Sarah's Growth Company List
Share
A framework for identifying companies that offer high reward with lower risk - targeting established startups that provide competitive compensation and significant upside potential.
Core Criteria for Target Companies
- Valuation over $250M
- Post-Series A but pre-IPO stage
- Established enough to offer competitive compensation
- Still has 5-10x+ growth potential
- Large enough to have resources and structure
- Small enough to still offer significant equity upside
Benefits of This Strategy
- Lower risk than early-stage startups
- Competitive base salary and benefits
- Potential for self-made millionaire outcome
- Better work-life balance than early startups
- Access to resources and established processes
- Working with experienced teams
Ideal Company Profile
- Large enough to have resources (unlike 20-person startups)
- Competitive compensation comparable to FAANG companies
- Strong benefits package
- Clear path to liquidity
- Established product-market fit
- Growing rapidly but still pre-IPO
Example Company: OneTrust
- $5B valuation
- Specializes in GDPR compliance
- Based in Atlanta
- Fast-growing market with regulatory tailwinds
- Sticky business model with recurring revenue
- High barriers to entry
- Mission-critical service for customers
Implementation Notes
- Companies must be curated carefully
- Focus on proven business models
- Look for companies with clear market leadership
- Target sectors with regulatory or technical moats
- Consider both equity and cash compensation
- Evaluate total compensation package including benefits
This strategy prioritizes smart risk-taking over "degenerate gambling" approaches to wealth creation through startup employment.
Sam Parr
Host of MFM and fitness influencer
Sam Parr is a serial entrepreneur and business media pioneer.
In 2016, he founded The Hustle, a business news media company that started in his kitchen with just $12 and grew to eight figures in revenue.
Sam led the charge in making newsletters popular when few believed in their potential.
After four successful years, he sold The Hustle to HubSpot, a publicly traded company. Now operating as HubSpot Media, The Hustle reaches 3 million readers daily, employs a team of nearly 100, and has been the launchpad for dozens of its staff to found their own media companies and newsletters.
Sam remains the host of the popular business podcast, My First Million, and continues to start and sell companies. He also co-founded Hampton, a highly vetted community for entrepreneurs, founders, and CEOs, and teaches people to write better through his platform, Copy That.