The Numbers That Matter
a16z Growth published its September state of markets deck with 90 slides of data. Here is what matters for B2B sales teams and go-to-market leaders.
Horizontal B2B software now trades at a median 2.7x trailing twelve month revenue. Infrastructure sits at 9.1x. Security and identity at 6.8x. Vertical software at 4.6x. The market is pricing defensibility: if an AI-native competitor could rebuild your product, investors assume someone will.
Public B2B companies growing 20 to 40% trade at 9x to 13x forward revenue. Those growing 10 to 20% trade at 4x to 5x. The gap between 15% growth and 22% growth is worth 2x to 3x on valuation. Profitability alone earns no premium: 75% of public software is already profitable, but only 30% grows above 20%.
The Growth Split
Stripe payment data shows new B2B companies under one year old growing 500 to 600% year over year. Mature B2B companies decelerated to 19% during the downturn and have only recovered to 24%. The acceleration is almost entirely brand new companies. That is the new competitive set for established sales teams.
Top quartile public B2B growth has stabilised around 20%, with the median at 12 to 13%. The lines stopped falling. Revenue per employee is still climbing. Operating leverage metrics are stable or improving.
The Runway Reality
a16z reports 55% of unicorns have under two years of cash runway. The deck does not break out whether that includes committed but undrawn credit lines or follow-on commitments, which matters when evaluating whether a company can sustain quota and comp plans through 2026 and beyond.
For sales professionals evaluating opportunities: ask about burn rate, runway, and historical growth before you take a role at a high-growth startup. The 500% growth number sounds impressive until you learn the company is six months from a down round.
What This Means for Sales Teams
If you are selling horizontal software, your next fundraise or exit starts from 2.7x revenue. Either get a credible infrastructure story, a vertical play, or plan your comp expectations around that multiple.
If your company is at scale and growing 15%, accelerating to 22% is worth more to enterprise value than almost any margin improvement you could ship this year. That usually means bigger territories, more quota relief during ramp, or net new market expansion.
If you are joining a startup, ask three questions: What is the current burn rate? What is the cash runway with no new revenue? What does historical attainment look like across the team? The answers will tell you whether the comp plan is funded or aspirational.