Maybe I'm an outlier, but I don't think burn is required. I was bootstrapped and profitable for many years until I had a liquidity event once we were above 8 figures ARR and had a 9 figure valuation.
I don't think this was crazy luck or that I had some secret formula. I created products that fit distinct market needs, told people about them in creative and cost effective ways, and signed real deals for real money that paid the bills.
My theory is that 99% of software companies can grow and can scale while profitable.
Great read Kyle, Does Burn rate refer to gross burn or net burn? i.e. if you are at $600k MRR and burning a $1M per month, your net burn is actually $400k. Does burn rate in the post refer to $1M or $400k ? Thank you!
Maybe I'm an outlier, but I don't think burn is required. I was bootstrapped and profitable for many years until I had a liquidity event once we were above 8 figures ARR and had a 9 figure valuation.
I don't think this was crazy luck or that I had some secret formula. I created products that fit distinct market needs, told people about them in creative and cost effective ways, and signed real deals for real money that paid the bills.
My theory is that 99% of software companies can grow and can scale while profitable.
Don’t sell yourself short, that’s super impressive! I suspect a lot more folks are going to be following your footsteps these days
I feel like a celebrity with this level of Growth Unhinged treatment.
Well written and excellent insights. Startups operators, pay attention!
You ARE a celebrity! Host of the top 10 tech podcast in North Korea, right? 😉
And top 3 in Costa Rica
Invaluable information, as always. I don’t know how any startup could survive without comps like these to gauge progress.
Great read Kyle, Does Burn rate refer to gross burn or net burn? i.e. if you are at $600k MRR and burning a $1M per month, your net burn is actually $400k. Does burn rate in the post refer to $1M or $400k ? Thank you!
Net burn — the $400k figure!