Why Your Startup Should Think Twice Before Skipping the Seed Round and Going Straight for Series A
Jumping straight to a Series A raise may seem like a good idea, but you are giving up a few valuable things, according to Rob Go of NextView Ventures.
“The rationale for [skipping the seed round] is obvious,” Go writes on his blog. “You get a large capital partner involved early who is fully committed to your company. You also get more money earlier that you can use as a weapon. After all, if only a minority of seed rounds (on average) result in a series A investment, why not take that risk out of the equation early and jump straight to A?”
Go (whose VC firm deals exclusively in seed rounds, it should be noted) offers four compelling reasons to raise a seed round, even if you have the opportunity to bypass it.