David Lambert on startup cash flow
From 435th 1Mby1M Roundtable March 14, 2019: With David Lambert, Right Side Capital Management · · 1Mby1M Roundtables
“At these early stages, one of the things we care the most about is cash burn. If a company is burning 40 to 50 thousand a month with 10k MRR, they're probably stressed and have blinders on, but if they're burning 10 to 20 thousand a month, they're more likely to pivot and explore new opportunities.”
On , David Lambert, Chief Accounting Officer, Vice President & Controller at DISTRIBUTION SOLUTIO GRO INC, spoke about startup cash flow during 435th 1Mby1M Roundtable March 14, 2019: With David Lambert, Right Side Capital Management on 1Mby1M Roundtables.
About David Lambert
In a March 2019 roundtable hosted by 1Mby1M, David Lambert, representing Right Side Capital Management, discussed the firm's investment approach and views on early-stage startups. He stated that the firm typically invests earlier than traditional seed investors, often at the pre-seed stage, and makes hundreds of investments to manage risk, acknowledging that most of these will fail. Lambert cited PillPack, acquired by Amazon, as an example of a portfolio company exit. He emphasized the importance of managing cash burn, noting that companies burning $10,000 to $20,000 per month are more likely to pivot successfully than those burning $40,000 to $50,000. Lambert also commented on broader entrepreneurial trends, observing that building an initial product has become cheaper each year and that entrepreneurs increasingly favor bootstrapping to achieve validation before seeking venture capital. He expressed personal support for solopreneurs, contrasting this with the preferences of many accelerators. Lambert described the roundtable's feedback as direct but intended to support serious entrepreneurs, and he reiterated the firm's philosophy of "bootstrap first, raise money later or not at all."