Start-Up Funding

Funding of US VC-backed start-ups reached almost $100B in 2018, up from $76B in 2017, as shown in these bar charts. While the number of deals funded fell by 5%, the average deal size increased 37%. Data are from the PwC/CB Insights MoneyTree Report for Q4 2018.

Funding showed a steady increase from 2014-2018, going from $60.5B to $99.5B with a compound annual growth rate (CAGR) of 13%. The number of deals during that time decreased from almost 6,000 to over 5,500. Average deal size grew 16% annually from $10.1M to $18M.

These trends were also evident when comparing 2017 with 2018. Deal size grew 37% and number of deals fell 5%, leading to a 30% increase in dollars funded to startups.

Start-Up Funding in Three Bar Charts with CAGR Column and Segment Comparison Lines

How I Made These Bar Charts with CAGR Column and Segment Comparison Lines

I'm using three charts with similar layouts to allow the reader to compare trends in funding dollars, number of deals funded and deal size across the four years. The CAGR column summarizes growth from 2014-2018. The segment comparison lines and the use of color draws the reader's attention to the change from 2017-2018. I made the three charts from the same data. Here is a picture of the Mekko Graphics Data Editor used for each chart:

Here are the steps to make these bar charts with CAGR column and segment comparison lines:

create a new stacked bar chart and shrink its size to 1/3 of page
enter the data as described above into the Mekko Graphics Data Editor
use Bars and Series to not show the number of deals and average deal size on the chart and to set the last column as a CAGR column
adjust the internal chart margins
add the y axis title and hide the axis line, tick marks and labels
adjust colors for the series to gray and the last two segments to blue and green
add the segment comparison line
close the chart, copy it, paste it and place it below the first chart
open the chart and change the visible series from funding to number of deals
hide the CAGR title
close, copy and paste again to create the third chart