Seed Readiness Auditor
A rigorous diagnostic tool that evaluates your startup's metrics against VC benchmarks to determine if you are ready to raise a seed round.
Answer these 8 questions about your current metrics to receive an objective assessment of your seed readiness.
Enter the average MRR over the last 3 months in USD.
The amount of cash you spend per month (expenses minus revenue).
Total liquid assets available to the company.
Include founders and any full-time staff.
A person solely responsible for technical strategy and execution.
A person solely responsible for product vision and roadmap.
Select the option that best describes your current status.
Estimate the total market opportunity in USD (annual).
Your startup is likely pre-seed; focus on achieving product-market fit and reaching $10k MRR before approaching seed investors.
What to fix (7)
MRR meets minimum seed threshold
CriticalVCs typically require at least $10k-$20k MRR for SaaS seed rounds to prove product-market fit; below this, it is often considered pre-seed.
Fix: Focus on converting free users to paid or increasing pricing to reach $10k MRR before pitching seed investors.
Cash runway exceeds 18 months
CriticalVC best practices suggest a minimum of 18 months of runway post-raise to ensure the company can reach the next milestone without immediate dilution.
Fix: If runway is below 18 months, consider extending runway by cutting costs or raising a smaller bridge round before the main seed.
Product is live with paid customers
CriticalSeed investors want to see a live product with paying customers to validate that the business model works, not just a prototype.
Fix: Launch your product and acquire at least 5-10 paying customers to demonstrate real-world usage and revenue.
Dedicated CTO or technical co-founder present
MajorInvestors assess team completeness; a dedicated technical leader is crucial for scaling product development and ensuring technical debt is managed.
Fix: Hire a CTO or promote a senior engineer to a CTO role with clear technical ownership.
Dedicated CPO or product co-founder present
MajorA dedicated product leader ensures the product roadmap aligns with customer needs and market opportunities, reducing the risk of building the wrong thing.
Fix: Assign a co-founder or senior hire to own the product strategy and roadmap explicitly.
TAM is sufficient for venture-scale returns
MajorVCs invest in companies with large market potential; a TAM below $100M may limit the company's ability to generate the 10x returns expected.
Fix: Re-evaluate your market definition to include adjacent markets or expand your TAM calculation to reflect the full potential.
Team size is appropriate for seed stage
MinorA team that is too large relative to revenue may indicate inefficiency, while a team that is too small may lack capacity to execute the growth plan.
Fix: Ensure your team size aligns with your growth stage; typically 3-10 employees is common for seed-stage SaaS companies.