Fundraising & Investors

How much money should I raise at seed, and how much equity do I give up?

A starting point

Raise enough to hit a meaningful milestone with buffer, typically 18-24 months of runway, and plan to sell roughly 10-20% of the company at seed. Don't optimize for the biggest number or the highest valuation; optimize for enough capital at terms that leave room for future rounds. Over-raising at a crazy valuation just sets a trap for your Series A.

Go deeper

Listen

🎧 Podcast
India Free Intermediate

Prime Venture Partners Podcast: Fundraising Masterclass for Founders

On Prime Venture Partners Podcast by Prime Venture Partners 30-50 min per episode

Why we picked it

A leading early-stage Indian VC firm answering the questions founders wish they could ask a VC face-to-face, including how they pick startups and why pitch decks fail. Direct from the people writing the cheques in India.

  • Learn how an Indian early-stage fund actually filters and selects the few startups it backs
  • Understand common pitch mistakes from the investor's side of the table
  • Get realistic expectations on the Indian seed process and what earns conviction
Listen on Spotify open.spotify.com →

Read

📄 Article
Free Intermediate

How to Raise Money

From paulgraham.com by Paul Graham 45 min read

Why we picked it

The most quoted essay on the mechanics of fundraising, distilled from YC Demo Day advice. It reframes fundraising as a sales process with clear rules that still hold up years later.

  • Be in fundraising mode or not; don't half-do it while running the company
  • Talk to investors in parallel to create real competition and momentum
  • A 'maybe' is usually a polite no; get to a real yes or move on
Open paulgraham.com →

Use

🛠️ Tool
India Free Intermediate

iSAFE: The Founder-Friendly Fundraising Instrument for Early-Stage Founders

From 100X.VC by 100X.VC template + explainer

Why we picked it

100X.VC pioneered the iSAFE, India's answer to the US SAFE, and offers the standardized document plus a plain explanation. Indispensable for any Indian founder raising their first cheques the local way.

  • iSAFE is the India-adapted SAFE, structured as compulsorily convertible preference shares to fit Indian law
  • It avoids an immediate valuation and expensive negotiation, using a short standardized document
  • Understand the conversion mechanics before issuing iSAFEs to multiple investors
Open 100x.vc →

People also ask

How does seed fundraising actually work, step by step? You build enough proof (traction, team, or a compelling wedge) to make investors believe, then run a tight, time-boxed process where you talk to ma... Beginner 3 resources → How do I find and get intros to angel investors and seed funds? Warm intros beat cold outreach massively, so map your network and get founders in each investor's portfolio to introduce you. Build a target list r... Intermediate 3 resources → How do I create momentum and FOMO so investors commit instead of stalling? Run the whole process in parallel and time-boxed so investors feel a real deadline and real competition, because a 'maybe' is almost always a polit... Advanced 3 resources → How is raising a seed round in India different from the US? The instruments and paperwork differ: India commonly uses the iSAFE (a CCPS-based cousin of the US SAFE) and CCPS-heavy term sheets to fit Indian c... Intermediate 3 resources → What does an early-stage VC actually look for before writing a cheque? At seed it's mostly team, market, and evidence you can move fast and learn faster, because there's rarely enough traction to lean on numbers alone.... Intermediate 3 resources →