Startup Growth by Funding Round | Susan Su

Building a Sustainable Growth Strategy for Your Startup

While innovative growth strategies are crucial for a startup's initial momentum, relying solely on spreadsheets isn't enough to transform temporary surges into a viable business. A robust, qualitative growth model is essential for guiding strategy and effectively communicating your vision to both your team and potential investors.

Insights from Susan Su on Growth and Fundraising

Growth marketing specialist Susan Su recently shared valuable advice at TechCrunch Early Stage: Marketing and Fundraising. Her presentation focused on guiding young companies through the fundraising process following initial market success.

She detailed a growth strategy applicable from the seed stage through Series A and B funding rounds, outlining how key metrics, budgetary allocations, investor reports, and other performance indicators evolve as your company progresses.

According to Su, “a qualitative model articulates the narrative of your growth, serving as a foundational tool from the earliest stages and throughout the entire lifecycle of your organization.” She further explains that “a quantitative model, or quantitative growth accounting, tracks the numerical progress against this overarching story, becoming increasingly important at later stages when substantial data becomes available.”

Susan Su’s Background and Expertise

Having previously served as a strategic growth advisor at Sound Ventures, a growth marketing lead at Stripe specializing in startups, and as the inaugural growth hire and head of growth at Reforge, Su has recently transitioned to a partner role at Toba Capital, focusing on investments in climate tech.

She also maintains a widely-read newsletter dedicated to climate investing and conducts a six-week course for investors on this subject.

Her presentation offers valuable insights into growth strategies and how to articulate them to investors:

Su emphasizes the increasing importance of quantitative data as you advance through funding stages. Here’s a look at the desired state for a Series A funding round:

Regardless of the specific stage, a dedicated growth team is consistently vital. Her explanation of this is provided below.

Before viewing the video, please note that TechCrunch is soliciting recommendations for exceptional growth marketers through a survey. Your input will help identify further experts for interviews.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MsuZhRcAGaU

A complete transcript of the presentation is also available for review.

Additional Resources from Early Stage

• Superhuman’s Rahul Vohra discusses optimizing your startup’s products for sustained growth.
• Khosla’s Adina Tecklu provides guidance on crafting a compelling pitch.
• Emergence Capital’s Doug Landis explains how to pinpoint and communicate your startup’s unique story.
• A comprehensive collection of recaps from the event is also available.