Startups are typically raising capital to get to a specific milestone that’s 12-18 months out. Then they will likely raise again.

What investors want to know is what that milestone looks like so they can judge whether that progress will put us in a good position to raise capital again, or in some cases, be more self sufficient than we are today.

Which of these milestones could this round of capital achieve?

• Idea Validation. Early testing to see if the product has interest by customers.
• Product Launch. Get the product to a usable state.
• User Acquisition. Scale customer growth with marketing, sales.
• Monthly Revenue. A target amount of monthly (or annual) revenue.
• Production Run. Get the product produced (physical products).
• Market Expansion. Expand into new markets beyond our current ones.
• Profitability. Get to some level of profitability, even if near breakeven.

Your milestones could be a combination of these, or they may be outside of this list. What matters is that we clearly define our milestones within a short period of time (again, usually 12-18 months) so that investors know what we’re trying to achieve.