It's a dumbbell. That's how Paul Singh, founder of Crystal City-based Disruption Corp., described the state of the startup market. He told me it's never been easier to raise your first million dollars, but the next step is where most founders drop the ball. A dumbbell, in case you've never been inside a gym (no judgment), is shaped like so: there's a weight on one side, a weight on the other, and a thin bar connecting them. That first weight, according to Singh, represents "thousands of seed-funded companies, lots of micro-funds, lots of accelerators, lots of early-stage VCs."
