Ad Hoc Labs · B2C · privacy app studio
Skip the next VC round and run the app at breakeven instead
Breakeven or profitable for 6-8 years, grew past $10M a year
Workedfinancing
What they did
When the VC cash was running low and the Series A was due, they judged they lacked the metrics (not 200% year-over-year growth). With insider (Founder Collective) support they converted to a breakeven business and have kept growing from profits. Greg advises most one- or two-founder consumer apps not to raise VC; use friends-and-family money (e.g. $20K for test ads) and accelerator SAFEs/notes that don't lock you into the VC path.
What happened
Profitable or breakeven for 6-8 years while growing: $1M at 2.5 years, $5M at 5, $10M ~2 years later, multiples of that now.
- Stage
- growth
In their words
Sub Club by RevenueCat · Pivots, Funding, and Building Apps That Last – Greg Cohn, Burner“It was clear we didn't have the metrics for it, right? And so, that's the ultimate test of whether you should raise VC today is at the end of that cycle, where you have the numbers to go raise a subsequent round and we didn't get there.”
“So, we had some insider support to convert the business into a breakeven at the time business. And we've been really profitable ever since.”
Related topics
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