...and reach the valuation that comes with it.

I was chatting with a founder the other day about their growth plan, what size they could realistically reach and whether their approach was VC-compatible. So I thought long about it, and If you simplify things to the extreme, there are only a few proven ways to get there.

10 clients paying $10M/year

Rare, but possible in B2G or big Enterprise deals. Think SpaceX, Palantir, or Exotec : high-stakes, so more willing to pay a high-ticket. It’s definitely no easy task, and you need to be solving a mission-critical problem.

100 clients paying $1M/year

One of the models we see the most in BtoEnterprise (CRMs, HR software…)  The challenge is getting those clients that are willing to pay a good $1M/ year and you need to find 100 of them. So either you go multi-industry and can get those 100 in a single market or you target a single-industry but getting there usually means going global. A lot of companies get stuck there invoicing “only” $100k with big logos (see next).

1,000 clients paying $100K/year 🥵

A real grind. Finding 1,000 clients willing to pay $100K isn’t impossible, but it’s tough. For that kind of price tag sales cycles can still be long therefore acquisition costs high, and scaling beyond your home market is a must but a challenge. This is where many European startups hit a wall. They reach 150-300 clients and struggle to push beyond that. Breaking through often demands multi-country expansion, smart positioning, and persistence.

10,000 clients paying $10K/year

This one's in B2SmallB territory with SMB-focused tools (CRM SMB, HR Payroll SMB) with contracts around $1K/month. Not easy but largely achievable if you have depth in your market. Hello Coverflex ;)

100,000 clients paying $1K/year 🥵

Really hard to pull off in B2C, as 100$/month is high given the mass market average salary. Here you’re better off targeting solopreneurs or niche pros. Possible, but no piece of cake.

1M clients paying $100/year

Classic BtoC subscription model — think Spotify, Deezer, Netflix or Moneybox. Needs a strong value prop, flawless execution, and often cross-border scaling. .

10M clients paying $10/year 🥵

The $1/month model, aka the social networks and casual gaming sauce! It's a different know-how and in Europe it usually requires multi geo by design so good luck …

So as a founder, here are the key questions worth asking yourself:

• What type of customers am I solving a real pain point for ?
• How much can they pay for this ?
• What size of business can I realistically build then?
• What would need to be true for my company to hit $100M in revenue (therefore VC compatible) ?
• Based on the answer above, is VC funding the right tool to get me there?

Now of course, there are as many ways to grow a company as the number of companies themselves as they are all unique. This simple framework is only meant to help founders ask themselves the right questions. Hope it helps !

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