Kyle Poyar just analyzed new data from 6,525 SaaS startups and it's WILD. Only 3.3% reach $1 million ARR in less than a year from first revenue. And just 1-in-1000 reach $10 million in less than a year!!
Thats not what you'd think if you only listen to VCs on Twitter.
You'd think if you're not at $100M ARR in 6 months you might as well give up.
Kyle partnered with ChartMogul and dug into their dataset on subscription metrics going back 10+ years and here's what he found:
For startups that reach $1M ARR, it usually takes 2-5 years from monetization.
1. Only 3.3% of startups reach $1 million in under 1 year
2. 13.4% reach $1 million in under 3 years
3. 25.1% reach that figure within 5 years
You can map yourself onto the curve below (see graphic at the bottom).
It takes time to find PMF and move from founder-led sales to repeatable growth. And premature scaling can kill a great business.
That's why many of the best companies started slow:
- Lovable spent 18 months building before their breakthrough success
- Clay grinded for 6 years before seeing revenue traction
- Bolt spent 7 years to get to $700k ARR before their new product exploded
Tomorrow Kyle (Founder of Growth Unhinged) is joining me on Unf*ck My Startup LIVE to share the realistic playbook for sustainable startup growth.
If you're a founder feeling discouraged by hyper-growth narratives, this session will provide the data-driven clarity and actionable strategies you need to build a long-term, successful startup.
Join us here (3pm ET, Tuesday 10/21): https://us06web.zoom.us/webinar/register/WN_0ngothOlTTyHnwFvdENCRw#/registration
