The stage taxonomy
Which stage are you?
Most founders mislabel their own stage — then pitch the wrong investors and burn months. Stages aren’t about time elapsed or money wanted; they’re about evidence accumulated. Find the row that describes what you have today, not what you hope to have.
Before any stage
You have an itch, a side project, or a co-founder search — not a company yet.
This is you if
- —No incorporated company, or just incorporated
- —Idea or prototype nights-and-weekends
- —Still looking for a co-founder or first conviction
What a raise looks like
India: Don’t raise yet — join, build, win grants
US: Don’t raise yet — residencies, hackathons, grants
Pre-seed
A team and a prototype, hunting for the first real signal.
This is you if
- —Founding team committed full-time (or about to be)
- —Prototype or MVP; pre-revenue or first pilot users
- —Raising to build the v1 and find early evidence
What a raise looks like
India: Typically $100K–$500K (programs, micro-VCs, angels)
US: Typically $500K–$2M (programs, pre-seed funds)
Seed
A live product and early users — raising to find product-market fit.
This is you if
- —Product in users’ hands; retention or usage you can chart
- —First revenue or strong engagement, but not yet repeatable
- —Raising 12–24 months of runway to reach PMF
What a raise looks like
India: Typically $500K–$3M (seed funds, micro-VCs, syndicates)
US: Typically $2M–$6M (seed funds, multi-stage seed practices)
Series A
Evidence of product-market fit — raising to build the growth engine.
This is you if
- —Repeatable revenue (SaaS ballpark: ~$1M+ ARR, growing fast)
- —A motion that converts predictably — you know your funnel
- —Raising to scale go-to-market, not to find the product
What a raise looks like
India: Typically $3M–$15M, institutional lead
US: Typically $8M–$25M, institutional lead
Where to go now
Series B & growth
The machine works — capital now buys speed, not answers.
This is you if
- —Strong unit economics you can defend in a data room
- —SaaS ballpark: $5M–$10M+ ARR; category leadership in sight
- —Raising to scale what already works, or expand markets
What a raise looks like
India: Typically $15M+ (growth funds, crossover)
US: Typically $25M+ (growth funds, crossover)
These are heuristics, not rules — ranges shift by sector (deeptech raises bigger earlier; consumer often later) and by market cycle. When in doubt, you’re probably one stage earlier than you think: investors decide your stage by your evidence, not your deck. Under-claiming and over-delivering beats the reverse.