How much do startups raise at MVP stage compared with once they have revenue?
Almost as much. CEE founders still building their first version asked for a median of €450,000 when they applied to BADideas in 2026 so far, against €500,000 for those with early users or revenue. The big step comes at scale: €1 million.
The figures
| Round asked by company stage, CEE, 2026 (to date) | Bottom quarter up to | Median | Top quarter from |
|---|---|---|---|
| Building the first version (MVP) | €250,000 | €450,000 | €870,000 |
| Early users or revenue | €300,000 | €500,000 | €1 million |
| Scaling | €390,000 | €1 million | €1.9 million |
In BADideas application data, the ask barely rises between MVP and first revenue; the ranges overlap almost completely.
What is changing
| CEE median ask | 2025 | 2026 (to date) |
|---|---|---|
| Building the first version (MVP) | €430,000 | €450,000 |
| Early users or revenue | €500,000 | €500,000 |
| Scaling | €1 million | €1 million |
| Quarter | MVP stage, median ask | Early users or revenue |
|---|---|---|
| Q2 2025 | €300,000 | €500,000 |
| Q3 2025 | €500,000 | €600,000 |
| Q4 2025 | €430,000 | €500,000 |
| Q1 2026 | €500,000 | €500,000 |
| Q2 2026 | €420,000 | €500,000 |
| Q3 2026 | €500,000 | €500,000 |
What it means for you
- An MVP-stage round is a full pre-seed round. Founders at MVP stage ask for close to what founders with revenue ask for, so the plan has to justify it.
- Revenue does not double the ask. It changes how the round is received, not its typical size.
- Scale is where rounds jump. Once growth is proven, asks roughly double.
- Tie the amount to the next milestone. Say what the round buys and how long it lasts. Investors judge the size against the plan, not against the stage label.
- Check your ask against the range. If you sit far above the top quarter for your stage, expect to explain why.
Also answers
How much do MVP-stage startups raise?
CEE founders at MVP stage asked for a median of €450,000 in 2026 so far, with half between €250,000 and €870,000.
How we measured it
- Source: applications founders sent to BADideas in 2025 and 2026 to date. CEE means the company is in a Central or Eastern European country. Company stage is the founder's answer on the application form, else what the application says. Idea-stage applicants are few, so they are not shown.
- Limits: these are founders who applied to one CEE pre-seed fund, so the sample leans towards companies that see themselves as a fit for it. A single quarter can swing, so read the change between years first. This is the round founders asked for, not what they closed. Figures are rounded to the nearest €10,000.
- Read: 26 September 2026. Updated every quarter.
BADideas.fund, "How much do startups raise at MVP stage compared with once they have revenue?", founder application data read 26 September 2026. https://badideas.fund/answers/round-size-by-company-stage-cee
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