What are the secrets to raising a Series A round, if you’re a seed-stage company, in today’s fast-paced but still discerning market?
In this podcast—taped at a dinner in San Francisco hosted by Battery Ventures in Sept. 2018—some of the industry’s most prominent early-stage investors tackle this topic and offer insights for founders hoping to make the jump to their first institutional round of financing.
The panelists are the dinner included Kirsten Green from Forerunner Ventures; Aydin Senkut from Felicis Ventures; and Roger Lee from Battery. The discussion was moderated by Jenny Lefcourt of Freestyle Capital. The panelists’ firms have backed major companies including Jet, Dollar Shave Club, Warby Parker, Optimizely, Practice Fusion, Airtable, Narvar*, Wag!*, and Gainsight.*
The panelists discussed in detail what they look for in Series A candidates, including the relative importance of factors such as product-market fit, team quality and revenue efficiency. Senkut said he has a hard-and-fast rule of not funding any company with less than six months of cash on hand; others said that’s not a factor in their decisions.
There was debate over whether the bar is lower or higher today to raise a Series A. All agreed, though, that cash is plentiful. The speakers also debated, among other topics, how founders should form relationships with potential new Series A investors, including general partners versus more-junior investors.
Listen in for more advice from these investors.
