Startup Founder Stories
Data & Insights

Data Insights

Real data from 238+ founder stories. See how long it really takes to hit revenue milestones, which channels work, and how you compare.

238
Stories Analyzed
204
Multi-Milestone Stories
51%
Solo Founders
139
Complete Journeys

Insights & Reports

Time to Milestones

How long each milestone actually takes

First Customer

3 months227 stories

$1K MRR

11 months187 stories

$10K MRR

1y 9mo204 stories

$100K ARR

3y 3mo140 stories

Time Between Milestones

How long each transition takes

View journey analysis
πŸš€ Unique Dataset

204 stories with 3+ milestones tracked

139
Complete journeys
3.2
Avg milestones/story
πŸ’°
First
Customer
8 months
avg
⚑ 1 days fastest
πŸ“ˆ
$1K
MRR
1 year
avg
⚑ 1 days fastest
πŸš€
$10K
MRR
1y 9mo
avg
⚑ 7 days fastest
πŸ†
$100K
ARR

πŸ’‘ Key Insight: The hardest transition is getting your first customer. After that, momentum builds β€” reaching $1K MRR takes 8 months, but $1Kβ†’$10K takes 1 year β€”similar time for 10x the revenue!

Complete Journey: First Customer β†’ $100K ARR

2y 11mo
Average time
13 days
Fastest
139
Stories tracked

Technical Background

Do you need to code to succeed?

78%
Technical founders
22%
Non-technical
Technical
Other

Most successful founders have technical skills, but 22% made it without coding β€” typically through info products, agencies, or by hiring developers.

Browse by Industry

See how different industries compare in time to revenue.

Key Takeaways

What the data tells us

Momentum builds after first revenue

First Customer β†’ $1K takes 8 months, but $1K β†’ $10K takes 1 year β€” about double the time for 10x the revenue. The hardest part is getting started.

Twitter beats SEO for speed

Founders using Twitter/X reach milestones 1.6x faster than those relying on SEO (2 months vs 4 months).

See channel trends β†’

Complete journey: ~3 years

First Customer β†’ $100K ARR takes 2y 11mo on average. But the fastest did it in just 13 days. Data from 139 complete journeys.

Teams reach milestones faster

Teams reach milestones in 4 months vs 4 months for solo founders. But 122 solo founders prove you can succeed alone.

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