> When Mattermark was just a tool for VC deal sourcing our total annual revenue opportunity could be measured in the tens of millions. For six months from October 2013 to March 2014 we held headcount steady at 9 people, even as MRR tripled, because it wasn’t time to pour on the gas.
> It was frustrating getting push-back on market size from investors, and somehow we knew if we suspended disbelief just a little longer we’d have a breakthrough… it just took time to see past the initial thrill of making money to the even bigger opportunity. Conversations from the fundraising process clarified our next vertical, which gave us the confidence to triple the team size over the last 6 months. MRR tripled once again.
> Ask Yourself: Am I spending like we’re chasing a big market, when it’s actually a small one? If you’re getting a lot of feedback that the market seems small and you don’t agree, you might need to re-frame your vision. (old vision: Bloomberg for startup investors, new vision: Google for B2B)
The OP believes she had a total annual revenue opportunity of tens of millions of dollars with her original vision but instead of holding true to that vision and executing against it, she apparently decided to change ("re-frame") her vision so that she could appease investors who were telling her the opportunity wasn't big enough to justify an investment.
While some startups really do need capital to fuel their growth, the need for capital can also be a function of one's mentality. Here, it's pretty clear that the OP is more interested in pursuing the largest, broadest and most nebulous opportunity (Google for B2B) than she is in providing a well-defined solution for a well-defined customer segment or segments (Bloomberg for startup investors). In short, the OP's need for capital is the product of her decision to manage her vision based on "bigger is better."
Per my comment, "...she apparently decided to change ("re-frame") her vision so that she could appease investors who were telling her the opportunity wasn't big enough to justify an investment."
The CEO of a company is ultimately responsible for setting the company's vision. Period. If the OP changed her vision to win over investors, she doesn't own that new vision any less. She had the ability to pursue the original vision.
There are lots of startups in Silicon Valley that have the potential to be profitable small and medium-sized businesses. They'll never get there because they are run by founders who are drinking the kool-aid and trying to turn their companies into businesses they will never realistically become. But this isn't the fault of the investors. It's the fault of the founders who lack the ability to recognize that the VC path isn't a fit for the type of company they're building.
I think it is really hard to resist the "dark side" that investors want CEOs to follow. You also have consider what happens to the company if the investors force a buyback on the founders if the company is not meeting their growth targets. Once you sup with the devil and accept outside money you really have no choice about the path you are on.
> When Mattermark was just a tool for VC deal sourcing our total annual revenue opportunity could be measured in the tens of millions. For six months from October 2013 to March 2014 we held headcount steady at 9 people, even as MRR tripled, because it wasn’t time to pour on the gas.
> It was frustrating getting push-back on market size from investors, and somehow we knew if we suspended disbelief just a little longer we’d have a breakthrough… it just took time to see past the initial thrill of making money to the even bigger opportunity. Conversations from the fundraising process clarified our next vertical, which gave us the confidence to triple the team size over the last 6 months. MRR tripled once again.
> Ask Yourself: Am I spending like we’re chasing a big market, when it’s actually a small one? If you’re getting a lot of feedback that the market seems small and you don’t agree, you might need to re-frame your vision. (old vision: Bloomberg for startup investors, new vision: Google for B2B)
The OP believes she had a total annual revenue opportunity of tens of millions of dollars with her original vision but instead of holding true to that vision and executing against it, she apparently decided to change ("re-frame") her vision so that she could appease investors who were telling her the opportunity wasn't big enough to justify an investment.
While some startups really do need capital to fuel their growth, the need for capital can also be a function of one's mentality. Here, it's pretty clear that the OP is more interested in pursuing the largest, broadest and most nebulous opportunity (Google for B2B) than she is in providing a well-defined solution for a well-defined customer segment or segments (Bloomberg for startup investors). In short, the OP's need for capital is the product of her decision to manage her vision based on "bigger is better."