Cadence should be set by milestone, not by the 18-month habit. Ivy's record — founded 2022, roughly $210M raised, a $180M Series B with investors including Tiger Global, QED and Hummingbird — shows an accelerating pattern typical of regulated infrastructure, where the licence or charter, not the revenue curve, sets the timing. Raise when the next unlock is funded and the previous one is proven.
Key takeaways
- Cadence follows milestones, not the calendar; the 18-month norm is a description of averages, not a rule.
- In regulated categories the licence or charter is the unlock that resets the price — time the raise around it.
- Start a process with 9-12 months of runway; below 9 months you are negotiating from weakness.
- A large round early compresses the timeline for the next proof point — make sure the milestone is fundable within the runway it buys.
- Track cumulative dilution across the sequence, not the dilution of the round in front of you.
"Every 18 months" is the most repeated number in fundraising and one of the least useful. It is an average of outcomes across thousands of companies with nothing in common. Your cadence should come from your own unlock schedule.
Rather than discussing cadence in the abstract, this works through the decision using a documented record: Ferdinand Dabitz, CEO of Ivy — now Augustus (Berlin), a fintech building direct access to US dollar clearing through a federally chartered bank.
| | | |---|---| | Founder | Ferdinand Dabitz | | Company | Ivy / Augustus (Berlin, Germany) | | Category | Fintech infrastructure | | Founded | 2022 | | Total raised | roughly $210M | | Latest round | Series B — roughly $180M | | Round date | July 2026 | | Named backers on record | Tiger Global, QED Investors, Hummingbird |
Two features of the shape matter. The company is four years old and has raised the large majority of its capital in the most recent round — capital concentrated late, not spread evenly. And the backer list mixes a fintech specialist (QED) with a crossover fund (Tiger Global) and an early-stage European fund (Hummingbird), which is the signature of a company whose risk profile changed rather than merely improved.
1. The unlock. In regulated categories, a licence, charter or approval is a step function. The business before it is a plan; after it is an operating company. The market reprices on the event, so the round should be timed to it — either just before, to fund the final push, or just after, to sell the new reality. 2. Runway. Nothing else matters if you fall under 9 months of cash. A real process takes 3-5 months from first meeting to money in the bank, and the day you cannot walk away, the terms know it. 3. Proof density. Each round should be able to point at something the previous round paid for and delivered. Cadence that outruns proof produces flat rounds.
Revenue growth is on the list, but it is the fourth force, not the first, in infrastructure and regulated businesses.
Fast follow-ons: when they read well and when they read badly
A round raised soon after the last one is read in one of two ways. It reads well when a discrete unlock landed early — a charter granted, a flagship contract signed, a market opened. It reads badly when there is no such event, because the obvious inference is that the previous round was too small and the company is patching.
The test before you go out early: can you name in one sentence what changed since the last round that a stranger would recognise as material? If not, wait.
Raising most of your capital in one large late round buys speed, and it sets a bar. The next round must clear the price this one establishes, and the clock is the runway this round bought. Before accepting a large round, write the milestone that makes the next price obvious, and confirm it is achievable inside the runway — not six months after it ends.
The figures come from structured funding records: total raised, round stage, round size, round date, and named participants. They do not include valuation, terms, board composition, or the founder's reasoning about timing. Nothing above should be read as the company's stated strategy — only as the pattern the record supports.
Write your next unlock, the cash it needs, and the month it lands. Start the process nine months before your cash runs out or one quarter before the unlock, whichever comes first. That is your cadence — the calendar has no opinion about your business.
Frequently asked questions
- How often should startups raise?
- There is no correct interval. The 18-24 month figure is an average of outcomes, not a plan. Raise when a specific unlock is both fundable and provable within the runway the round buys, and start the process with 9-12 months of cash.
- Is raising quickly after a previous round a bad signal?
- Not if the reason is legible. A fast follow-on round reads well when a milestone was hit early or when a licence, charter or contract changes the risk profile. It reads badly when it looks like the previous round was undersized.
- How much runway should I have before starting a round?
- At least 9 months, ideally 12. A serious process takes 3-5 months from first meeting to funds wired, and the moment you cannot walk away, terms move against you.
- What changes the price fastest in regulated sectors?
- Regulatory status. A charter, licence or approval converts a business from speculative to operating, and the market reprices it on that event more than on incremental revenue.
- Where do the figures in this article come from?
- From the structured founder funding records we maintain: total raised, round stage, round amount, round date, and named participants. They do not include valuation mechanics or deal terms.
