THINK LIKE A VC Don't try to raise too early in the validation stage. A VC shouldn’t need to do the thinking at any point: why they should invest should be evident. Betting is only worth it if the value outweighs the risks. A VC will ask him/herself: Is this team capable of validating the product? Is there a real market? Are they capable of the distribution? Weigh up your options. Think about what you can validate without any funding. The validation stage has no set length. It can take you six months if you’ve stumbled upon a great idea. It can take 18 months or even two years, for example, if you can’t generate retention on your product. Think about what you’ve done, and what you want to do. What you can validate without capital. Communicate that to the VC. The higher up in the funnel you are, the better. Once you’ve validated the above, you’ll most likely find Product Market Fit. Hypothesis stage Validation stage Now, if you have a 5k, 20k, 30k MRR startup, the bet that a VC wants to make is: Can they become a 10MM ARR or MRR company? 15MM? 20MM?