FUNDRAISING GUIDE

Seed fundraising guide

Prove the model before you scale it

Seed rounds are the first significant institutional fundraise, used to validate product-market fit and build the foundations of a repeatable go-to-market motion. European seed rounds have grown substantially in recent years, with leading VCs now writing cheques of €1M–€3M as leads. Investors at this stage want to see early evidence that customers value your solution and that the unit economics are trending in the right direction.

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Typical Metrics

Round size€500k–€3M

Pre-money valuation€3M–€10M

Monthly recurring revenue€5k–€80k MRR

Month-over-month growth10–25%

Runway post-raise18–24 months

Fundraising Tips

Define your seed milestone clearly: what specific metrics will put you in a strong position for a Series A in 18–24 months?
Identify 5–8 lead investors who are active at seed in your vertical and geography before starting outreach.
Create a data room early: investors will ask for financials, cap table, contracts, and IP assignments.
Anchor your valuation to comparable recent European seed rounds in your sector rather than aspirational multiples.
Run a tight process: aim to have all first meetings within a 2-week window so term sheets arrive simultaneously.

Common Mistakes to Avoid

!Raising a seed round without a clear picture of what Series A metrics look like in your specific market.
!Spending the first 6 months of seed capital on product before testing distribution channels.
!Accepting a term sheet with aggressive anti-dilution provisions or ratchets that will harm later rounds.
!Pitching to dozens of investors without refining your narrative based on the objections you keep hearing.
!Underestimating how long fundraising takes: most seed rounds take 3–6 months from first outreach to close.

Typical Timeline

6–12 weeks from first investor meeting to signed term sheet

Your Pitch Deck at Seed

What Seed Stage Actually Means

Seed proves people use the product repeatedly and you can acquire them in a repeatable way.

Useful signals now: cohort retention (D30/D60), net M/M growth trend, time-to-value in the product, and a basic lead to win funnel with payback math.

Vision still matters, but execution decides. Show usage, retention, and a GTM that can scale with capital.

Slides You Actually Need

Every slide has to move the story forward. Here is what is expected at this stage:

Executive Summary

Clear and sharp 2 to 3 sentence pitch.

Problem

Real-world, urgent, and user-proven pain.

Solution

What is working and what is unique.

Product

Screens, workflows, UX insights. Built and used.

Market

Clear segment, real TAM, proof of interest.

Go to Market

Channels that work, repeatable motion, plans to scale.

Traction

Metrics, usage, retention. Show behavior, not just noise.

Financials

Revenue model, burn, next 12 months.

Team

Gaps are fine, but execution ability must be clear.

Vision

Show direction and scaling logic.

Ask

Round size, milestones unlocked, and high-level terms.

What Good Looks Like

3-6 months of cohort retention; include a simple cohort table.
Lead to demo to win conversion by channel; median sales cycle length.
CAC and payback estimate; first NRR/GRR signal if applicable.
Activation metric that correlates with retained users.

What Investors Flag at Seed

!Usage is not repeatable
!TAM slide full of generic stats
!No unit economics at all
!We will grow via word of mouth = red flag
!Ask is not tied to specific milestones

They have seen hundreds of these. Anything hand-wavy stands out, and not in a good way.

What investors look for

Evidence of product-market fit: retention curves, NPS scores, organic referrals, or qualitative customer love.
A founding team that has shipped and iterated: investors want to see execution track record, not just vision.
Early revenue or meaningful usage metrics that validate willingness to pay.
A clear hypothesis for how you will reach €1M ARR and what the Series A story looks like.
A differentiated go-to-market approach: why will you win distribution in a crowded market?

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