Growth or Profit?

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Can profit cost you venture deals?
Read time 2.0 minutes.

I meet founders all the time who tell me they’re proud to be profitable at $25k-$50k a month. And while that’s a nice milestone, it’s not the win you think it is — not if you’re playing the venture game.

Here’s the truth: early profitability is often a sign that you’re playing too small. Venture-backed startups aren’t meant to coast on positive cash flow — they’re meant to sprint toward milestones that unlock the next round of capital. The job isn’t to preserve runway. It’s to create momentum.

Every dollar you hold back for safety is a dollar not spent on accelerating the story you’re trying to sell — hiring a killer engineer, buying the data that makes your product smarter, or getting your brand in front of the right users. Profit buys you comfort. Momentum buys you options.

Because here’s how venture actually works: investors don’t fund what is. They fund what could be — if given enough capital and enough conviction. Your job as a founder is to turn that “if” into a “when.”

So, ask yourself this: if you raised a few million today, what milestones could you hit in the next 12–18 months that would make the next investor excited to say yes?

That’s your goal. Not early profitability — fundable progress.

Onwards and Upwards,

Liam Gill