What to Do After You Raise a Seed Round: The First 90 Days
You closed the round. The money's in the bank. Now the real pressure begins. Here is the founder's playbook for the first 90 days after your seed round.
TL;DR: After closing your seed round, immediately secure the funds in a separate high-yield account. For the first 90 days, convert your pitch deck into a detailed operating budget, define your North Star Metric, and start a methodical hiring process for 'doers'. Master the monthly investor update to build trust and start building the evidence for your Series A from day one.
Key takeaways
- Immediately move your new capital into a separate high-yield savings account.
- Build a detailed monthly budget. Allocate roughly 40% to product, 30% to GTM, and 20% to G&A, with a 10% buffer.
- Your first hires should be individual contributors ('doers'), not managers ('coaches').
- Send monthly investor updates to build trust and get proactive help.
- Define a single North Star Metric and obsessively track it.
- The goal of your seed round is to produce the evidence you need to raise a Series A.
The Second Countdown Starts Now
The wire hits. The number in your bank account has more commas than you’ve ever seen. You feel relief, maybe even a flash of victory. You did it. You raised the round.
That feeling lasts about 24 hours. Then, a new kind of pressure sets in. The clock just started ticking again, only louder and faster. Your investors didn't give you that money to sit on it; they invested in a plan. Every dollar is a measure of their belief, and every day that passes is a day you're expected to turn that capital into progress.
Closing your round isn’t the finish line. It's the starting gun for the race to Series A. Here’s how you run it.
The First 48 Hours: Triage and Financial Discipline
Before you execute the grand vision, handle the immediate logistics. These steps establish a foundation of discipline and transparency that will pay dividends for years.
- Thank your team first. They endured the distraction and uncertainty of the fundraise. Announce the close to them before anyone else. Reiterate the vision and their critical role in what comes next.
- Thank your investors. Send a brief, personal email confirming the wire has landed. This isn’t a performance update; it’s a confirmation of receipt and a gesture of professionalism.
- Segregate the funds. Immediately. Do not let millions of dollars sit in your primary checking account. This is a rookie mistake. Open a separate, high-yield business savings account (or two, to stay within FDIC/SIPC limits at banks like Mercury or Brex). Move 90% of the cash there, leaving only 2-3 months of operating expenses in your checking account. This prevents accidental overspending and makes your burn rate painfully clear.
The First 90 Days: Build Your Operating Engine
The next three months are about translating your fundraising story into an operating reality. This means installing the discipline, systems, and focus to execute efficiently. This is where you either build a rocket ship or a very expensive bonfire.
1. Forge an Operating Budget, Not a Pitch Deck Budget
Your fundraising budget was a sales tool. Your operating budget is a survival tool. It’s time to get brutally honest with numbers.
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