Kitsap County: If You’re reading this article as you begin to raise money or after you’ve raised a seed round. It’s useful for you to understand the total picture of what each round of capital means. Let’s have a detailed analysis of each one of them.
SEED = SIZZLE. This is the first outside money that you raise. The order of magnitude is $100,000—$250,000. Sources include friends and family as well as angels. At this point, you’re selling on dreams, fantasies, and delusions—in other words, this round is about sizzle.
SERIES A = STEAK. In this round, venture capitalists enter the picture. Their bet on you amounts to $1—3 million dollars. You can’t depend on sizzle anymore because big money is at stake (no pun intended). Now your product has to be generating revenue.
In other words, this round is about steak, not sizzle.
SERIES B = STEROIDS. The steak was good. Customers are buying it and eating it. Now the company needs an injection of steroids to get to the magical $100 million yearly revenue rate. You’re going to use this money to scale your business. Luckily, no urine tests are required for entrepreneurs.
SERIES C = SYCOPHANTS. If you make it to this round, you probably don’t need money anymore. This other series is just when the capitalist system collapses, or Google/Apple/Amazon decides to enter your business. At this point, investors are buying— you’re not selling—so they are sucking up to you to jump on a winner.