How much to raise from Seed to Series B?

Founders often get so caught up in calculating runway and burn rate that they forget what truly moves investors: a clear, compelling vision backed by thoughtful planning. It’s not just, “We need €1M.” It’s, “We need €1M to build X, reach Y, and prove Z, and here’s how that unlocks real value.”

If you can tie your ask to specific milestones (not just survival), you're speaking the language investors understand. In this article, you’ll get a stage-by-stage breakdown of how much to raise, how to calculate it smartly, and what investors want to see. So, you can fundraise with purpose, not just pressure.

How to raise capital? Determine how much you need.

Raising money isn’t just about “how much runway do we need”, but also about buying time to prove something important at each stage of your company. The number changes depending on where your company is in its journey. Investors don’t just want to hear how much you need. They want to know why, what it’ll get you, and how it sets you up for the next stage.

The key is to raise just enough to get you to the next inflection point, the one that makes you a no-brainer for the next round of funding. Here’s how to figure out what that looks like based on where you are right now.

How much do you need to raise at Pre-Seed?

You’ve got the idea. Maybe a prototype or a few people saying, “I’d totally use this.” But you’re still in the earliest chapter, proving the concept, getting something real into the world, and trying not to burn out in the process. 

Most founders at this stage are working nights, bootstrapping, or juggling side gigs. Pre-seed is all about building the foundations, your MVP, your first users, and maybe your co-founder or first hire. The goal isn’t to perfect everything; it’s to validate enough of your idea to show that it’s worth pursuing further.

• Typical amount raise: €10K – €500K

• ‍Investors: Founders themselves, angel investors, accelerator programs, and early-stage platforms. Sometimes friends and family. Or, how they are better known, the 3Fs - friends, fools, and family. Joke aside, even at this stage, you need to have some traction and solid proof points.

• Use of funds:
  
  • MVP or prototype development (depending on the sector. In some areas, you need to have something in place before asking for money.)
  • Early customer discovery and testing (again, you must have done this already before you even think of your pitch deck. Customer knowledge is your bread and butter; with investment money, you are just taking this to the next level.)
  • Incorporating the company and legal setup (although this may be a small cost, and no need to overburden investors with it).
  • Modest founder salary and basic operating costs.
  • Possibly hiring one or two team members (often engineers or product, sometimes even marketing to see if you’ve got traction.)

• How to calculate how much you need:
  
  • Product budget: Get quotes from freelance developers or early-stage agencies, or estimate based on what it’ll take you to build it internally. With AI, that cost is expected to go down, so make sure you have done your homework well and understand where you can build faster and cheaper with AI and where you can't.
  • Runway: Plan for 6–12 months of operating time to test and iterate based on early user feedback.
  • Founders’ basic salary: Not market-rate, but enough to survive without side jobs. Investors know you’re not doing this for free.
  • Tools and services: Think AWS credits, Notion, GitHub, Stripe, CRM, prototyping tools, they add up. [Tip: search for ecosystem partners that may help with this - check out SeedBlink’s perk area.]
  • Professional services: Legal (incorporation, equity agreements), basic accounting, or tax help.
  • Add a buffer: 10–20% for unknowns, timelines slip, and costs run over

• How much equity to give at pre-seed:
  
  • If you are considering giving equity to early employees and investors, the average best practices are 5%-15%, with a maximum of 20%.

How much do you need to raise at Seed?

This is typically when startups begin hiring beyond the founding team, investing in go-to-market strategies, and establishing measurable goals. You’re still in the discovery phase, but now it’s more about repeatable traction than pure exploration.

