There has been much written about how 2021 is breaking records in venture investment, especially in later stage companies. During H1 2021, late-stage and technology growth funding hit $103 billion in North America alone which represents a 144 percent increase from the first half of 2020. That's a clear signal that investors are looking for bigger and bolder exits from mature later stage companies.
However, as I wrote recently in a blog post titled "Why Startups Get Stuck", the odds are not in favor of success at this stage of the startup lifecycle. There's quite a bit of research that illustrates some of the low success rates that startups have in attaining successful outcomes, as they fall prey to a number of challenges including shifts in the market, new competition, and expanding install base requirements. These forces (and more) all contribute to losing Product/Market Fit and requiring some changes in your product and GTM strategy to regain growth.
This is a topic that I just recently explored as part of a new podcast in series by Crosslake Technologies, called "Creating Value Beyond the Deal". Crosslake Technologies is a leading tech due diligence and advisory services provider to private equity firms and their portfolio companies; I've had the pleasure of working with them for several years (both as a client and collaborator).Their new podcast series is hosted by Jeff Chavez, the director of value creation at Crosslake, and it focuses on the key critical topics of what startups must do post-deal to accelerate growth and value creation, and ultimately prepare for a successful future exit.
The topic Jeff and I explore was entitled "Enabling People, Processes, and Product Development" and discussed the topic of Product/Market Fit - what it really means to a startup, the challenges of keeping it once you've found it, and practical steps you can take to optimize your startup to find it again and regain your desired growth trajectory.
Many thanks to Jeff for his leadership on this important topic! You should subscribe to the full series and also check out some of the great podcasts provided by various Crosslake experts.
Author: Burley Kawasaki
