David Cummings on Startups

Metrics to Raise a Series A

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David Cummings

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Continuing with the metrics theme from yesterday’s post Most Metrics Don’t Matter at the Beginning, a logical follow-up question is “what are the ideal metrics to raise a Series A?” EquityZen has a good post from last year on just this topic: The Metrics Required for Raising a Series A Round. Here are the key metrics to raise a Series A for each type of startup from the post:

  • Ecommerce – $12 million annual run rate
  • Consumer App – 50,000 daily active users with 25% month-over-month growth
  • SaaS – $1 million annual run rate and 100% year-over-year revenue growth
  • Marketplace – $12 million gross market volume with 20% month-over-month growth

The next time an entrepreneur says they’re going to raise a Series A, ask if they have the appropriate metrics based on their type of business.

What else? What are some other thoughts on the metrics to raise a Series A round of financing?

Comments

5 responses to “Metrics to Raise a Series A”

  1. Franco Arda Avatar
    Franco Arda

    That’s extremely useful (again) David. Thank you for sharing your knowledge.

    Reply
  2. Jim Kittridge Avatar
    Jim Kittridge

    Thanks David. What metrics have you seen for SaaS at the seed stage?

    Reply
    1. David Cummings Avatar
      David Cummings

      For the seed stage, $100k of ARR is typically the minimum unless there’s already some prior relationship (e.g. friend, family, etc.)

      Reply
      1. Jim Kittridge Avatar
        Jim Kittridge

        Thanks for clarifying David. We’ve heard we need to get to 10k in MRR and have a solid plan for getting to 100k and beyond.

  3. Isaac Avatar
    Isaac

    Hello David, for maketplace, when you mean $12 million gross market volume, you are meaning it annually or per month? Secondly sorry for the noob question. What is Gross Market Volume? I have heard about Gross Merchandise Volume/Value but not this. Can you please explain?

    Reply

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