Pea

Venture capitalists borrowed biology's terminology for good reason. The garden pea (Pisum sativum)—one of humanity's oldest cultivated crops—demonstrates exactly what 'seed funding' means: external resources that activate dormant potential. A dry pea contains everything needed for growth—stored proteins, carbohydrates, enzymes, genetic instructions—but without water, it remains inert for years. Add water, and within hours the seed transforms from suspended animation into active metabolism.

Imbibition—the process of water absorption that initiates germination—is biology's version of a seed round. A typical pea seed weighs 0.2 grams dry. Over 24-48 hours, it absorbs 0.3-0.4 grams of water, nearly tripling its mass. This isn't just hydration; it's activation. Water rehydrates proteins, restores membrane function, and triggers enzyme production. The cotyledons (the two halves of the pea) begin mobilizing their stored reserves, converting complex molecules into usable building blocks.

The parallel to startup seed funding is precise. A pre-funding startup contains potential—founder expertise, intellectual property, market insight—but lacks the resource that activates capability. Seed capital functions like water in imbibition: it doesn't create the underlying potential, but it enables the potential to express itself. Just as the pea's 2.5-3× weight increase represents activation rather than external addition, seed funding activates hiring, product development, and market entry. The average seed round in 2024 was $3.6 million—roughly 150-200% of what most founders could self-fund, eerily similar to the pea's imbibition ratio.

The pea also demonstrates that timing matters. Seeds that imbibe too quickly—especially in cold soil—can suffer 'imbibitional damage' where rapid water uptake ruptures cell membranes before repair mechanisms activate. Research shows that wheat seeds increase 35% in weight during imbibition; controlled hydration over hours produces stronger seedlings than rapid soaking. Similarly, startups that raise too much capital too quickly often struggle: WeWork's $47 billion valuation collapse, Theranos's premature scale, and countless 'unicorns' that raised faster than they could metabolize capital into capability. The pattern repeats so reliably that VCs developed the term 'seed-strapping'—raising one careful round rather than multiple aggressive ones.

Pea germination follows a defined sequence. First, root emergence (securing resources from the environment). Then shoot emergence (reaching toward market opportunity). Only after establishing both can the plant begin photosynthesis—generating its own energy rather than depleting stored reserves. Startups follow the same progression: secure funding, develop product, achieve product-market fit, then grow toward self-sustaining revenue.

The stored reserves in pea cotyledons deplete during germination. Once the seedling can photosynthesize, it no longer needs its seed reserves. But if the seedling fails to establish before reserves run out, it dies. Startups face identical dynamics: burn through seed funding before achieving sustainability, and the venture fails. Seeds don't get second chances at germination, and neither do most startups—38% cite running out of money as their primary cause of death. The 12-18 month runway convention mirrors the typical germination-to-establishment window in many plants.

Gregor Mendel chose peas for his foundational genetics experiments precisely because they germinate reliably and grow quickly. The Biology of Business framework draws on the same predictability: seed biology provides a remarkably accurate model for early-stage venture development because both domains involve activating dormant potential through controlled resource infusion. For a different reserve strategy, see how peanuts store energy as oil rather than carbohydrates—demonstrating that the same germination problem has multiple viable solutions.