What is it?

We all know that the success rate for venture-backed companies is low. But the reasons why—and, more importantly, what to do about it—are often based in myth rather than fact. Fuel by McKinsey is launching a longitudinal study to develop deep insight into what specific actions accelerate growth and avert pitfalls.

We are looking for growth-minded, pre-IPO, venture-backed companies who are willing to let us look under the hood periodically to examine and analyze key metrics of performance.  We will be gathering quantitative and qualitative metrics related to your sales and marketing engine, product management processes, your organization and culture, and the day-to-day challenges of growing a disruptive business.   All company data will be kept strictly confidential and anonymous.  Data will be only be presented in aggregated form.

Why participate?

If you participate you will receive exclusive insights into the drivers of success, and opportunities to learn how to improve your performance throughout the course of the study.  We will, for example, host webinars and events around the key themes that emerge as being critical to success.  You will also receive a semi-annual benchmarking report.

You will also receive a discount on Fuel products and services, including Fuel Access and McKinsey Academy, for every year in which you participate, and will be included in our McKinsey Innovation Bootcamp database for potential meetings with our traditional clients.

Who can participate?

Companies that have received at least a series A round of financing, or that anticipate closing an A round in the next three months, are eligible to participate. We welcome participation from companies across industries and business models.

What do we need from you?

Participating companies will agree to provide us with the following data, from the beginning of the study in 2018 and for at least two years thereafter:

• Quarterly financial and operating data, including revenues and costs, margins, detailed sales and marketing metrics, detailed expense metrics, financing, and other metrics as appropriate for the companies’ industries or business models. You will also participate in our suite of growth tech solutions, which includes SaaS Radar, Sales DNA, and a digital acquisition benchmark, as appropriate for your sector or industry.
• Half-yearly qualitative interviews, to address topics around organization, industry dynamics and responses, and strategic choices, and qualitative data about key personnel (e.g. LinkedIn profiles).
• If you raised your A round more than three months ago, we will also be requesting historical data and a historical debrief interview.

For more information, contact Michael Burstein.