How much revenue do I need to raise a seed round after pre-seed?
Founders raising seed typically show twice the revenue of founders raising pre-seed. Founders raising seed who applied to BADideas between December 2025 and September 2026 stated a median annual recurring revenue (ARR) of €450,000, against €200,000 for those raising pre-seed.
The figures
| ARR founders stated | Bottom quarter up to | Median | Top quarter from |
|---|---|---|---|
| Raising pre-seed | €20,000 | €200,000 | €500,000 |
| Raising seed | €150,000 | €450,000 | €1.2 million |
Founders raising seed stated a median ARR of €450,000; a quarter stated €150,000 or less and a quarter €1.2 million or more. Founders raising pre-seed stated a median of €200,000. In BADideas application data, founders from Central and Eastern Europe raising seed stated less revenue: a median of €200,000, from a small group.
What it means for you
- Plan to roughly double revenue between rounds. At the median, ARR goes from €200,000 at pre-seed to €450,000 at seed. Use the pre-seed money to get there, with room to spare.
- The range is wide, so the median is not a bar. A quarter of founders raising seed stated €150,000 or less. What investors weigh is revenue together with how fast it is growing and how much of it repeats.
- Seed on less revenue is common in CEE. CEE founders raising seed stated a median of €200,000, close to the pre-seed median overall.
Also answers
How much revenue do startups have when they raise seed?
Among founders raising seed who stated ARR, the median was €450,000. The middle half ranged from €150,000 to €1.2 million.
How much should revenue grow between pre-seed and seed?
At the median it doubles, from €200,000 to €450,000. These are different companies at each stage, not the same companies tracked over time.
Are CEE founders raising seed on less revenue?
In this data, yes: a median of €200,000 ARR for CEE founders raising seed. The group is small, so treat it as a signal, not a firm rule.
How we measured it
- Source: what founders shared with BADideas when applying (the application form, their pitch deck or a reply to us), from hundreds of applications reviewed between December 2025 and September 2026. The stage is the founder's own label.
- What it measures: the ARR founders stated when they started raising, not verified figures, and not whether they closed the round. It compares different companies at each stage.
- Limits: figures are rounded and the groups are small, so read them as ranges. A founder who stated no revenue figure is not counted as having zero, so these are the founders who had revenue to report.
- Read: 25 September 2026. Reviewed by 25 March 2027.
Cite as
BADideas.fund, "How much revenue do I need to raise a seed round after pre-seed?", founder application data read 25 September 2026. https://badideas.fund/answers/seed-revenue-after-pre-seed