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By Lenny Rachitsky · lennysnewsletter.com · @lennysan on X · YouTube · LinkedIn
Lenny Rachitsky surveys about two dozen venture investors on what growth rates count as good or great at each stage of a business. The post argues that early-stage investors weigh time-to-$1M ARR, retention, and engagement far more than month-over-month percentages, and that growth benchmarks are rules of thumb that matter less as companies scale.
Subscriber post — summary only01Key takeaways
- Month-over-month growth percentages are misleading at small revenue bases; investors look at whether growth is accelerating instead.
- For B2B, reaching $1M ARR within 12 months of launch is considered good, and within about 9 months is considered great.
- Without fast ARR growth, retention, efficiency, and leading indicators of compounding demand become the proof points investors look for.
- For consumer businesses, engagement, retention, and organic virality matter more than revenue early on.
- Benchmarks like triple-triple-double-double-double are useful starting points but lose relevance at later scale, where capital efficiency and category comparisons dominate.
“If you grew to $500k ARR in 3mo post-launch, that’s more impressive than $1m in 24mo post-launch.”John Luttig, Founders Fund · Lenny’s Newsletter
“It’s a huge mistake to focus on the growth number before getting retention.”Ellen Chisa, Boldstart · Lenny’s Newsletter
02Frameworks mentioned
Summary and takeaways written by PM Atlas; quotes are short excerpts. © the original author.