How much should you raise at pre-seed and seed?

The right raise is not the biggest number you can justify. It is the amount that gets you to a milestone worth a higher price, with runway to spare. Size the round from the milestone backward, not from a round-size table.

Start from the next milestone

Ask what proof unlocks your next round. For seed, that is usually repeatable traction: a revenue figure, a retention curve, a pipeline that grows without heroics. Cost out the team and the time to get there, add a margin for things going slower than planned, and that total is your floor.

Add real runway

Plan for 18 to 24 months of runway. Fundraising takes longer than founders expect, and you want to raise the next round from strength, not on fumes. A round that buys 9 months puts you back in the market before you have proof.

Watch dilution

At pre-seed and seed, selling 10 to 20 percent per round is normal. Stack two rounds that each take 25 percent and you have given away half the company before Series A. Bigger is not free. Every extra million has a price in ownership, so raise what the milestone needs, not what flatters the headline.

Price follows proof

You cannot raise a seed-sized round on a pre-seed story; you will hear "too early." And an oversized round you cannot grow into sets a valuation that haunts the next one. Match the ask to the stage and the proof. For who funds which stage, see pre-seed vs seed, and filter your outreach by cheque size with curated lists and verified investor contacts.