What Happens During a Series A Fundraise

For Seed-stage founders, a Series A isn't just a bigger version of your last round. It's a different conversation.

At Seed, you’re selling vision: a strong team, a large market, and a credible hypothesis. At Series A, investors are looking for evidence that the business is working. Repeatable customer acquisition. Durable retention. Healthy unit economics. A clear plan for how new capital accelerates growth already in motion.

That shift catches many founders off guard. The upside is that once you understand what changes, you can start building toward Series A expectations well before you run a formal process.

We work with hundreds of Seed and Series A companies at Pilot, and we see consistent patterns in the raises that come together versus the ones that stall. Here's how to think about it.

The bar is different now

At Seed, investors are largely betting on you. At Series A, they're betting on the business. Founder quality still matters — but the weight shifts toward traction and operating proof.

Here's what they typically want to see:

Repeatable growth, not just growth. A few strong months aren't enough. Investors want evidence that acquisition is systematic, not founder-dependent. If every deal still runs through you, that's a flag.

Retention that holds up. Cohort curves matter. If revenue is growing but retention is weak, the story breaks down. If you're seeing net revenue retention above 100%, make that central to your pitch.

Capital efficiency. Growth alone isn't enough — investors want to see that growth is efficient. What's your burn multiple? For many strong Series A candidates, it's under 2x, though this varies by sector.

Early signs of scalable sales. You don't need a full sales org, but you do need evidence that someone other than the founders can sell, or a clear plan to get there.

If you're six to nine months out from raising and can't point to progress across these areas, that's a useful signal. You still have time to close the gaps.

Start earlier than you think

From first investor meetings to a signed term sheet, plan for two to four months. Real preparation starts six to nine months before that.

If you plan to raise with 12 months of runway remaining, preparation likely starts when you still have 15–18 months left. Waiting until the clock is ticking limits your options and your leverage.

This is the window to focus on the milestones that make your story credible:

Fix retention before you fundraise. No amount of top-line growth offsets a leaky bucket in Series A diligence.

Clarify gross margin trajectory. If margins are thin, show how they improve with scale — and support it with early data.

Size the round intentionally. Work backward from the next milestone. How much capital gets you there, plus a reasonable buffer? Raising too much increases dilution. Raising too little increases risk if the timeline slips.

Think through your capital strategy. How does dilution at Series A affect long-term founder ownership? Does venture debt make sense? Are you truly ready for a priced round, or does an extension buy you the time to hit a stronger valuation? These are conversations worth having early.

Your deck needs to show a system

At Series A, narrative alone doesn't carry the round. Your deck needs to demonstrate that the business mechanics work.

Defensible TAM analysis. Bottom-up sizing lands better than top-down. You should be able to explain exactly who you serve, what they pay, and how you reach them — without hand-waving.

Data-backed growth. Growth rates are the starting point, not the endpoint. Investors want to understand what drives them and whether they're durable. Improving CAC payback or strengthening retention curves over time tells a more compelling story than a single top-line number.

A clear use of proceeds. The raise amount should connect logically to a hiring plan, which connects to a revenue model, which connects to the milestones that position you for Series B.

When these elements align, it signals operational maturity.

The financial model carries real weight

At Seed, the financial model is largely a formality. At Series A, it's one of the most scrutinized documents in the process.

Strong models share a few traits: they're built on defined revenue drivers rather than a single growth assumption, they include cohort-based modeling where relevant, hiring plans tie directly to growth targets, and they present both a base case and downside scenario.

Investors aren't looking for the most optimistic spreadsheet. They're looking for one that reflects a realistic understanding of the business.

Be ready to discuss LTV/CAC, CAC payback, gross margin, net revenue retention, and burn multiple. If any of these are weak, address them directly and explain what you're doing about it. Experienced investors will find the gaps anyway — better they hear it from you first.

Diligence goes deeper

Series A diligence is more rigorous than Seed. Expect requests for detailed cohort analyses, pipeline efficiency data, customer concentration breakdowns, reconciled historical financials, board materials, and cap table modeling.

Preparation matters more than most founders realize. A clean, organized data room signals operational discipline. Scrambling mid-process signals the opposite.

Before you start taking meetings, make sure your books are reconciled, your cap table reflects the proposed round so you can discuss dilution clearly, and your customer references are lined up. Doing this work upfront lets you stay focused on narrative and relationship-building when it counts.

After the close

Closing a Series A changes expectations in ways that go beyond having more cash in the bank.

With institutional capital on the cap table, reporting rigor, forecasting accuracy, and capital allocation discipline all increase. The focus shifts from proving the concept to scaling responsibly.

Founders who navigate this well build a consistent operating cadence: regular board reporting, monitoring burn relative to growth targets rather than just watching the bank balance, and planning early for the milestones required for Series B. Headcount planning, treasury management, and long-range scenario modeling become ongoing disciplines — not reactive exercises.

Start now

The strongest Series A processes aren't last-minute sprints. They're the product of months of intentional preparation — founders who defined their milestones early, built repeatability into their operating model, and made sure their financial foundation could hold up under scrutiny.

If you're a Seed-stage founder thinking about Series A, the best time to start preparing is now. Not when your board starts asking about timeline — now.

Pilot's CFO team works with founders through this entire transition, from building the financial model and preparing the data room to defining your equity story and navigating diligence. Our CFOs come from top investment banks, VC firms, and strategic finance roles, and they've collectively supported over $10 billion in fundraises. If you're starting to think about Series A, we'd love to talk.