
The chart in this tweet should be stapled above every founder’s desk. Out of 28 million firms, 96 percent never cross $1M in revenue. Only 4 percent do. If your business hits seven figures, you are not “behind,” “late,” or “small” — you are in the rare air of companies that actually made it out of the first valley of death.
The graphic shows revenue as a series of humps separated by valleys of death. Under $1M is where almost everyone stalls out. At $1M, just 4 percent survive. Then it gets even steeper: only 0.4 percent pass $10M, and a tiny sliver reach $50M. The point of the visual: every step up is a war, but that first $1M is the biggest leap in odds.
Basecamp famously capped its headcount while crossing $1M, proving you can hit seven figures with a tiny, focused team.
ConvertKit went from failed launches to $1M ARR by relentlessly niching down to creators instead of chasing everyone.