When to Graduate
Stabilize Stage | $1-5M ARR | 10-30 headcount
Main challenge: Making growth repeatable. First hires, handoffs breaking.
Graduation Readiness
These are the signs that it's time to graduate from Stabilize stage:
- Sales motion works with non-founder sellers (at least one rep hitting quota)
- Pipeline is predictable (forecasting with reasonable accuracy)
- Basic processes are documented and followed
- First hires are ramped and productive
- Revenue approaching $5M ARR
- Ready to build a team, not just add individuals
What Breaks If Too Early
- Hire a sales manager for a motion that only works with founders
- Build elaborate territory models before forecasting is reliable
- Invest in ABM before ICP is proven
- Buy enterprise tools before there's capacity to maintain them
What Breaks If Too Late
- Founder becomes bottleneck — can't be in every deal
- Opportunity cost — could be growing faster with more capacity
- Competition catches up while staying small
- Burnout — founder can't sustain the pace