Comment by jillesvangurp

Startups are like fruit flies. Most startups never get to sustainable revenue. Being well funded just means they burn brightly. You blink and they are gone. The vast majority of startup founders I've talked to over the last 15 years have gone through several startups. Well over 90% of those startups are long gone and forgotten. VC money evaporated. Staff disbanded, acquihired, poached, etc.

Small companies compete by making money. Even a modest amount of money can be sustainable. If you can get to about half a million per year in revenue (enough to employ a few people), a small group of people can get a lot of stuff done. That sounds easy but it's not. The first few hundred thousand revenue are really hard. You are dealing with customers that are demanding results, haggling over pricing, and facing the brutal realities of product market fit all while you are running out of money and time. That's what building a company means. Early success is very fragile.

My pro-tip to startups is to stop calling yourself a startup as soon as you can. Set yourself apart from the wannabes. People will take you more seriously. And the last thing a potential customer wants to hear is that you are this cute startup that is still figuring things out. That just sounds super flaky as a sales pitch. They don't need to invest in you; they need to buy your product and for that they need to believe in your product. And your product had better do it's job or they'll want their money back. If you make money, you should be wary of investors. And if you don't, even more so. There's no such thing as a free lunch.

You're a company that's making money, that has a plan, that knows what they are doing. The sooner you believe that's true, the sooner you'll make your company a success. Most startups have none of those qualities.