• Typical amount raise: €500K – €5M
• Investors: Angel syndicates, micro-VCs, seed funds, crowdfunding platforms.
• Use of funds:
  
  • Hiring an early team: engineering, product, marketing, sales
  • Acquiring users/customers and testing marketing channels
  • Building better product features and improving UX
• How to calculate how much you need:
  
  • Runway: Aim for 12–18 months of operating expenses to give yourself time to experiment, improve the product, and build traction.
  • Team growth: You’ll likely need a small cross-functional team, a product manager, 1–3 engineers, a marketer or salesperson, and maybe support/customer success.
  • Customer acquisition: Run experiments to identify your most promising acquisition channels (paid ads, outbound, partnerships). Estimate CAC (Customer Acquisition Cost).
  • Milestone budgeting: Tie your raise to clear, achievable milestones — e.g., 10K users, €50K MRR, pilot completion, 90-day retention improvements, etc.
  • Burn rate control: Investors will want to see that you’re capital-efficient. Don’t hire just because you raised, hire only to unlock growth.
• How much equity to give at pre-seed:
  
  • Average best practices suggest 15%-20%, with a maximum of 25%.

How much do you need to raise at Series A?

You’ve got momentum. People are using (and ideally paying for) your product. You’ve found some channels that work, and now the question is: Can this scale?

Series A is where things get serious. Investors want to see efficiency, not just that you can grow, but that you know how to grow in a smart, sustainable way. This is where you start thinking about org structure, revenue targets, and long-term scalability.

• Typical raise: €10M – €15M (can go down to €5M)
• Investors: Institutional VCs, larger angel/seed funds, multi-stage firms
• Use of funds:
  
  • Team expansion (especially sales, marketing, operations, and product)
  • Growth marketing and user acquisition
  • Process and systems development
  • Expanding into new geographies or verticals
• How to calculate how much you need:
  
  • Build a 24-month financial model: You should have enough historical data to forecast MRR, CAC, LTV, churn, and team needs with some confidence.
  • Efficiency metrics: Show how your revenue is growing relative to burn. Series A investors care about how efficiently you're growing, not just how fast.
  • Sales & marketing scaling: If you’ve cracked a channel (e.g. outbound sales, paid social), now is the time to double down, but prove the ROI.
  • Operational costs: Consider costs for scaling support, onboarding, logistics, backend infrastructure, etc.
  • Milestones for Series B: You’re raising to hit targets that will unlock your next round, whether that’s a certain revenue figure, growth rate, or expansion benchmark.
• How much equity to give at pre-seed:
  
  • Average best practices suggest 10%-25%.

How much do you need to raise at Series B and beyond?

• Typical raise: €15M – €50M+
• Investors: Growth-stage VCs, strategic partners, private equity firms
• Use of funds: 
  
  • Geographic expansion (new countries, regions)
  • Acquisitions and strategic partnerships
  • Building infrastructure (internal systems, logistics, data)
  • Launching new product lines
• How to calculate how much you need:
  
  • Set aggressive but realistic growth targets, such as doubling/tripling revenue.
  • Estimate the costs of expansion to new markets, local teams, compliance, and marketing localization.
  • Plan for big one-time investments (M&A, new tech builds).
  • Show how this raise gets you closer to profitability, IPO, or market leadership.
• How much equity to give at pre-seed:
  
  • Average best practices suggest 10%-20%.

What investors expect 

Investors need to understand how their capital will be utilized, what it will enable the company to achieve, and how it will enhance the company’s value before the next round.

To evaluate that, investors look for specific indicators of planning, focus, and financial responsibility. They want to see that you're not just solving a meaningful problem, but that you're making smart, strategic decisions about how to grow. Below are five key things they expect from founders in any fundraising conversation.

Is your fundraising need connected to your milestones?

Investors expect your fundraising ask to be tied to tangible, time-bound milestones — not just general goals like “growth” or “scale.” These milestones should be specific, measurable, and aligned with your stage of development. 

For example, this might include completing product development, reaching €100,000 in monthly recurring revenue, onboarding 10 enterprise customers, or expanding into a new market. They show that you understand what needs to happen before your company becomes significantly more valuable. 

When you can map out how this round of funding gets you from one phase to the next, and why that next phase justifies a higher valuation, it gives investors a much stronger reason to commit.

