The 'childhood' and 'adult' stages of startups and the important differences between them

Thanks for sharing this!

Super helpful!

I watch a lot of Dragon's Den (UK TV show, a bit like Shark Tank) and over the years the standards by which the dragons expect founders and their businesses to be at now is ridiculous. Five years back, and they didn't need revenue, just a good idea and the business had been running for a while or not even at all. Now, if they aren't hugely profitable and doing amazingly well, the dragons aren't interested. Your article is a great reminder that startups need to be treated in a way that matches the stage they are at. Great write-up!

Brilliant read. You are 100% right. We (founders and investors) need to start looking at early-stage startups as exactly that, as being in their childhood stage. The expectations can be ridiculous and unfair otherwise.