Are venture-backed exits happening faster than ever?

Posted Wednesday 26th February 2025

Venture capital has always been a long game. The typical exit horizon for a VC-backed company, whether through an acquisition or IPO, is typically 5 to 7 years, sometimes stretching to longer periods. Investors expect this. Founders build for it.

Recently, we are seeing a fast-track across several consumer sub-categories, including lifestyle and fitness, food and drink and personal health care and beauty. Since the back-end of last year, I’ve noticed that a select few companies are securing major acquisitions within just 2-4 years of raising institutional funding (with some as little as 15 months).

Take the recent announcement a couple of weeks back with Wild. Founded just six years ago, the refillable, plastic-free personal care brand raised VC investment in 2021 and 2023. Now,  terms have been agreed for an acquisition by Unilever for £230 million. That’s an incredibly fast trajectory from VC-backing to exit and a prime example of a business reaching scale rapidly in today’s market.

So, what’s driving this acceleration?

In any VC portfolio, a handful of companies drive the majority of returns. It’s the oft-stated power law dynamic. These outliers don’t just succeed, they succeed fast and at an outsized scale. The classic 80/20 rule applies where a small percentage of investments generate the lion share of value.

What I’m seeing is probably not a trend as the broader data may not support that, but it’s a reflection of what happens when an outstanding company, in the right market, at the right time, meets the right venture backing. But I think there are more compelling explanations too:

• Large corporates are getting leaner. Many are divesting assets resulting in up to a 20% contraction in revenue, yet profitability is up. That means they are more selective about where they place capital.
• Large corporates/potential trade buyers need to reinvigorate their portfolios. Unilever, for instance, can accelerate Wild’s already impressive 77% year-over-year growth by leveraging its global distribution machine. A £50m revenue brand with sustainability tailwinds and a distinct consumer base is perhaps more interesting now than it would have been years ago when growth was easier to come by.
• Buying innovation is more capital-efficient than building it. Instead of investing heavily in internal R&D, corporates are acquiring emerging brands that have already demonstrated product-market fit and scalable growth.

With experience of advising both founders and VC funds (including the lead investor on the initial investment and follow-on into Wild), there are some practical question stakeholders should be asking:

• For founders: If you’re building a high-growth company, how do you position yourself as an early standout?
• For investors: With some companies exiting faster, does this reshape portfolio strategy?

At Joelson | B Corp, a lot of my fundraising focus is in the consumer sector, though I also advise across other industries. Across several consumer sub-categories, we are seeing more early-horizon exits.

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This article is for reference purposes only. It does not constitute legal advice and should not be relied upon as such. Specific legal advice about your specific circumstances should always be sought separately before taking or deciding not to take any action.

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