Y Combinator alum Skio sells for $105M cash, only raised $8M, founder says

The first StrictlyVC of 2026 hits SF on April 30. Tickets are going fast. Register now. The first StrictlyVC of 2026 hits SF on April 30. Tickets are going fast. Register now. TechCrunch Desktop Logo TechCrunch Mobile Logo LatestStartupsVentureAppleSecurityAIApps EventsPodcastsNewsletters SearchSubmit Site Search Toggle Mega Menu Toggle Topics Latest Y Combinator alum Skio sells for $105M cash, only raised $8M, founder says Julie Bort 4:58 PM PDT · April 30, 2026 Skio, a 2020 Y Combinator alum that was founded by self-described college dropout Kennan Frost, has been acquired by competitor Recharge, the companies announced on Thursday. Both Skio and Recharge make products that handle subscription payments for brands. While the official press release did not disclose the terms of the deal, Frost (who had previously left the company), posted on X, LinkedIn, and Instagram that his startup walked with $105 million cash and had only raised $8 million from investors. That’s a healthy return by any measure. His posts about the deal were reposted by Skio investors Y Combinator and Nicolas Wittenborn, founder of VC firm Adjacent. Frost had not been running the company for about two years, according to a LinkedIn post by Skio’s current CEO, Aidan Thibodeaux, who began as the startup’s first COO. When he took over, he described a grind that involved no spend on marketing, ads, or a sales team. Instead, they focused spending exclusively on building the product. He and the founding CTO Andrew Chen made every sales call themselves, he wrote. Frost’s story is even more stirring. In his Instagram post, he wrote that he solo-founded the startup after having a panic attack that caused him to leave his job as an engineer at Pinterest. COVID shut the world down two weeks later. Skio just sold for $105M cash at close on $8M raised. pic.twitter.com/bOosv1wToX Frost got into YC and says in another post that he “completely failed during the batch,” until he pivoted to this subscription idea. In three years, he got the company to $10M in ARR and, he says, profitable. Then another “team came together and turned this early traction into a real company,” he credits. Techcrunch event Meet your next investor or portfolio startup at Disrupt Your next round. Your next hire. Your next breakout opportunity. Find it at TechCrunch Disrupt 2026, where 10,000+ founders, investors, and tech leaders gather for three days of 250+ tactical sessions, powerful introductions, and market-defining innovation. Register now to save up to $410. Meet your next investor or portfolio startup at Disrupt Your next round. Your next hire. Your next breakout opportunity. Find it at TechCrunch Disrupt 2026, where 10,000+ founders, investors, and tech leaders gather for three days of 250+ tactical sessions, powerful introductions, and market-defining innovation. Register now to save up to $410. San Francisco, CA | October 13-15, 2026 REGISTER NOW His YC advisor, Gustaf Alströmer, confirmed the terms of the sale on X. Alströmer described how the founder struggled during his time at the accelerator but never gave up. Being a founder is hard. Being a solo founder is much harder. Kennan did YC in S20 with Skio. Applied with one idea, pivoted during the batch, then pivoted again. Never gave up. The last pivot worked. Today Skio sold for $105M in cash.There are very few straight lines to… https://t.co/oFm5nYF10F Frost says at the time of the sale the company was at $32 million ARR and had processed $4 billion in payments. He’s is now working on another startup he founded, Icon, which offers a product called AdMaker for generating ads and tracking ad campaigns. Frost, Recharge, and Wittenborn could not be immediately reached for comment. When you purchase through links in our articles, we may earn a small commission. This doesn’t affect our editorial independence. Julie Bort Venture Editor April 30 San Francisco, CA StrictlyVC kicks off the year in SF. Register now for unfiltered fireside chats and VC insights with leaders from Uber, Replit, Eclipse, and more. Plus, high-value connections that actually move the needle. Tickets are limited. 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