“Raise 18 to 24 months of runway” is some of the most repeated fundraising advice out there, and it’s backwards.
- Eighteen months assumes perfect execution. When has that happened?
- Twenty-four months sounds safe until you realize most investors want to see 12 to 18 months of real progress before the next round.
Raise for a milestone
Raise enough to reach a specific proof point:
- Enough to prove product-market fit
- Enough to reach $1M ARR
- Enough to build repeatable sales
Investors fund progress, not time. What milestone are you actually raising money to hit?
Bigger checks, bigger expectations
Larger rounds come with larger expectations from your board, your investors and your team. Fragile spreadsheets and a basic accounting setup might have worked at $100K. They won’t at $3M.
If you can’t quickly answer what’s driving burn this month versus last, forecast cash by team or initiative, or defend your budget to the board tomorrow, your finance setup needs to grow before the round does. You don’t need a full-time CFO. You need systems that scale with your capital.
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