This 1st time founder raised a $38M Series A—after taking over 2 years to launch. | Chris Ellis, Founder of Thatch

This first time founder just raised a $38 million Series A. The crazy part is that for all of 2021, 2022, 2023, he had almost no revenue. He spent all that time building and pivoting. Finally he launched in 2024—and it blew up.

I saw his LinkedIn post and his revenue chart doesn't look like a hockey stick... it looks like straight a vertical line. He built a health benefits platform—it doesn't get less sexy than that. And yet, it absolutely exploded to millions in ARR in less than a year.

All because he figured out how to make something that every single company in the U.S. needs, exceptionally simple. 

Here's the story.

Why you should listen:

• Why choosing the right co-founder is the most important thing.
• Why having a mission is crucial to make it through the ups and downs.
• How to listen to and understand customer pain points. 
• Why pivots are not a bad thing, and can actually be the key to crazy traction.
• How to use external deadlines to drive urgency and focus .

Keywords
Thatch, startup journey, co-founders, healthcare innovation, product market fit, venture capital, entrepreneurship, health benefits, business challenges, pivoting, healthcare, startups, product development, market demand, customer needs, external deadlines, product market fit, scaling, company culture, founder intuition

Timestamps:

(00:00:00) Intro 
(00:02:27) Finding the Right Co-Founder
(00:10:23) Why You Need to Go All In
(00:16:20) The Seed Round & Pivoting From the Original Idea of Thatch
(00:30:08) How to use external deadlines to drive focus
(00:37:55) The Growth in 2024 & The Business Model
(00:42:16) The Benefits of Forcing Functions
(00:45:58) How Many Customers are Using Thatch Today?
(00:47:50) Finding True Product Market Fit
(00:52:10) People Didn't Believe in Thatch

Send me a message to let me know what you think!