Investor question 34 of 50 · The raise
“When will you need to raise again?”
Short answer: the investor is really asking how long does this money last? Answer in three steps: (1) give the runway the round buys; (2) name the next round and the target metrics; (3) show the plan if it comes late.
What they're really asking
How long does this money last? Investors rarely care about the question on its own. They're testing whether you know your numbers cold, whether your assumptions are honest, and whether you can explain them simply.
How to answer, step by step
- Give the runway the round buys.
- Name the next round and the target metrics.
- Show the plan if it comes late.
An example answer
About 18 months. We'd start the Series A about 15 months after closing, with roughly $1.3M ARR, and the Worst case shows what happens if it slips.
Figures are from Loopdesk, the fictional SaaS company in our sample files. Swap in your own numbers and keep the structure.
The answer that loses trust
Avoid
Planning to raise again in six months.
Where the proof lives
Before the meeting, find the number behind your answer. In our workbooks it lives in: Runway & Burn, Scenario Comparison. If you can open that tab and point to it, the follow-up question is easy.