Would you sell your startup today for $30M?
Would you sell your startup today for $30M?
That’s the question Techstars Managing Director Katie Rae would ask us every week.
Each Monday, the CEO of each company in our Techstars class would stand in front of the class and answer Katie’s question: “Would you sell your startup today for $30M?”
(This is us, bright-eyed on day one of Techstars Boston Accelerator 2013. Look at those baby faces.)
On the first day, the question drew laughter. Few in the room had a product. No one in the room had a valuation beyond $5M. Product-market fit wasn’t even on the table. But everyone (rightfully) had visions of unicorn valuations.
Week 1: 3 out of 14 CEOs said they would sell their company right now for $30M. 11 of 14 CEOs said no.
Week 14, the last week of the program: It flipped. 11 out of 14 CEOs said they would sell their company right that moment for $30M. Only 3 of 14 CEOs said no.
It’s really hard, especially in the early days.
Every bug fixed seems to result in a new bug created.
User acquisition increases, but user retention suddenly decreases.
That investor who wanted to lead your round ghosts you after a meeting with his partners.
Your problems don’t get easier, you just get better at solving them.