From Founder's Split to $2M ARR with 5 People

We doubled our headcount every quarter, focusing on hiring talented individuals to maintain our growth.

"We doubled our headcount every quarter... there's nothing like having a single-threaded owner who can really focus on their specific job to be done."

• Strategic hiring supports scaling.• Assign clear ownership for efficiency.• Balance growth with productivity.

Feeling overwhelmed can indicate that your startup is gaining traction and facing growing pains.

"In early stage, things are not going right if you are in control... you really should feel like you are kind of drowning, and that's when things are paradoxically going right."

• Being stretched shows product demand.• Embrace chaos as a success indicator.• Continuous challenges reflect growth.

We felt true product-market fit when customer demand and market recognition significantly increased.

"By the time we reached like 50 customers, I was like, holy crap, this actually is working... when people you haven't reached out to know your name."

• Inbound interest signals product-market fit.• Market recognition validates your offering.• Rapid growth indicates strong market demand.

We rapidly iterated our product based on customer needs, using demos as forcing functions.

"I'd have a demo... understand the requirements, and then... say, 'We got one week till the next demo, you gotta have XYZ.' We'd repeat after every call."

• Use customer commitments to drive development.• Rapid iterations lead to quick improvements.• Close sales-engineering collaboration accelerates progress.

We focused on carefully selecting our first 20 customers to shape our product development.

"I really worked hard to curate the list of our first 20-ish customers because that was going to determine the future of our product development."

• Early customers influence product direction.• Select customers who align with your vision.• Quality over quantity is crucial early on.

Celebrating milestones boosts team morale and acknowledges hard work.

"I remember telling our investors we hit a million... looking back, I wish we did do something more special... you gotta celebrate these things."

• Recognize achievements to maintain motivation.• Celebrations strengthen team cohesion.• Reflecting on progress boosts morale.

Navigating a co-founder breakup requires empathy, transparency, and focus on the company's best interest.

"You can't let things fester... it's way better to address it earlier than later... you just have to do it with empathy and transparency."

• Address issues early to prevent escalation.• Communicate openly to reach mutual understanding.• Prioritize the company's success over personal feelings.

Despite raising funds, we chose to remain lean to focus on finding true product-market fit.

"We were at four people at that point... by the end of that year, we were five people. So we were incredibly cash conscious."

• Staying lean preserves capital for pivotal moments.• Small teams can stay agile and focused.• Prioritize product-market fit before scaling.

After Demo Day, we swiftly raised a $2.4 million seed round by showcasing our team's potential.

"We raised from Craft Ventures, who is our lead investor, Intel Capital, who co-led the round... it was about a three-week process."

• Leverage momentum post-accelerator to secure funding.• Highlight team strengths and market potential over early traction.• Efficient fundraising lets founders focus on building.

Joining Y Combinator provided valuable guidance and pressure to accelerate our startup's growth.

"They have a great way of distilling actions down to the fundamentals... We'd have group office hours where they'd say, what did you do last week, what are you gonna do this week, and next week we would be held accountable to what we said."

• YC's accountability structure drives rapid progress.• Regular check-ins keep founders focused on critical tasks.• The intense environment fosters fast problem-solving.