Do I need $100k ARR to raise seed in the Baltics?
No. Most founders raising seed here are below it. Only 23% of the CEE founders raising seed who applied to BADideas in 2026 so far had €100,000 or more in annual recurring revenue (ARR), and 46% applied with no revenue at all.
The figures
| Founders raising seed, 2026 (to date) | CEE | All regions |
|---|---|---|
| With €100,000 ARR or more | 23% | 24% |
| With no revenue | 46% | 50% |
Among CEE founders raising seed who had revenue, the median ARR was €160,000. In BADideas application data, the $100k rule describes a minority of seed founders, not a bar most have cleared.
What is changing
| Founders raising seed with €100,000 ARR or more | 2025 | 2026 (to date) |
|---|---|---|
| CEE | 15% | 23% |
| All regions | 16% | 24% |
| Quarter | Founders raising seed with €100,000 ARR or more |
|---|---|
| Q2 2025 | 15% |
| Q3 2025 | 15% |
| Q4 2025 | 18% |
| Q1 2026 | 20% |
| Q2 2026 | 31% |
| Q3 2026 | 23% |
Across all regions the share is up from 16% in 2025; in CEE it is up from 15% in 2025.
What it means for you
- $100k ARR is a strong signal, not an entry ticket. Most CEE founders raising seed are below it.
- Without it, show momentum. Growth rate, retention and paying pilots carry a seed pitch when revenue is still small.
- Reaching it sets you apart. About one in four founders raising seed is there.
Also answers
What share of startups raising seed have $100k ARR?
23% of CEE founders raising seed and 24% across all regions in 2026 so far.
Can I raise seed in CEE with no revenue?
Many founders try: 46% of CEE founders raising seed applied with no revenue. Investors then look harder at usage, pilots and the team.
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. ARR is what the application states as current (monthly recurring revenue times twelve where only that is given); forecasts are excluded. $100k is read as €100,000.
- 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. An application that states no revenue counts as having none. Figures are not verified.
- Read: 26 September 2026. Updated every quarter.
BADideas.fund, "Do I need $100k ARR to raise seed in the Baltics?", founder application data read 26 September 2026. https://badideas.fund/answers/seed-100k-arr-baltics
Who we are
We are a pre-seed and seed fund for founders in Central and Eastern Europe. We have built and sold companies ourselves, and since 2022 we have backed more than 40.
We back founders who see something about their market that others do not see yet. They want to change how a whole industry works, start with something small, and learn fast.
Good founders rarely fail on the idea or the product. They fail on selling it. So that is where we help: operators who grew Zendesk, Square and Scale AI work on your go-to-market.
Raising soon? Get your deck read the way our deal leads read it