Article · 20 min read

A Guide to Seed Fundraising

Geoff Ralston · Y Combinator Free Beginner

YC's answer to what you need before a seed round is not a revenue number, it is a rate: raise once your product is being adopted at an interestingly rapid rate, with 10 percent per week for several weeks cited as impressive. That reframes the whole question for an Indian founder sitting on modest absolute numbers: a small base growing fast beats a large-looking base that is flat. Use it as the counterweight to the Blume floor.

  • The readiness test is a growth rate, not a milestone: a product being adopted at an interestingly rapid rate, with 10 percent week over week for several weeks called impressive.
  • Raise when you have figured out the market and built something people are adopting fast, not before you have that signal and not after you have already stalled.
  • Minimize time in fundraising mode: a tight, fast-growth story lets you raise quickly and get back to building instead of dragging a weak deck around for months.
Open on ycombinator.com ↗

It answers 4 questions

  1. How do I actually value a pre-revenue startup, and where does the seed number come from?
  2. What traction or metrics do I actually need before a seed round in India?
  3. How do I value my pre-revenue startup, and who actually sets the price?
  4. How do I present my ask and use of funds so it does not sound like a random number?

Read with it

  1. This is one of the only Indian seed funds that publishes hard numbers for when they want to hear from you, so you can benchmark... Blume Ventures Article · 5 min read Blume Ventures: How to reach us (seed traction benchmarks by model) Blume Ventures
  2. Written by an investor, this is a clean field guide to the exact tricks Indian founders reach for and VCs immediately discount:... Hustle Fund (Angel Squad) Article · 8 min read Startup Vanity Metrics Investors Should Avoid (And What to Focus on Instead) Brian Nichols
  3. Written by a partner at Blume Ventures, this is the India-specific version of exactly what we're telling founders: valuation is... Blume Ventures Essay · 15 min read 'Exhaust Fumes', or, Understanding Startup Valuations Sajith Pai
  4. Once you accept that the market sets the price, this piece shows you the actual methods investors reach for when there is no... Mercury Article · 12 min read How early-stage startups are valued by seed and Series A investors Mercury
  5. This is the India reality check that stops you anchoring to US numbers. It puts the median Indian seed ticket at roughly $1M... Inc42 Article · 8 min read Indian Startup Funding Jumps 8% YoY To $5.7 Bn In H1 2025 Inc42 Staff
  6. When a term sheet lands and you are tempted to fight over the last point of valuation, this is the essay that reframes the... paulgraham.com Essay · 12 min read The Equity Equation Paul Graham
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