The Zero to $10M ARR Newsletter

A ‘successful’ founder friend of mine sold for $200M last year.

His take-home after 6 years?

$8.4M.

He raised over $80M in venture capital, and the founders put in their life savings. In 2022, he tried to hire me saying they’d “soon be worth billions.” I was shocked at what he said when I turned him down:

‘Your metrics are too small,’ he said.

VC-backed Friend: ‘Why keep running a bootstrap company? Join us - we’re raising another round.’

Me: ‘I’m building something different.’

Him: ‘Look at our numbers. We’ll 10x your comp. Give you real scale.’

Me: ‘Let me explain what success looks like to me:

-$5M in ARR

-Team under 10 people

-Complete ownership

-Sustainable growth’

Him: ‘That’s… modest.’

Me: ‘No, that’s intentional.’

Here’s what I didn’t say then: While he was chasing unicorn status, I was building profitability.

While he answered to investors, I answered to customers. While he scaled headcount, I scaled efficiency.

Fast forward to today:

His path:

-Raised millions

-Built huge team

-Chased growth

-Sold for $200M

His take-home after 6 years: $8.4M

My path:

-Bootstrapped

-Kept it lean (<10 people)

-Hit $5M ARR

-Yearly profit: ~$2M

-Full ownership

He reached his ‘ambitious’ exit. I built sustainable wealth. Sometimes thinking ‘small’ is the biggest bet you can make.

Here’s a few lessons for my fellow founders:

1. The market is really brutal on you when you’re VC-backed. Stay lean.
2. If you’re small but profitable, you can stay in the game.
3. The ownership and control you’re compounding are VERY valuable.
4. If you build revenue and stay in the game long enough, the odds that you will get sustainable wealth and freedom increase.

Don’t let people tell you you’re wasting your potential.

Success is inside all of us. I actually believe that.

It just takes LOTS of patience, and usually a little defiance.

Build for freedom, not exits.

Until next time,

Alex Turnbull

Founder and CEO

Groove and Helply