I met the founder of a $1B startup. He raised $275M in the last 3 years. Here’s how his UK-based B2B startup became a Silicon Valley unicorn: 2014: Launches a side product while running his development shop full-time. 2015: Builds product. 2016: Launches product. 2017: Iterates. Iterates. Iterates. 2018: Hits $1M in revenue. 6 years in, anyone on the outside looking in would think he’s had limited success. Unsexy space, slow growth, only a handful of customers. But turns out, he was right on the cusp: 2019: 2.5x growth to $2.5M in revenue. Moves to SF. 2020: $17M Series A 2021: $45M Series B 2022: $94M Series C 2023: $120M Series D at $1B valuation Andrew Butt the founder of Enable didn’t rush things. It took him 6 years to raise $1— and 4 years to raise $275M. Bootstrapping meant he often had to chase down customers to make payroll. Runway was always tight. “It could be a couple of weeks or it could be a couple of months. Maybe three months on a really good period.” But he took the time he needed to find that ‘hair on fire’ moment. By the time he raised, product-market fit was undeniable. It won’t matter if it takes 5 months or 5 years to find product-market fit. But it will matter if you force it and go all-in on ‘just ok’ market pull. Whether we’re talking about the person you marry or the market you chase: Don’t settle. /// Listen to the full episode on The Product Market Fit Show #startups #venturecapital #founders
Did he raise $1M seed in 2019? You said it took him 6 years to raise $1M…
Thank you Pablo Srugo for having me on The Product Market Fit Show. I enjoyed our conversation. It is humbling to see the comments and likes on here. We are still early in the journey, and there's so much potential to fulfill for our customers. One of our values at Enable is 'We Stay Curious' - it is important to remain grounded as there is always so much more to learn and greater milestones to achieve.
What an inspiring journey! Andrew Butt's story truly highlights the importance of patience and perseverance in the startup world. It's incredible to see how his UK-based B2B startup evolved into a Silicon Valley unicorn, overcoming challenges and embracing slow but steady growth along the way. His approach of focusing on product-market fit before scaling rapidly is a valuable lesson for aspiring entrepreneurs. Rushing into expansion without solidifying the foundation can often lead to setbacks down the road. Butt's story reminds us that success in entrepreneurship is not always about speed but about finding the right timing and opportunity. Thanks for sharing these insights and Andrew Butt's remarkable story. It's a great reminder to stay committed to our vision and never settle for anything less than excellence.
Very true! I believe Success is a result of a combination of factors. It may depend on luck to some extent, but persistence and consistency are crucial in achieving one's goals. Many founders have proven this by working tirelessly and consistently towards their goals. They believe in their vision and work hard to make it a reality. It is not uncommon that successful founders have similar stories of persistence and hard work. However, it is important to note that success takes time and effort. Luck may play a role in achieving success quickly, but consistent hard work is undoubtedly the key to success.
Love this story Pablo Srugo! It's a great example of my favorite ethos: Funding isn't The Goal; it's just a tool. Sounds like in the early days, funding earlier could have actually HURT Enable, untethering it from the great instincts it got from needing to be super clued into their customer to make payroll. Once they got that product-market fit, they were able to use funding to amplify what they'd already found. Love it.
Andrew Butt is a force of nature 🔥👇 ▶ Starts a business at age 14 building websites & registering domain names ▶ Leaves school at 15 to focus on the business full-time & compresses five days per week of education into 4 hours on a Saturday morning! ▶ Enrols into Helicopter flying school at 16 & meets Denys C. Shortt OBE - an entrepreneur from whom he learns about business. ▶ Starts a B2B SaaS business (Informatrix) with Shortt, and sells it to a private equity firm in 2010. ▶ Joins Shortt at DCS Group, one of the largest wholesalers in the UK & creates software that manages rebates so well that all their customers want in on it. ▶ That solution evolves into Enable & over the last few years raises $275mn++ from Menlo Ventures, Norwest Venture Partners, Lightspeed & others. ▶ Enable is one of the fastest growing software companies out there & saving $mns+ for customers across all sectors. Cc. Nick Rose, Sean Jacobsohn
Pablo Srugo your founder's journey from a side project to a billion-dollar unicorn is truly inspiring! One aspect that stands out is his patience in finding the 'hair on fire' moment for product-market fit. Could you share with us the pivotal indicators or signals that finally convinced he that he had reached undeniable product-market fit after years of iteration and slow growth? And how did he maintain focus and determination during those early years when runway was tight and success seemed distant?
Great post brother! Reminds me of our story in real time https://refreshmiami.com/pre-dev-will-make-your-software-planning-dreams-come-true-all-thanks-to-ai/
Partner at Mistral | Seed VC
8moAndrew played the long game-- it seems to be working so far. Hear how he turned his 'boring' B2B startup into one of the valley's hottest unicorns on this week's episode: