No Dating Until Series A

At 30, I had a massive heartbreak. And I made myself a rule.

No dating… until I raise my Series A.

I know how that sounds now. But at the time, it was a completely reasonable plan. Let me explain the world I was living in.

I had just worked at a startup fund. Around me, companies were exiting at crazy speeds. One exited to Groupon in nine months. Another listed in four years. In my world, a five-year exit wasn’t a fantasy — it was the schedule.

And a Series A? That was supposed to be the easy part.

Here’s the thing — it WAS easy. The interest was there. The conversations were happening.

Except I had a cap table issue. The ownership structure of my own company had a knot in it that scared new money away. And I wasn’t willing to give up my cap table to untie it.

So the round that was “supposed to be easy” quietly became the round that never closed.

At 35, I finally did the other math.

My Series A clearly is not coming. And I don’t have much time.

So in the same season of my life, I said: I need to freeze my eggs. I need to find a boyfriend.

Think about that sequence for a second. I scheduled my life behind a funding round.

From 30 to 35 — honestly, to 38 — I gave everything to SushiVid. Every time my heart wanted to start something else, I told it: no. I have investors. I owe them.

I don’t know why I have this stupid loyalty. But I do.

I made a business milestone the gatekeeper of my life. But the market doesn’t know about your promises. It doesn’t care about your eggs, your mother, your birthdays.

The round didn’t close.

The years closed anyway.

I was wrong about time. It was never waiting for my Series A.

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This is part of The Founder Edit — a season called The Things I Was Wrong About. One honest essay at a time. Start here.