# Field Notes No. 10 - The Cursor of Lovable

By Jeff Stowell · 2026-08-27 · Insights

> It's rough sledding out there for many VC-backed companies trying to raise. I think I know why.

# **The Cursor of Lovable**

I've been using a phrase with founders lately to try and describe what I think is going on in the fundraising market. I call it the "Cursor of Lovable" \[hold for applause at my cleverness\]. It's a bit of shorthand for something that I think is reshaping venture capital dollars flow right now, and not in a way that's good for most founders unfortunately.

Cursor and Lovable are two of the fastest-growing software companies anyone has ever seen. We're talking absolutely astronomical revenue growth in very short periods of time. See the chart below on Lovable's reported trajectory. At one point the company was reported to have added $100M of new revenue in a single month. They are genuinely extraordinary and that is creating a bit of a problem because when companies like that exist, every VC firm in town has to go find the next one. Not because they're greedy (though that is part of it), but because it's actually the only rational thing to do.

![Screenshot 2026-08-26 at 19-44-38 Lovable Revenue 2026 $500M ARR $6.6B Valuation.png](https://xgbjnrbbeyobvyshlkxg.supabase.co/storage/v1/object/public/blog-images/content/1787796484432-4j5c9ikiuq2.png)

A fund that backs a Lovable-scale business can raise its next fund without having to think much about it. A fund that backs a portfolio of really good, really healthy, 90% YoY growth companies... probably can't. In a market where LP capital is locked up, distributions are thin, and GPs are fighting for every dollar of new commitments, the calculus is fairly brutal but simple.

What that means most often is that if you're building a genuinely great company with things like solid unit economics, real customers, 80% NRR, growing 75% year over year you have become invisible much of the venture market. This isn't because you're doing it wrong. You're doing great! But you don't serve the interests of the funds any more.

I want to be clear that I don't think most funds are wrong. They're doing exactly what their incentive structure requires. But founders need to understand what's going on because it explains a lot of conversations you're having (or more likely not having) right now.

While I'm admiring my own cleverness, I'm not the only one saying this. Harry Stebbings and a few others in the more famous world of podcasting VCs have been making a version of this argument for a couple of months now. It's becoming conventional wisdom in the GP community even if it hasn't filtered down clearly to founders yet.

So the "Cursor of Lovable." You can use that at cocktail parties. Know what it is. Know whether you're in its shadow. It goes a long way to explain what's happening for those of you struggling to fundraise right now.

/JLS

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