📄 Article
✓ Link checked
Free
Intermediate
Why we picked it This is the sharpest framing of why your ask is really a bet on the next valuation step. It introduces 'accretive milestones' and 'clearing the valuation hurdle': ask whether the milestones this round buys will let you raise the next round at roughly double the valuation. That single test forces your use-of-funds slide to map spend to value creation instead of listing cost buckets.
Determining How Much to Raise
From The Holloway Guide to Raising Venture Capital by Holloway (Andy Sparks et al.) 15 min read
- Every line of your use of funds should be an accretive milestone: if you hit your goals, can you raise the next round at a much higher valuation than today's post-money
- 'Clearing the valuation hurdle' is the real job of the round, so size the raise to the progress needed to justify the next markup, not to a comfortable runway
- Investors like Fred Wilson and Mark Suster converge on 18 to 24 months of operating runway, giving you a defensible band to anchor the amount