Series A funding in India

What Series A funding is

Series A is the first round named with a letter. Series B and C follow it.

You have a product that sells and customers who stay.

The money pays to scale what already works. Hire faster. Enter new markets. Build the next product.

A Series A is a priced round. Shares are sold at a set price.

Series A money can come from VC funds and corporate VCs. Angels may join too.

Are you at Series A?

• Customers pay you, and they stay.
• You know what a new customer costs you.
• Growth comes from channels you can repeat.
• You need money to scale, not to search.
• Your next goal is a bigger, proven business.

Still looking for product market fit? Read the seed page first.

How a Series A round is written

• A priced round: new preference shares at a set price.
• In India, these may be CCPS. They convert to equity later.
• Earlier SAFEs and notes convert into shares in this round.
• The option pool may be topped up before the money comes in.
• A term sheet sets the price, board seats and investor rights.
• The lead investor may ask for a seat on your board.

How to raise a Series A round

1. 1Show growth and how you got it.
2. 2Show what each new customer costs and returns.
3. 3Know your burn and runway to the month.
4. 4Clean up your cap table and past SAFEs.
5. 5Model the dilution, with the new option pool.
6. 6Prepare a data room before the first meeting.
7. 7Rework your deck for the slides below.
8. 8List investors who back Series A in your sector.
9. 9Get your legal, finance and tax papers in order.

Questions to answer before you pitch

• What drives your growth, and can it repeat?
• What does a customer cost, and what do they return?
• Why do customers leave, when they do?
• What will the money change in your growth?
• Who joins the leadership team next?
• How big can this business get in India?
• Which markets come next, and in what order?

Papers to have ready

• Audited or reviewed financial statements.
• A data room: legal, finance, tax and HR files.
• Customer contracts and your largest accounts.
• A cap table that shows every conversion.
• IP assignments from every founder and employee.
• Board minutes and shareholder resolutions.
• Every SAFE and note agreement, in one folder.

Mistakes to avoid at Series A

• Starting diligence with messy papers.
• Leaving old SAFEs and notes unmodelled.
• Ignoring the option pool in the price.
• Agreeing terms without a lawyer.
• Raising late, with too little runway left.
• Pitching growth you cannot explain.

After Series A

• Report to your board on a fixed rhythm.
• Track the numbers you promised in the round.
• Plan the next raise well before cash runs low.
• Series B and later rounds fund a bigger stage.
• Hire the leaders the next plan depends on.
• Keep your data room current after the close.

Questions founders ask