Postmortem of a Venture-backed Startup
The CEO of Sonar (millions of downloads, ~$2M raised) explains the company's death: chasing engagement over growth, a failed nine-month attempt to sell rather than cut costs, and how investor incentives shaped the endgame. Read by over a million people.
The Fatal Pinch
Defines the default-dead trap: moderate growth, months of runway, and an assumption investors will save you. Explains why bridge rounds usually don't come and what to do instead (cut costs or grow into default-alive).
Second Seed Rounds: How They Impact a Startup's Ability to Raise a Series A
Quantifies the second-seed phenomenon: how common repeat seed rounds are and what they do, statistically, to a company's Series A odds and terms.
Out of the picture: why the world's best photo startup is going out of business (Everpix)
The definitive reported account of Everpix's death: a beloved product with paying users that ran out of runway mid-raise; the founders later open-sourced their pitch decks, metrics, and investor pipeline. A masterclass in how good products die from failed fundraises.
Mattermark Has Raised $2M in Our Second Seed Round
Morrill explains publicly why Mattermark took a $2M second seed instead of the Series A she'd been pitching: two years of nonstop fundraising, a bridge from a customer-investor, and the honest math of raising below your hopes.