Dear SaaStr: We’re At $3m ARR Growing 35%. What Does The Future Look Like?
1. It’s going to be a grind.
At 35% growth, you’ll likely double ARR every 2-3 years. That means you could hit $6M ARR in 2 years and importantly,. $12M ARR in 4-5 years. While this isn’t hypergrowth, it’s steady. If you can maintain this pace and improve your metrics (like NRR and sales efficiency), you could still build a significant, valuable B2B business over time. However, you’ll need to be patient—it’s a slower path. And one VCs won’t be interested, and most buyers and Private Equity firms won’t be either until you cross $10m ARR or so.
2. Fundraising and Hiring Challenges
Raising a Series A or B at 35% growth will be essentially impossible. Most VCs won’t invest unless they see a clear path to 3x ARR in 12-18 months. Don’t even waste energy on thinking about raising VC capital unless growth later reaccelerates to “T3D2” levels or close.
And you won’t be able to attract mercenary hires that are just there to join a hot start-up. Adjust to that reality. Hire pirates & romantics that truly, deeply believe in your product and journey. And maybe that don’t come from all the usual places.
3. Operational Focus
At 35% growth, you need to optimize every dollar spent. Cut low-ROI initiatives and focus on your best-performing channels. Double down on upsells and cross-sells to improve NRR. If you’re selling to SMBs, churn can be a killer—fix it now. You’ll also need to hire carefully, don’t overstaff until you see faster growth.
4. Private Equity Sales & Other Exits
35% growth isn’t going to get many buyers interested at $3m ARR. But … but … at $10m ARR it starts to get interesting to Private Equity firms to buy you. And 35% growth at $20m ARR is very, very interesting to many Private Equity firms. So if you can keep it going, not fall behind the competition, and maintain that growth at $10m+ ARR, you may build into a very attractive exit. So long as you don’t raise too much capital.
More on how Logikcull did this and landed at an almost $300m exit here:
Final Thoughts: Own It
The future isn’t bleak, but it’s not easy either. If nothing else, you’re off the hook ”VC track” and the “hot start-up” track. Own that.
At 35% growth, you’re not on the IPO trajectory, but you can still build a profitable, sustainable business if you focus on efficiency and customer retention. And you can still make millions if you are careful not to raise too much capital and push the business to $10m-$20m ARR with efficient growth.
The key is to reignite growth where possible—whether through expanding your TAM, improving your go-to-market strategy, or doubling down on upsells. If you can’t accelerate growth, focus on profitability and long-term compounding. SaaS is a grind, but steady growth can still lead to meaningful outcomes over time.
