A guide to seed fundraising for first-time founders
Friday founder resource: YC's "A Guide to Seed Fundraising" A long-form guide from Geoff Ralston, former President of Y Combinator. It's free with no login. Heads up: it was published in January 2016, so the dollar figures, valuations and named platforms are dated, and the guide itself says parts will become obsolete. The process advice still holds up well. Who it helps: first-time founders getting ready for a pre-seed or seed round. Problem it solves: going into a raise without a clear ask, a standard structure or a process, and letting it drag on. Two practical takeaways
- 1.
Size the round from a plan. The guide suggests framing your ask as raising for N months (it says usually 12 to 18) and working the amount back from what it costs to hit your milestones. It also says to try to avoid more than 25% dilution.
- 2.
Keep it simple and close fast. It recommends well-known documents like YC's SAFE, treating each meeting's goal as getting the next meeting rather than closing, and, once an investor says they're in, exchanging signed documents quickly.
It also covers angels vs. VCs, valuation, a 12-part deck outline, and a list of what not to do when talking to investors. Read it: ycombinator.com/blog/how-to-raise-a-seed-round What's one piece of seed-fundraising advice that didn't hold up for you? Reply with what you'd do differently.
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