Operator's Guide: Pre-Seed → Series A
The actual milestones each round expects — not the marketing version. With ARR ranges, retention bars, and growth rates.
EE
Published 4w agoUpdated 15h ago 2,415
What investors actually want to see at each stage. The marketing is "great team, big market"; the truth is more specific.
Pre-seed (today)
- A working v0 in users' hands.
- 5-10 paying customers OR a clear path to them in 3 months.
- A founder who can talk for 30 minutes about the customer's job-to-be-done.
Seed
- $5-30k MRR or 20%+ week-over-week usage growth.
- One channel that works repeatably.
- A team beyond just the founders.
Series A
- $1-2M ARR.
- Net revenue retention >100%.
- Two channels with documented [CAC payback](/glossary/payback-period).
- A category position — not just "AI for X."
Where founders trip
Confusing growth with traction
Growth on a tiny base isn't traction. 30% MoM from $1k to $1.3k MRR isn't a Series A signal.
Treating fundraising as a milestone
Raising money isn't the win. It's a tool to hit the next operating milestone faster than competitors.
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