Most software founders don’t know this:
90% of software company exits are under $100 million.
Some say it’s closer to 95%.
That surprises most startup founders.
Here’s what surprises tech M&A professionals:
That so many $100 million–plus exits happen in comparison.
We only hear about the rare few multi-billion-dollar acquisitions and IPOs.
We don’t hear about the 19 out of 20 exits that aren’t megadeals.
The truth is, most software exits are “too small” to generate clickbait headlines.
Here’s the unspoken reality:
If a company raised more than $10 million in VC funding and sells for under $100 million, it’s usually considered a failed exit.
No headlines. No celebration.
Founders often walk away with very little, while early VC investors quietly recover their initial bet.
But if you didn’t take big outside funding and you sell for $20 million, $50 million, or $80 million?
That’s a life-changing outcome for the founders.
A decade of sacrifice, hard work, investment, and learning finally pays off.
A fair return for the founders.
A fair return for the acquirers.
A healthy win for both sides.
If your goal is to build a $5–$10M ARR company and exit for a solid, reasonable value, you can’t play the big VC game..
So why don’t we hear about these “real-world” exits more often?
- Most sub-$100M exits are never publicized because the numbers stay under NDA.
- These deals usually take 10-plus years, include pivots and grind, and happen in unsexy industries.
- Tech media focuses on VC rounds and overlooks bootstrapped wins.
- Founders who succeed quietly rarely want to broadcast their exit number.
- These deals look “small” to everyone—except the founders and the acquirer.
Anyone arguing that the 90% figure is too high isn’t seeing the very active market for smaller, more practical exits.
And the funded fails that VCs want off their books.
That’s where most of the real activity is.
There is still a place for VC funding and big-ticket exits.
They matter and are fun to watch.
They’re just a much smaller part of the actual software landscape than most people realize, with much lower odds for founders.
The first rule of the game is knowing which game you’re actually playing.
