Insights from a Founder: The Surprising Milestone for Startup Success

Name: Insights from a Founder: The Surprising Milestone for Startup Success
Uploaded: 2024-01-15T21:40:53+00:00
Duration: 36 s
Channel: Jason M. Lemkin
Description: In this interview excerpt, Jason M. Lemkin discusses the significance of reaching $20‑30 million in annual revenue for a startup. He cites Todd McKinnon…

15 Jan 2024 · 1 min

Watch on YouTube

0:36

In this interview excerpt, Jason M. Lemkin discusses the significance of reaching $20‑30 million in annual revenue for a startup. He cites Todd McKinnon, CEO of Okta, who says a company isn’t truly safe from being “killed” until it hits about $30 million, marking the transition out of the early‑stage category. Lemkin reflects that crossing this threshold also creates a space where founders can be candid about past missteps—he mentions his own errors while building the 20VC fund, his earlier career at NVIDIA, and the unrealistic self‑portrayal of being the world’s best compliance‑software HR manager company. The segment ends with a brief nod to “Jensen,” indicating agreement on a point not fully detailed in the excerpt.

Chapters

And $20 to $30 million is pretty far from a founder perspective, right? I used to think $20 to $30 million was a lot of revenue until I remember talking to Todd McKinnon, who's CEO of Okta, and he said it wasn't until $30 million that he thought they couldn't be killed, that they weren't an early-stage startup anymore. And I used to think that was later in the journey, right? And it was an insight. And it's also about the same time where you can start being honest and say, here's what I screwed up building the 20VC fund. Here's what I screwed up earlier in my career. Here's what I screwed up at NVIDIA. Versus I'm the world's best compliance software HR manager company in the world. No one wants to hear that. No, listen, I agree with you on Jensen.