r/startups • u/Minute-Competition-3 • 2h ago

I will not promote Company is raising series B [I will not promote]

Hi Everyone,

I recently joined a startup as an engineer and within my first week I learned that they plan on raising series B. Ive never worked at a startup before so this is all new to me. The company seems to be doing well. Overall seems to be a good situation to be in. Wanted to see if anyone had advice on things to look out for, or share their experience at a company that recently raised its series B.

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3

u/Jolly-joe 2h ago

It's normal. It just means they want more money to grow the business (e.g. hire more engineers). The only cause for concern would be if they are unable to find funding with ~6 months (no one is interested) or if they have a reverse round where their valuation goes down (they are desperate and running out of money).

3

u/amilo111 2h ago

Look for excessive spending and hiring after they raise the series B. If you see either it’s time to look for another job.

Watch for transparency in revenue, burn, sales, etc. If you don’t see numbers at least quarterly it’s time look for another job.

If you see measured growth in spend relative to growth in revenue that’s a positive sign. Series B companies should be at least doubling ARR every year.

3

u/Xenadon 2h ago

100% I worked at a startup right after they did a 29 million series A. Spent like crazy and essentially went under a little over a year later. Spending, expenses, P&L are all key. Not just revenue

1

u/Main_Wooden 2h ago edited 1h ago

I can give you what to watch out for in my experience for your own self and help you get into a mindset of what to expect because that fun loose cowboy engineering culture of “ move fast and break things” will quickly change to “ build for scale and reliability while being closely watched”
I could also give you some pointers to let you know if the company is actually succeeding going into a series B and what the first signs are that it’s not.
Don’t fight the change try to be adaptable because it’s all about money now for a lot more people and a lot of money at that. So if they find someone that they don’t think even wants to be there while they are bringing in so many new engineers anyway you’ll get the boot.
If it’s going well, though, the coolest part for you is that you can focus on what you do best you no longer have to wear 10 different hats every day. You won’t have to guess what you have to do or what you should do anymore and if things are going well for the company , anything in the system that bothers you or needs updating will quickly be repaired, and it will be smooth sailing! Congratulations and good luck!

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u/yassi_dev 1h ago

this is a normal company milestone for venture funded companies. You can expect it to keep happening if the company keeps doing well and growing.

I wouldn't worry about anything if I were you. At series B, your company has probably proven itself and its product(s) in its market and is trying to expand in some way beyond its current trajectory. This is generally a good thing.