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
Traction
Pre-Seed Customer Validation
Seed Product-Market Fit
Series A Expansion
Growth Rate
Pre-Seed 0 - 20% MoM
Seed 15% - 30% MoM
Series A 25%+ MoM
Monthly Revenue
Pre-Seed $0 - $75k
Seed $75k - $200k
Series A $200k+
Team Size
Pre-Seed 2+
Seed 10+
Series A 20+
Product
Pre-Seed MVP
Seed Robust
Series A Commercial
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
Pre-Seed $25k - $750k
Seed $750k - $4m
Series A $4m+
Company Valuation
Pre-Seed $1m - $5m
Seed $5m - $12m
Series A $18m - $50m
Investment Vehicle
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
Marketplaces/ eCommerce
Pre-Seed Traction $5k - $500k Transaction Revenue
Seed Traction $250k - $2m Revenue Run Rate
Series A Traction $5m - $20m Revenue Run Rate
Consumer Audience
Pre-Seed Traction Demonstrable Customer Demand, 5k+ DAUs, Great Retention
Seed Traction 25k - 100k DAUs, Network Effects
Series A Traction 500k+ DAUs
Saas
Pre-Seed Traction Paid Pilots
Seed Traction $20k - $100k MRR
Series A Traction $200k MRR, 12 months of Cohort Data
Deep Tech
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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