital raises/funding also tell a story for speed of growth and the companyās trajectory. ā¢ Are people staying and joining? Or leaving. Linked In Insights tells you this on the company page. ā¢š¦ Path to unicorn in 5 years: āT2-D3ā (Triple ARR twice, double ARR thrice - $millions) ā¢Starting from 2M ARR: 2-6, 6-18, 18-36, 36-72, 72-144 = š ā¢If a company took 6 years to raise their series A (or even 4 frankly) and then another 1-2 to raise their B, and then their C, that aināt it. Check Crunchbase. ā¢Some companies do find their way and then scale rapidly later to catch up, but itās rare. ā¢Let us all start optimizing for liquidation outcomes here, and think about this stuff when weighing joining a startup vs a developed ārest and vestā company. Using these points you can start to make an educated guess on the likelihood of the startup making it to a successful liquidity event for a large multiplier, or not. If the company does have these characteristics then join every time, youāll go further in your career and earnings. #Liquidity #Tech #Startups #Equity #Startup
You are the "one" Neo!
Congrats! What's GTM ?
Go to market
Congratulations. Happy for ya! š
Depends when you started, are they public, how much longer on your vesting schedule, is the val growing?
It would be great if the company could continue to double its revenue at this stage and achieve 280+ next year. How was this year? Did you double? No need to answer those but 3 more doubles of ARR over 4 years could 8X your equity.
Amazing story
P
Thanks for sharing!
How did you get hired as VP with no degree?
Worked my way up in various startups in my domain through the accelerator path. Became the gritty āroll up your sleevesā operator with exp in startup.
Because rolling up your sleeves makes a VP. Ok, sure, lol.
Great. Thanks for true insight. What are your next bets? Also what domain are you in? Do you just use AngelList or any other platform to find these companies?
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You mentioned the key well - be lucky :) Kidding aside, congrats!