Overview of Round Stages
Similar to other forms of investment vehicles, venture capital firms specialize in underwriting a very specific type of risk that they deeply understand.
Each round stage has a specific set of expectations attached to it. At the pre-seed stage, valuations of greater than $10m are rare, and can be too far off for pre-seed investors. Similarly, at the seed stage, having significant and rapidly growing revenues is an important requirement.
For efficiency and to maximize the odds, users should first do the work that is required to determine what round stage they should fall into. Subsequently, users should target investors that have a track record of concentrating investments specifically at that round. These are the investors that will have expectations that align with the current reality of the business.
By selecting into the right round stage, users can ensure that their business reality meets investor expectations. In the fundraising process, a common misstep to avoid is the idea of mixing pre-seed and seed stage investors, and targeting seed investors when a user is at the pre-seed stage (or vice versa).
| Stage | Valuation (Price) | Expectations (Value) |
|---|---|---|
| Preseed | Lowest valuations ($2-8m) | Seek out companies that have: (1) Strong team of founders and (2) A novel idea with some form of empirical evidence indicating demand. Typically invest pre-revenue and pre-product. |
| Seed | Low valuations ($8-20m) | Seek out companies that have: (1) A track record of revenue growth (with monthly revenues in the $5-70K range), and (2) Significant operating data (6+ months). |
| Series A | Varies substantially | Seek out companies that have: (1) Achieved a reasonable level of scale ($1-3m in annual revenue run rate for Series A), and (2) Shown strong growth and operating metrics. |