Think3, a private equity fund for SaaS founders, is launching a new USD1 billion fund to encourage and empower entrepreneurs to take more shots at developing the next unicorn.
Instead of holding onto their current, modestly-growing company, the fund will buy their company and transition founders in 100 days to take their full team and build their next startup, providing USD500,000 in a no-equity angel round to get started.
“We developed this fund to enable founders to take more shots on goal,” says Andy Tryba, founder and CEO of Think3. “Founders should think of ‘time’ as their portfolio, making the call earlier if their current company is growing fast enough for exit velocity. Too many founders hang on too long hoping for a growth miracle – killing their career.”
With a 30 per cent decline in US startup exits over the last four years, companies are staying private longer. This is fundamentally bad for entrepreneurs as it reduces the number of companies they can start in their entrepreneurial lifespan.
On average, most founders only have a 15-year lifespan available during their careers as a startup entrepreneur. If they launch a company and hang on for seven to eight years, for example, they have two shots to achieve their unicorn. If instead founders transition every three years, they have five shots. People undervalue their time, but it’s the most valuable asset they have.
“We’ve learned that what founders really want is another shot at building a great company, but they don’t want to let their current teams, investors or customers down. We are the only fund designed to encourage founders and their teams to go start their next company,” says Tryba.