Need help aligning your fundraising with concrete milestones? Explore SeedBlink’s Fundraising Academy to learn how to define clear, measurable goals that support your funding ask.

‍Present clear numbers instead of generic amounts

One of the most common red flags for investors is when a founder sets a funding target without providing a clear explanation of where the number originates. Simply saying, “We’re raising €1M” isn’t enough. 

Investors expect a data-backed rationale that explains how you arrived at that number based on operating costs, hiring needs, marketing plans, and product development timelines. Providing a rough financial model, even a simple one, builds credibility. It demonstrates that you’ve forecasted what your business needs over the next 12–24 months, and that you understand how to manage cash and allocate resources. 

The exact projections may change over time, but demonstrating a thoughtful approach to financial planning gives investors more confidence in your leadership.

Show how you plan to use that money

Along with the “how much,” investors want to know the “how it’s used.” A strong use-of-funds breakdown includes key categories such as team growth, product development, marketing and customer acquisition, operating costs, and a reserve for unexpected expenses. Each category should reflect your strategic priorities for the next 12–24 months.

It’s important to be realistic. If you're hiring, be clear on which roles and what they’ll contribute. If you're spending on marketing, specify the channels and the type of returns you expect. Having a clear capital allocation plan shows investors that you’ve thought through your next phase of execution, not just your product vision. It also helps them evaluate whether the raise amount matches the plan.

The raise will move your startup to a stronger valuation in the next round

Investors want to know that the capital they invest now will help your company reach a stage where its valuation increases significantly.

To do this, founders should be able to articulate how their planned progress translates into valuation growth. For example, a startup going from pre-revenue to €1M ARR, or proving scalable customer acquisition, is in a much stronger position to raise at a higher valuation in the next round. 

Being clear about this pathway helps investors see the long-term upside of getting in now.

Common mistakes to avoid when you are fundraising

Don’t start asking for money too late

Timing matters just as much as the amount you raise. Ideally, you want to start fundraising when you still have at least 6 months of runway. This gives you breathing room to run a proper process, talk to multiple investors, and avoid accepting unfavorable terms out of urgency. Starting too late puts you at a disadvantage and can disrupt your operations.

A typical fundraising process can take 3–6 months, from preparation to receiving the cash in the bank. This includes refining your pitch, creating materials, scheduling meetings, conducting due diligence, and negotiating terms. Build this into your calendar, and always be working toward clear progress that makes your startup more fundable by the time you start your next raise.

To make the process easier for you, we’ve prepared a complete roadmap for when and how to raise. You can find it on SeedBlink’s Fundraising 101 guide that breaks down the entire fundraising process, from preparation to closing, so that you can plan everything.

Raising too little 

When you under-raise, you may find yourself running out of cash before hitting the milestones that make your next round possible. That puts you in a weak negotiating position, forces rushed decisions, and often leads to bridge rounds or down rounds that dilute you more than necessary.

Under-raising can also create unnecessary pressure. Instead of focusing on building and testing, you’re stuck constantly watching the runway. It’s better to raise enough to comfortably reach a clear inflection point in your business than to aim low and struggle to keep up.

Raising too much 

Large rounds often come with larger expectations, faster burn rates, and a false sense of security. If your business doesn’t progress at the pace the funding implies, future investors may hesitate to fund you again, or push for performance you’re not ready for. Additionally, the more you raise early, the more equity you give up, often at a lower valuation than you could command later. Founders sometimes assume that more capital equals less risk, but in reality, it can lead to excessive spending on unnecessary items and the waste of part of the capital.

Raise your next round with SeedBlink! 

Whether you're just starting out or preparing to scale, the key is to raise with intention. At SeedBlink, we help early-stage and growth-stage startups raise smarter. From structuring your round to showcasing your story, we’re here to help you raise capital with clarity, confidence, and credibility.

Our strting plan is built for founders who need to move fast and smart: The platform helps you prepare, pitch to investors, and raise capital without breaking the bank.

‍Get started with SeedBlink today.

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