biz #1 is now series B at $120M valuation
biz #2 is now series A with $50M valuation
biz #3 is now seed with $15M valuation
I did not bother to apply with biz #3 to YC, probability-weighted, it was not worth the effort to me.
You just described your businesses by what investors value your companies, which means that you care about investors.
I think it's great though, both investor validation and user validation matter a lot in business (it doesn't matter if it's YC or VC).
Your case is true only if "YC" === "All Investors"
To me, business success is only the profit, what my business makes after the expenses - free cash to invest or share to shareholders. Everything else can go to hell, I don't care (except when it relates to making profit).
However nothing wrong if someone else has some other metrics. However I don't really understand why to pursue something else in business.
Of course, you can't be naive here and forget to account for customer service, maintenance, etc., which all ramp up over time.
That is sort of like saying money doesn't buy happiness...true, but financial stress or poverty typically can be outright bars to happiness. As you say YC admission or raising funds from investors isn't a measure of business success...but then again I haven't seen a tech unicorn that hasn't been funded by investors.
>Head down, work, balanced lifestyle, try to make something small succeed on your own.
That is a great message to tell to the 99% that get rejected from YC and will never touch VC funding...but even that sounds more like a pipe dream than the American dream now a days.
There is a difference between a company getting investor funding and the investor funding being a significant measure of success.
There are plenty of unicorns that didn't raise money until well after they were already considered a success. A couple examples off the top of my head would be:
* Github - first round was a $100mil series A at a $650mil valuation about 5 years after founding.
* Atlassian - first round was a $60mil round 8 years after founding.
I'm sure there are plenty more that are easier to find once you know what you're looking for.
MailChimp
Partly because if you're not in the target market for a bootstrapping business, you probably won't have heard of them. It's a waste of money, time and energy making a big noise about your business if you're not chasing investment.
Partly because the desired exit for bootstrapped businesses is (usually) a trade sale. You can't trade-sale a unicorn-sized business because finding a buyer that big is difficult/impossible. Bootstrapped businesses tend to sell before they get that big, while they're still showing huge growth, to make sure they have enough potential buyers.
Partly because valuations of bootstrapped private companies are weird. With no VC driving valuation growth, and no stock sales, how much is a private company actually worth? Valuing one is tricky, and a lot less important than for an investment-driven business.
https://www.huffpost.com/entry/bootstrapped-unicorns_b_64576...
It talks about Zoho, eClinicalWorks and Veeam beeing bootstrapped businesses to reach unicorn valuations
Also: Basecamp (I guess) and Valve Software
More accurately it probably means "Honestly, we probably didn't even look at your idea very well because we have a shot glass to fill and 10 fire hoses of output trying to fill it. Likely, for some entirely arbitrary reason, you did not make the cut. You may or may not have a good idea but we lack the time to tell you"
If you can bootstrap a business without needing any of the above, that's really great and you should do it. But that depends greatly on the type of your business.
Nope, it's net profit. I know there are fashionable exceptions like Uber/Amazon that grab market share in a winner take all market before focusing on profit but for 99% of companies out there, unit economics are still the measure of success.
I've been part of companies with insane growth, crazy fund raises etc that eventually died because revenue didn't keep up with costs.
"Put your money where your mouth is"
It may not be a measure of business success, but is a validation of an idea, a team, or both. That's a strong validation IMO.
So what would YC disconnected from business look like?
I tried, (left my job, put my time and money on the line), had some small wins, but ultimately failed. Looking back, not getting in to YC was probably not a significant driver in the business not working.
That said, when you have your money and reputation on the line, validation is very valuable, and those that say it isn’t, either haven’t done it or are truly unique.
I think your point on a balanced life is also crucially important. Being too obsessed with something also shows off badly and had a way of pushing people away from both you and your "business". Nobody like a desperate person, balanced and well rounded people are more attractive.
Getting into an incubator or getting money from investors is zero measure of business success. Business success is users and growth and revenue.
Whether YC blesses you is also zero reflection on you as a person. Rejection by YC means nothing at all.
I think business is about trying to make money, it’s not about YC and funding and the scene and investment rounds and hyper growth and beers after work and been seen as one of the cool kids.
Head down, work, balanced lifestyle, try to make something small succeed on your own.