Why Startups should stop focusing only on growth?

You have 1% of chance to make 10 B$ and 100% of chance to make 10 M$.

Which one you choose ?

Me

Serial – EntrepreneurRocket Internet

Angel LabsEzako.comSwimmer

Chess player

50% of new companies will fail in the first 5 years!

(U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics)

75% venture-backed firms fail in the first 5 years!

(Harvard University study done by Shikhar Ghosh)

95% venture-backed firms fail to ever return initial investments!

(Shikhar Ghosh)

It’s all about making your investors happy.

Ultra fast growth can be dangerous

Growth = traction = market validation

Quirky

Launched in 2009Invention platform

Raised $185MThe startup ran out of money and filed

for bankruptcy

Steve Jobs

Apple board ousted Steve Jobs in 1985 from the company he had created

VC funding is one path.

300 US startups get access to VC money per year.

736 startup acquisitions in 2015 in the US.

Loosing love money hurts more than VC money.

Get smart, be inventive, automate!

EZAKO

2 years oldClients in 5 countries10 people company

Paid dividends last year

PlentyofFish - Markus Frind

90 million registered users 3.6 million active daily users

100% ownershipSold for to Match for $575 million in

cash

MailChimp – Ben Chestnut

No VC12 million customers

$400M revenue in 2016550 employees

Github

Bootstrapped from 2007 to 2012In May 2011, more commits than

SourceForge and Google CodeFinally, raised $100M in 2012 from

Andreessen Horowitz

At the end, there is no magic

Do people want what you’re selling?Will they pay enough?