Startup Funding Benchmarks

Deal terms, and the requirements to raise startup funding, are constantly in flux. The below metrics reflect what we are seeing across dozens of deals per month, and across most major geographic markets and industries.

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Startup Funding Requirements & Milestones

The below are the average milestones and deal metrics we are observing across the globe on the date displayed.

Please note these figures are an approximate average, since deals vary widely across geographic markets, industries, and companies. In the end, a company is worth what an investor/ acquirer is willing to agree it is worth and the below should only be used as a baseline guide.

Last Updated on March 16, 2023

Stage	Pre-Seed	Seed	Series A
Traction	Customer Validation	Product-Market Fit	Expansion	Pre-Seed Customer Validation Seed Product-Market Fit Series A Expansion
Growth Rate	0 - 20% MoM	15% - 30% MoM	25%+ MoM	Pre-Seed 0 - 20% MoM Seed 15% - 30% MoM Series A 25%+ MoM
Monthly Revenue	$0 - $75k	$75k - $200k	$200k+	Pre-Seed $0 - $75k Seed $75k - $200k Series A $200k+
Team Size	2+	10+	20+	Pre-Seed 2+ Seed 10+ Series A 20+
Product	MVP	Robust	Commercial	Pre-Seed MVP Seed Robust Series A Commercial
Investors	F&F, Seed Accelerators, Angels, Pre-Seed/ Micro VC Funds	Seed Accelerators, Angels, Seed VC Funds	Series A/ Growth VC Funds, Existing Investors	Pre-Seed F&F, Seed Accelerators, Angels, Pre-Seed/ Micro VC Funds Seed Seed Accelerators, Angels, Seed VC Funds Series A Series A/ Growth VC Funds, Existing Investors
Round Size	$25k - $750k	$750k - $4m	$4m+	Pre-Seed $25k - $750k Seed $750k - $4m Series A $4m+
Company Valuation	$1m - $5m	$5m - $12m	$18m - $50m	Pre-Seed $1m - $5m Seed $5m - $12m Series A $18m - $50m
Investment Vehicle	SAFE/ Convertible Note	Priced Round	Priced Round	Pre-Seed SAFE/ Convertible Note Seed Priced Round Series A Priced Round

Startup "Traction" Metrics

In general, investors invest in "traction" over ideas. But the definition of "traction" changes across industries, and over time. The below are the average traction metrics/ milestones we are observing across the globe on the date displayed.

Last Updated on March 16, 2023

Industry	Pre-Seed Traction	Seed Traction	Series A Traction
Marketplaces/ eCommerce	$5k - $500k Transaction Revenue	$250k - $2m Revenue Run Rate	$5m - $20m Revenue Run Rate	Pre-Seed Traction $5k - $500k Transaction Revenue Seed Traction $250k - $2m Revenue Run Rate Series A Traction $5m - $20m Revenue Run Rate
Consumer Audience	Demonstrable Customer Demand, 5k+ DAUs, Great Retention	25k - 100k DAUs, Network Effects	500k+ DAUs	Pre-Seed Traction Demonstrable Customer Demand, 5k+ DAUs, Great Retention Seed Traction 25k - 100k DAUs, Network Effects Series A Traction 500k+ DAUs
Saas	Paid Pilots	$20k - $100k MRR	$200k MRR, 12 months of Cohort Data	Pre-Seed Traction Paid Pilots Seed Traction $20k - $100k MRR Series A Traction $200k MRR, 12 months of Cohort Data
Deep Tech	Strong Leadership, PoC, GitHub Stars	Strong Leadership, PoC, IP, GitHub Stars	Commercial Validation	Pre-Seed Traction Strong Leadership, PoC, GitHub Stars Seed Traction Strong Leadership, PoC, IP, GitHub Stars Series A Traction Commercial Validation

Current State of Funding

Last Updated on March 16, 2023

This most recent update includes lowered valuations and round sizes for Series A rounds.

Economic confidence is shaken as a result of the SVB fallout, and we expect the later-stage funding market (Series A+) to remain very challenging throughout 2023. SVB also represented a large portion of the global venture debt market (and was widely relied on to offer the best terms), and many later-stage companies were relying on venture debt to extend their runway. As such, we expect to see many more layoffs, closures, and acquisitions at large, late-stage companies.

We are still seeing a strong market for seed funding, with valuations holding steady. Anecdotally, we believe this is due to an influx of later-stage VCs into the seed market.

Pre-seed and angel funding levels also remain strong, but we do believe there will be a short slowdown across all funding levels as people 'exhale' from the stresses of the SVB ordeal and monitor the turbulent public markets. We expect this slowdown to subside in April.

Methodology

The Founder Institute is the world's largest pre-seed startup accelerator, with over 6,800 portfolio companies spanning 100 countries. Our data is derived from working closely with FI Alumni on their financing efforts on a daily basis, and observing dozens of term sheets and deals per month. In addition, this data leverages feedback from the FI Venture Network (a network of investors that participate in the earliest startup funding rounds) and our sister company, VC Lab (the leading accelerator to launch new venture funds).

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