Seed
Seed
Often a SAFE or a small priced seed. Story plus early evidence. Diligence is shorter. Your CFO work is forecast, cash, and a cap table you can explain. The job of the money is time to prove a channel — not to look like an A.
Seed vs Series A
Seed vs Series A: what actually has to change
Reviewed August 15, 2026 by Robb
Seed buys time to prove a motion. Series A prices a motion that already repeats. Treating them as the same raise with a bigger number is how companies run out of runway in the gap. We have watched that gap for three decades. The finance system should survive it.
Series A
Series A
Usually priced. A lead, a board, and a metrics bar — revenue, retention, a channel you can describe without hand-waving. Diligence will read the books like they matter, because they do. Reporting has to match the dashboard.
Plan seed as if the A is late
Most seed-funded companies never raise an A. That is not cynicism. It is how you set burn. The books, the forecast, and the hiring plan should still work if the next raise slips or never comes. We build that version first, then the version where the A arrives on time.
What diligence actually reads
A number they trust, and a repeatable way you got it. That is reporting, not a pitch-deck color palette. If revenue in the deck and revenue in the books disagree, the raise is already in trouble. Close the books every month like someone will ask. Someone will.
The gap is a finance problem
Eighteen to twenty-four months is a common clock when an A happens at all. In that window you need cash discipline, a cap table that can convert cleanly, and metrics that are defined the same way every month. That is fractional CFO work, not a last-month scramble.
Frequently asked questions
How long between seed and A?
Often 18–24 months if it happens at all. Plan cash for the longer number. Celebrate if you beat it.
What do A investors ask for first?
A number they trust, and a repeatable way you got it. Bring the books, the cohort or retention view you actually use, and a cap table that matches the paper.
Do we need a priced round at A?
Usually yes. A lead who wants preferred stock and a board will not take a stack of SAFEs as a substitute. Convert and clean up before you add the new money if you can.