FUNDRAISING GUIDE

Series C fundraising guide

Scale toward market leadership

Series C rounds are typically raised by companies that have achieved significant market penetration and are pursuing category leadership, international expansion, or M&A. At this stage, the business is expected to have strong unit economics and a credible path to profitability. Investors include growth-stage VCs, crossover funds, and sometimes sovereign wealth funds or corporate venture arms writing large cheques.

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Typical metrics

Round size€30M–€100M+

Pre-money valuation€150M–€500M+

Annual recurring revenue€15M–€60M ARR

Gross profit margin65–85%

Headcount100–500 employees

Fundraising tips

Engage an investment bank or experienced financial advisor to run a structured process — at this scale, professional intermediation often yields better outcomes.
Build a compelling equity story around TAM expansion, international rollout, or an M&A pipeline rather than just organic growth.
Prepare audited or reviewed financial statements; institutional investors at Series C expect IFRS-compliant reporting.
Benchmark your metrics against comparable public companies and recent late-stage transactions to anchor valuation discussions.
Plan your secondary strategy carefully — founder liquidity is common at Series C, but must be structured to avoid signalling risk.

Common mistakes to avoid

!Raising more capital than the business can deploy productively, leading to inflated headcount and culture dilution.
!Pursuing international expansion into multiple markets simultaneously without a clear sequencing logic.
!Underestimating the governance expectations of large institutional investors around audit, compliance, and ESG reporting.
!Setting a valuation that creates an unrealistic bar for Series D or IPO, trapping the company in a down-round scenario.
!Failing to prepare for increased regulatory scrutiny as the company grows into a significant market participant.

Typical timeline

12–20 weeks from process initiation to close

What investors look for

A clear and defensible leadership position in a large, growing market with evidence of durable competitive advantage.
Operational excellence: predictable forecasting, strong finance function, and board-level governance.
A concrete international expansion or M&A roadmap with evidence that the playbook is replicable in new markets.
Line of sight to profitability or IPO readiness within a defined time horizon.
Senior leadership depth: a C-suite capable of running a public company independently of the founders.

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