Startup Funding Goals
Milestones from Pre-Seed to Series B and Beyond
Pre-Seed Goals
- Concept development
- Preliminary market research viability
- Pitch development
- The vision and the mission are defined
Seed Goals
- Product or service
- Extensive market research
- Market and demographics
- Founding team in place with clear roles
Series A Goals
- Distribution channels
- New market development adding visibility
- Close to break-even
- Product market fit is fully determined
Series B & Up Goals
- Scale up of operations
- International expansion development
- Rapid growth achieved
- Aggressive advertising strategy
Valuation Benchmarks
The valuations below really apply if you are a Saas operation and you are based on the West Coast or
East Coast in the US. It is still helpful as a frame of reference if you are outside these regions or
segment but it will be approapriate to conduct further research.
Pre-Seed
Desired Capital Raise
$200K - $500K
Valuation
$1M - $3M
Investors
Friends & Family, Angels
Expected Monthly Revenue
No expectations
Seed
Desired Capital Raise
$500K - $2.5M
Valuation
$2M - $6M
Investors
Angels, Micro VCs
Expected Monthly Revenue
$0 - $50K
Series A
Desired Capital Raise
$5M -$12M
Valuation
$10M - $40M
Investors
VCs, Family Offices, Super Angels
Expected Monthly Revenue
$100K - $250K
Series B
Desired Capital Raise
$10M - $40M
Valuation
$30M - $200M
Investors
VCs, Family Offices
Expected Monthly Revenue
$400K - $1.2M
Series C
Desired Capital Raise
$20M+
Valuation
$80+
Investors
VCs and Strategic Corporations
Expected Monthly Revenue
$1.2M+
Dilution Framework
Typically you don‘t want to dilute the equity of the company by more than 20 to 25% per financing round. Use this as a rule of thumb and the table below to guide you on the ownership that each stakeholder should have by stage.
Stage
Seed
A
B
C
D
E+
Investor Stake
23%
45%
60%
65%
75%
80%
Founder Stake
65%
45%
35%
32%
23%
19%
Allocated to Employees
12%
10%
5%
3%
2%
1%
Equity Compensation
The equity ranges below typically work for any startup that is at a Series A level or Post -Series A. For startups pre-Series A the numbers should be increased depending on the milestones achieved around team and product.
Title
CEO
COO
CTO
CMO
CFO
VP
Independent Board Members
Directors
Advisors
Lead Engineer
Senior Engineer
Junior Engineer
Range (%)
50 - 10%
2 - 5%
2 - 5%
2 - 5%
2 - 5%
1 - 2%
0.15 - 1%
0.4 - 1.25%
0.15 - 1%
0.5 - 1%
0.33 - 1.66%
0.22 - 0.33%
Pre-Money and Post-Money Valuation Calculator
No more guessing around valuation and equity distribution. Simply enter any two figures (i.e. investment amount and pre-money valuation) and the other fields will automatically calculate.
Pre-Money and Post-Money Valuation Calculator
