Since 2019, I’ve invested in 30+ startups.
While all of their journeys have been unique - they’ve done one of three things. Shut down (5), plodded along (20), or done very well (5).
But something they all have in common is that they have followed the pattern of sleep, creep, then leap.
I’ve seen this in my own startups too. Starting something from scratch takes a tonne of time to make it work.
But those early months and years are vital. They build the foundations that allow you to grow later.
'Sleep, creep, leap' is a phrase that gardeners use. It describes the growing stages of perennial plants (which are the ones that last multiple seasons).
With each passing year, they grow bigger and stronger. But here is the key thing - it’s not linear.
The plant's top dies in freezing weather to regrow the next season.
Startups don’t die during winter, so this is where the analogy breaks. But they do follow a similar three-part process.
Sleep (0 - 12 months)
The sleep period is when companies start, and then try and figure out left and right.
It's a super tough period akin to walking in a desert. You don't really have mountains or landmarks to show you which way to go, but the path is to just keep going.
I started my first real company in June 2016 with my co-founder.
In the first year, it would have seemed like we were asleep.
We were busy getting our roots secure in the soil. We built a prototype, got some customers, convinced some advisers to help us and raised some money.
Our growth would have looked rather pathetic. A few sales, but definitely no blooms.
Creep (12 - 24 months)
The second year is when companies start moving, out of the desert and into the jungle.
For us, it was when we figured out how to repeatedly get customers and case studies. They let us show prospects we had solved the same problem for similar companies.
When no one trusts you and you have limited operating history, social proof is everything. We were growing, but it didn’t seem very fast.
Like other early-stage companies, the market's noise can be intimidating.
Many competitors, further along in the journey, have bigger announcements. They have more traction and are winning more customers. But startups in this stage are making real progress.
There are a few more wins and the roots keep digging deeper. They become more resilient.
Leap (24 - 36 months)
In the third year, this is when companies can take off and start to shine. Stuff starts working.
Customers are renewing and expanding; a mini-brand is there, and word of mouth is spreading. For us, this was when magic started to happen: growth in giant spurts, lush greenery and flowers.
We built a platform that helped 100s of companies around the world like Credit Karma, MasterClass, and Warby Parker onboard and support their people. A few years later we sold the company to a larger player in the space.
Knowing the stage
Why I like this analogy so much is probably because, like you, I'm impatient.
Watching it happen in startups and angel investments, again and again, lets you have clearer expectations of:
- It's going to take years, and
- The growth won’t be linear.
Very few companies make it all the way to the billions or public markets.
When you see how hard it is, you'll be amazed. These companies create great value for the world. It's a truly incredible feat.
How to Apply This to Your Journey
Get clear on your project’s stage: sleep, creep, or leap, and set realistic expectations for each phase.
I've often pushed too hard from 'sleep' to 'leap' without enough time to 'creep.' I've learned, again and again, that growth isn't linear. It requires both patience and effort.
More often than not, reaching the ‘leap’ stage takes time as much as hard work.
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