Great article by a guy who truly knows what he's talking about. Josh was one of the investors in Uber's first round of outside financing, back in 2010.
The tl;dr
- don't assume VC inbound means that you'll be able to raise a series A.
- it's easier to raise less, and increase the amount if the round is oversubscribed (having a higher target and having to cut it is a strong -ve signal)
- raise a larger seed. $2.5mm is a number Josh gives in the article. [note, that doesn't mean you should go and raise a $10mm seed round and expect to be evaluated the same as other series A companies when you raise one - smart investors will evaluate your progress relative to how much you've raised]
- pick seed investors who are good at helping seed stage companies. [josh and frc are a great firm, behind some great companies - obviously this is a content marketing piece, but in this case it's also totally true]
- make sure you have enough seed money to reach the key milestones that you need to hit, where those milestones make you an attractive target for a series A
- your seed investors can help prepare you for the A. in many cases, this is exactly how they view their role.
The tl;dr
- don't assume VC inbound means that you'll be able to raise a series A.
- it's easier to raise less, and increase the amount if the round is oversubscribed (having a higher target and having to cut it is a strong -ve signal)
- raise a larger seed. $2.5mm is a number Josh gives in the article. [note, that doesn't mean you should go and raise a $10mm seed round and expect to be evaluated the same as other series A companies when you raise one - smart investors will evaluate your progress relative to how much you've raised]
- pick seed investors who are good at helping seed stage companies. [josh and frc are a great firm, behind some great companies - obviously this is a content marketing piece, but in this case it's also totally true]
- make sure you have enough seed money to reach the key milestones that you need to hit, where those milestones make you an attractive target for a series A
- your seed investors can help prepare you for the A. in many cases, this is exactly how they view their role.