I wonder if the numbers you're giving are tripping up a mismatch between what you mean by "Mittelstand" or "mid-market startup" and what HN generally thinks of. You're saying the numbers are attractive given a "mid-market" definition that spans all the way to 9 figures of annual revenue. It's true that there's much less risk in quickly getting a company to 6 figures of annual revenue and growing organically from there. But there's a lot of risk --- risk equivalent I think to the typical VC-funded startup --- trying to get it to 10MM/yr within the time horizon of a typical VC investment.
Another sticking point with me is that claim that even services companies can get to this level of profitability with good management. Well, yeah, they can. But they don't exit at the same valuation as product companies, because they tend to fall apart when their founders leave.
Another sticking point with me is that claim that even services companies can get to this level of profitability with good management. Well, yeah, they can. But they don't exit at the same valuation as product companies, because they tend to fall apart when their founders leave.