Over the last few weeks several entrepreneurs have reached out asking for advice on what’s required to raise a seed round of several hundred thousand dollars. Now, most seed rounds are still a huge leap of faith, but with enough validation some of the risk can be reduced.
Here are a few desired proof points to raise a seed round:
- A Must-Have Product – In the nice-to-have vs must-have product debate, it needs to be a clear must-have product (see 5 Questions to Determine a Must-Have Product).
- Modest Metrics + Revenue – The seed stage is all about proving product/market fit and the start of a repeatable customer acquisition process. Progress with simple weekly metrics is important combined with low six-figures of recurring revenue.
- Strong Weekly Growth – With modest metrics and revenue, the key is showing that they’re moving in the right direction on a weekly basis. Weekly revenue growth of at least 5% is ideal (see Recurring Revenue and Week Over Week Growth).
Raising a seed round is done based more on belief than hard facts, but having these three proof points greatly increases the chance of success.
What else? What are some more proof points to raise a seed round?
David Cummings on Startups 