Startup Survival Rates by Stage
Written by Harry Prabandham
Curated by Rubric Financial
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Survival Statistics
- [Source: CB Insights, Carta, Failory startup failure research]
- About 90% of startups fail, but this statistic is misleading because it includes every incorporated entity, not just funded companies
- Of funded startups: roughly 75% of seed-funded companies fail to raise a Series A, and about 60% of those eventually shut down
- Of Series A companies: roughly 30-40% fail to raise a Series B, though many find alternative paths (profitability, acquisition, bootstrapping)
- The median time to failure is 20-24 months, almost exactly the length of a single funding round's runway
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About the author
Harry PrabandhamFounder & CEO
Founder and CEO of StartupCFO. MBA from Wharton, MS in Computer Science, and decades of experience building and advising venture-backed startups.
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