The leading US magazine for entrepreneurs, Inc., publishes a list of the 500 fastest growing companies (in revenue) in the US every year (the Inc. 500). It’s always an incredibly interesting read — as most of the companies are a) companies you have never heard of before and b) in sectors where you wouldn’t expect them (Business Products and Services, Energy, etc). Nearly none of them qualify as your typical Silicon Valley startup.
That in itself is remarkable and might point to something which is wrong with the Silicon Valley startup model — but what’s even more interesting is the fact that a whopping 60% of the Inc. 500 companies were bootstrapped on less than $10,000. No angel money, no seed rounds, no Series A. Bootstrapped to revenue growth which wins them an Inc. 500 award. I find this truly remarkable.
Something to chew on, think about and reflect on… We might have an obsession with venture capital which isn’t quite healthy anymore.