It’s pretty great around Bee HQ these days. … We’ve got a fully engaged, enthusiastic team.  The pipeline of opportunities is full of new innovation and disruption. And every single day, we do the work we love with Founders we deeply respect and learn from. And, as of last week, 60 percent of companies Bee Partners invested in with our Bee I vehicle had raised a Series A.

This is a big deal and here’s why: It means those companies are more likely to achieve their Big Hairy Audacious Goal and to realize those crazy dreams we decided to support so many months prior. And, it means the Founders get to accelerate growth, attract top talent, and ultimately, generate phenomenal returns.  

Okay, great, that’s our first vehicle, Bee Partners I. How about Bee II? Well … it’s early, but we are encouraged that those companies are on the same trajectory, with 40 percent having already raised a Series A, another few in the midst of raising, and two handfuls of others that are simply too early for an institutional raise.

It’s been a great market, and as investors, we use the Series A metric as a leading indicator of our portfolio’s potential. It’s not a perfect proxy for success, but we’ve seen industry metrics that suggest as few as 30 percent of Seed companies get funded at the A, and many of our friends in Series A Land tell us the figure is less than 15 percent. Does it mean that Bee portfolio companies are four times more likely to get funded vs. typical companies? No. It means that the Founders we’re selecting have the big vision and demonstrate remarkable tenacity to execute towards their goals. It’s their milestone, not ours.

Nevertheless, as people who love working every day to help young companies grow, we can use the collective experience of those that have reached the A to help more Founders and their teams. Think about it—Even just at base, we now have a pool of reliable data on what operating milestones a company needs to hit to put it on track for funding success. And through that data, we can point Founders towards that which is most important, and roll up our sleeves to deliver talent and customers along the way.

Next year, we’ll share an update. In the meantime, we are daily engaged with our hardworking Founders. Putting our experience to work for them, watching them put points on the board, finding them customers and advisors, helping them recruit. If you want to engage with our portfolio, come talk with us at Bee. There’s a really good chance you’ll connect with a team with a strong balance sheet and on the cusp of greatness.