The word “interesting” is a forbidden word in the English language. One of my English teachers told me not to use it because it is vague. Apparently, you should not use it in the corporate world either:
“This Word Has Zero Meaning”
"Interesting" is a Boring, Overused, and Lifeless Word”
There was a time when I would think the word “interesting” but would not say it because I thought it would make me look illiterate. But English is my third language so the meaning of it might be different to me. For example, I encounter so much information on a daily basis that if I find something “interesting” that means a lot, that means they got my attention and I will invest my time to investigate further and I will say no to everything else at that moment. When one of my friends says “huh, interesting” that means, “let’s talk about it”. “Interesting” is a great word.
So here is what I find interesting: companies that have just raised Series A round.
Raising Series A is hard. You have to have a lot of verifiable traction. Unless you are a serial founder, you are expected to make $100,000 in monthly, recurring, revenue. $100,000 MRR can pay 10 people $10,000 a month on average. 10 people is a lot of people. Whatsapp was only 55 people when they were acquired for $16 Billion. You are expected to grow at least 10% month over month. Let’s say you have 100 customers in January. By July, you are expected to have 177 and almost 300 by December. That means closing 16 customers a day or 2 customers an hour. If you have this type of growth you must have figured out something because not only you are growing your customer base, you are making a lot of money.
I pay attention to companies that raise Series A round more than I do to Seed stage companies or Series B. You can raise a Seed round with a great team and a big market. The goal of the Seed round is to find a Product-Market Fit. So Seed is Team times Market. Series A, however, is a Team times Product times Traction times Market. Series B is Traction times Market. Series A is unique in this sense because this stage of your company requires more stars to align. Series A is a validation of your idea and business because you found Product-Market Fit. You found a potential goldmine. Now you need to prepare to scale. Series B round is more of a financial decision where investors spend more time looking at your numbers. This is the growth stage.
Every time there is a company raising a Series A round gets my attention and founder-to-founder respect. Series A round means someone is shaking things up in an industry. In fact, I am happy for the founders. I don’t know the founders but I am happy for the founders. I bet that’s the most exciting moment since the idea stage years earlier. You have gone a long way to get here. Enjoy it. But, there is a longer way ahead because Series A also means doubling down on venture money which means you are expected to have an exit.
People say don’t treat Series A as a milestone. But it is a milestone and it is a big one. You have been working on this idea for over 2 years, you are known for this idea among your friends and family, and your professional network. Series A deserves a party. Series A means people will take you seriously. Series A makes you a serial founder.