Seed Funding

Seed funding refers to the first official equity financing round raised by a startup to fund initial product development and attract first customers. Investors in seed rounds include angel investors, accelerators, venture capital firms, and increasingly crowdfunding platforms. Seed funding ranges from $500,000 to $2 million and allows startups to expand their team to build and market an MVP. Companies that gain traction on key metrics can go on to raise larger Series A rounds from venture capitalists. Seed stage investing is very high risk, with most startups failing to advance. But the few seed-stage success stories delivering massive returns, like Uber's $200k seed round valued at $72 billion at IPO, keep investors playing the game. Smart venture firms scout out promising startups during seed rounds before competition heats up in later stages.