A year ago today, we were almost out of money. We had a consulting client who owed us ~$450k, but was trying to negotiate down on the amount, despite work being fully delivered in September. Then, "the holidays" hit.
1/
1/
Everyone at this client company evaporated for at least two weeks. Our burn rate was high-ish because we were building across three different regulated industries (banking, investment, insurance). Our funds kept trickling out. Traction existed but was not entirely compelling.
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2/
My co-founder, @ajambrosino, and I had been trying to raise VC funds since May 2018. Not full time, but we bought into the "build relationships" trope, and the "they'll fund you when you don't need money" bit. We completely failed at driving urgency.
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3/
We had slowly built a great network of smart people (mostly in SF) thanks to some generous introductions and interesting folks like @sososazesh and @iamjakestream and @louisberyl. But no angel wanted to be our last $50k before we sputtered out. (I get that)
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4/
But really, everyone was looking for proof. Or credentials. Andrew and I were nobodies (according to a partner at @Accomplices who meant no harm). No ivy league. No top tech. No previous exit or failures of note. Great VCfirms dragged us along. We were asking for a lot of $.
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5/
We were turned down or ghosted by at least 50 VC firms. @MatrixPartners @BessemerVP @gcvp @NEA and other greats. All no. Our hopeful angels stuck around and kept providing guidance, but no cash yet.
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6/
On December 19, I was talked in to applying for @ycombinator. I filled out the application late at night after crying all evening because I thought we were going to have to shut the company down. I stopped. Sucked it up. And wrote the best damn application I've ever written.
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7/
The next day, we were scheduled for an interview in California on January 2. We spent the holidays in a daze. Knowing the $450k wouldn't clear. Payroll would keep going out. And there wasn't much we could do to be any better prepared for our interview.
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8/
After the most depressing NYE of my life, Andrew and I went down to Mtn View. Showed that our users were demanding our product. Guaranteed we would do whatever it took to succeed. Made a promise to make something people need.
@daltonc called us 5 hours later. We got in.
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@daltonc called us 5 hours later. We got in.
9/
YC took a bet on us when no one else would. They gave us a chance, and lit a fire of urgency under VCs in the Valley. Within 48 hours, we closed $1M pre-seed from @UrbanInnoFund and @kleinerperkins. 48 hours after that, the $450k check cleared.
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9/
10 weeks after that, we closed a $5.1M seed before Demo Day from the best investors at @khoslaventures, @nycapartners, and @KindredVentures (plus some other greats!). We were lucky enough to be choosy.
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Now, at the end of the year, we've hit multiples and scale we weren't sure we could reach from our early pitch deck. We've got revenue. Partners. Incredible product traction. We are underwater with feature requests and users wanting more benefits. But today, I'm reflecting.
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11/
It almost didn't happen. But for a lot of hard work and a lot of luck. We are so proud of what we've done, and so aware of how many people we have to thank for supporting us. Point of the story: put in the effort, build the network, never give up on hoping for luck.
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12/
Founders out there - the holidays can be hard. Most people aren't working. You're under tremendous stress. Keep going. You never know when you might just get caught up in a miracle.
/End.
/End.
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