This Company Took 7 Years to Find Its Direction, Then Grew 10x in One Year

Deep thoughts on AI and aspirations —— ByteDance Deep Thinking Circle

In today’s VC world, the default logic is speed—reach a million in revenue in a few months, break ten million in six months, or you’re out. But there’s a company that spent 7 years repeatedly testing and pivoting, with barely any revenue for several of those years, yet still managed to grow several times over in one year and reach a billion-dollar valuation.

This case is worth reflecting on because it challenges the mainstream narrative that “fast is good.” What it shows is: Finding product-market fit isn’t about speed—it’s about continuously staying close to customers and iterating.

Slow Isn’t a Weakness, Chaos Is

What this company does, put simply, is help businesses precisely identify target customers, reach them automatically, and execute marketing. This need has always existed; the problem was that early on they hadn’t found the right entry point, and the product oscillated between several directions.

The key turning point wasn’t a sudden flash of insight, but rather that they kept doing one thing: staying close to customers and seeing exactly where they were stuck. Every adjustment was forced by customer feedback. They weren’t chasing trends; they were constantly asking “what do customers actually need?” and then adjusting the product to match.

So those 7 slow years weren’t wasted—they were spent accumulating understanding of customers. Once that understanding was in place and the product direction aligned, growth came very quickly.

Fast Growth Came from Finding Real Leverage

Their ability to grow several times over in one year wasn’t luck—it was because they found several real sources of leverage:

First, precision. Rather than casting a wide net with mass traffic, they help customers precisely find the right people. Once this capability is established, customers use it continuously, because finding customers is a critical need—and a recurring one.

Second, usage-based pricing. They don’t charge by user count, but by usage volume. This means the more you use, the more you pay. The more value customers get, the more they pay, and the more the company earns. This billing model is tied to “customer success”—a positive feedback loop.

Third, early brand investment. Many startups treat branding as a luxury—something to do once they have money. But this company invested in content and brand-building from early on, and this investment became massive leverage during the growth phase—brand makes customers more likely to trust you and lowers customer acquisition costs.

But Beware Survivorship Bias

Don’t let this case go to your head. Among companies that take their time to find their way, few succeed and many die. Being able to spend 7 years iterating requires people willing to stick it out (funding, co-founders, your own patience). Most companies don’t have these conditions—they slow down and disappear.

So the real lesson from this case isn’t “you can also take 7 years,” but rather: Staying close to customers and iterating repeatedly—this action itself is the right path to finding direction. Speed doesn’t matter; whether the direction is right does.

Judgment for Entrepreneurs

My judgment is: rather than fixating on “how fast to reach what revenue,” ask yourself two questions: First, am I continuously staying close to customers and understanding exactly where they’re stuck? Second, is my product moving toward customers’ real pain points?

Get these two questions right, and being slow doesn’t matter; get them wrong, and no amount of speed will help.

Key points: Slow isn’t a weakness, chaos is; staying close to customers and iterating repeatedly is the right path to finding direction; fast growth comes from precision, usage-based pricing, and early brand investment; beware survivorship bias.