FUNDRAISING GUIDE

Series B fundraising guide

Accelerate what is already working

Series B rounds fuel companies that have found their go-to-market engine and are ready to pour capital into growth. At this stage, investors expect operational maturity, a strong leadership team below founder level, and clear metrics demonstrating that more capital reliably generates more revenue. European Series B rounds typically involve both specialist growth VCs and crossover investors entering the European ecosystem.

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Typical Metrics

Round size€10M–€40M

Pre-money valuation€40M–€150M

Annual recurring revenue€3M–€15M ARR

Net revenue retention110–140%

LTV to CAC ratio3:1 or higher

Fundraising Tips

Quantify your growth playbook precisely: show cost per acquired customer by channel, payback period, and projected scale of each channel.
Build relationships with US and global growth funds alongside European VCs: Series B is where international capital enters European rounds.
Prepare a board-ready investor update that demonstrates operational rigor; investors want to see how you run your business.
Negotiate from a position of optionality: if possible, have multiple term sheets in hand before accepting any.
Structure your use of proceeds around specific hires, market expansions, or product bets with measurable return expectations.

Common Mistakes to Avoid

!Assuming that Series A metrics will automatically justify a Series B: the bar moves significantly in terms of operational sophistication.
!Growing headcount ahead of revenue, creating a burn rate that makes the next round harder to justify.
!Neglecting international expansion planning: Series B investors often want to see a clear European or global land-and-expand strategy.
!Underinvesting in finance and legal infrastructure; due diligence at Series B is materially more intensive than at earlier stages.
!Accepting board seats from investors without clear governance agreements on reserved matters and information rights.

Typical Timeline

10–16 weeks from formal process launch to close

Your Pitch Deck at Series B

What Series B Actually Means

Series B proves you can scale what works. Product-market fit is established. Now investors want to see that your growth engine runs efficiently and you have a clear plan to expand.

The evidence shifts from 'does this work?' to 'how fast and how far can this go?' You need to show that adding capital produces predictable, efficient growth across geographies, segments, or product lines.

Series B is where startups become real companies. Operational maturity, hiring velocity, and financial discipline matter as much as revenue growth.

Slides You Actually Need

Every slide needs to demonstrate scale readiness and operational maturity:

Executive Summary

Current scale, growth rate, and why now is the time to accelerate.

Market

Addressable market expansion, penetration rates, and whitespace opportunity.

Product

Platform evolution, product-market fit evidence, and roadmap for expansion.

Go-To-Market

Multiple proven channels, CAC by channel, and expansion playbook.

Traction

Revenue trajectory, cohort economics, and leading indicators of scale.

Financials

Detailed unit economics, burn efficiency, and path to profitability.

Team

Leadership depth, key hires, and organizational readiness for scale.

Expansion Strategy

Geographic, vertical, or product-line expansion with clear sequencing.

Ask

Round size, allocation, and milestones that unlock Series C or profitability.

What Good Looks Like

ARR growing 2-3x year-over-year with improving margins
LTV:CAC ratio above 3:1 across multiple customer segments
Net dollar retention above 120%
Multiple working acquisition channels with predictable CAC
Clear market expansion opportunity beyond initial beachhead
Leadership team in place for the next 2-3 years of growth

What Investors Flag at Series B

!Growing revenue but worsening unit economics signals unsustainable growth
!Single-channel dependency makes the business fragile and hard to scale
!No clear expansion strategy beyond the current market
!Leadership gaps in key functions like finance, ops, or sales management
!High customer concentration with top 5 customers driving most revenue
!Burn rate that does not match the growth trajectory

Series B investors have seen hundreds of companies that grew fast but could not scale efficiently. Every metric needs to prove you are the exception.

What investors look for

Consistent, predictable revenue growth with clear leading indicators such as pipeline coverage and bookings momentum.
A scalable organisational structure with functional leaders in sales, product, engineering, and finance.
Demonstrated ability to enter new customer segments or geographies with a replicable playbook.
Gross margin expansion over time, showing that the business becomes more efficient as it scales.
Clear path to profitability or capital efficiency, even if the company is not yet profitable.

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