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Financial Mastery

Series A readiness scorecard

Seed investors buy potential; Series A investors buy evidence: repeatable growth, retention that holds, efficient use of cash, a team that can scale and metrics you report the same way every month. Score yourself honestly: 2 = yes, with evidence; 1 = partly; 0 = no.

Growth

0 / 6

  • Revenue / ARR at the level typical for your sector's Series A

  • 12+ months of consistent growth (no unexplained dips)

  • Growth comes from repeatable channels, not founder heroics

Retention

0 / 6

  • Cohort retention flat or improving for recent cohorts

  • Net revenue retention at or above 100% (or sector equivalent)

  • Reasons for churn understood and tracked

Efficiency

0 / 6

  • CAC payback known by channel

  • Burn multiple under 2x for the last 2 quarters

  • Gross margin stable or improving

Plan

0 / 6

  • Model updated with actuals; Budget vs Actuals history of 6+ months

  • Plan for the next 24 months with milestones the round will fund

  • Worst case and response plan

Team

0 / 6

  • Leaders hired (or hiring) for sales and engineering

  • Option pool sized for the next 24 months of hires

  • Board functioning with regular reporting

Diligence

0 / 6

  • Cap table reconciled with lawyer; SAFEs/notes converted

  • Contracts, IP assignments and policies in the data room

  • Security basics documented (and certifications if your buyers expect them)