What valuation should I raise at?

I've helped hundreds of founders fundraise and I've invested in over 300 startups.

Founders often come to me to figure out how much to raise and at what valuation.

Instead of a blog post, I built an interactive application that blends a calculator with the advice I give founders on how to approach this.

Find me on X or email julian at weisser.io

Step 1: Raise Amount ($)

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The first step is to choose the range of money you think would be good to raise.

📊 Typical Ranges Based On Round Type

Angel (no "lead" investor): $100k - $300k
Pre-Seed: $300k - $1.5M
Seed: $1.5M - $5M
Series A: $5M - $10M+

Note: Definitions of stage are nebulous and change over time. Above ranges are based on averages and can vary widely.

While you might have an exact number in your head that you think is perfect it's good to think about the minimum you'd need to accomplish your next milestone.

Raise at least enough to give you 18 months of runway.
If your numbers are outside of the typical range for your round type to get 18 months of runway your burn rate is likely too high—you'll need to figure out how to be more frugal.
When inputting a range into the calculator keep it fairly narrow — ideally $500k (or less) between your min / max.
If the range is wider than $500k it's a sign you need to get a better sense of how much money you truly need to get to the next milestone.

Minimum raise amount ($):

Maximum raise amount ($):

Step 2: Round Dilution (%)

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The amount of dilution your company takes on each round is more heavily influenced by what is standard for the market at any given time — not your personal preferences.

📊 What is normal dilution?

Expect to be diluted 15-20% each round

If things are going extraordinarily well you might end up closer to 10%.
Another way to have less dilution (sometimes) is to raise less money.
Some investors (especially lead investors) have ownership targets. For instance, a VC fund might want 10% ownership which would be hard to accomplish if you plan for 10% dilution for the entire round but want investors other than that single fund on your cap table.
It's generally better to optimize for high quality investors instead of "dumb money" — even though it might result in slightly more dilution it will help you in areas like recruiting, customer leads, and future fundraises.
When putting your range in the calculator try keeping it fairly narrow — 5% or less difference between your min / max.

The exception to the above is if you're raising less than a pre-seed (<$300k) in which case 5-10% is a good target. If you are raising around $500k that dilution might be closer to 10-15%. That said, I'd encourage you to take advantage of momentum and raise at least $500k.

Minimum dilution (%):

Maximum dilution (%):

Step 3: Post-Money Valuation ($)

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⚠️ Requirements: Please complete Step 1 (Raise Amount) and Step 2 (Round Dilution) to view your valuation scenarios.

Based on your inputs, we've generated a valuation range. If the range seems surprisingly large to you, that is OK. It might need to be refined.

The conventional advice you might have heard about fundraising is to pick a valuation and then tell potential lead investors that is what you're raising at.

It turns out that the more effective way to fundraise is actually to give lead investors a range in terms of both raise amount and dilution.