Funding

SwitchPitch keeps track of a startup’s status and updates their information frequently. This information can be found on the left bar on the startup page (see below).

Open

This information is sourced from Crunchbase and scraped from the startup’s website. You can see the lsat time the data was updated below the categories section.

Startups could be at different funding stages depending on the company and its funding history.

Seed Round

What is it: This is typically the first stage of funding for a startup. The seed round of funding will allow the startup to begin hiring employees and start turning the product vision into reality.

Who’s involved: Seed rounds can include friends and family, especially given that they are typically smaller than subsequent rounds. Angel investors are commonly found in seed rounds as they invest larger sums in return for company equity.

Series A

What is it: A series A round of funding will require the startup to show growth and other metrics that prove that the company is finding its niche and hitting its goals. This funding round will help the company expand their offerings and accelerate their growth.

Who’s involved: At this stage of a company’s life, more established entities such as venture capitalist firms are more likely to be involved, as the company’s evaluation is generally higher, as well as the amount they’re seeking to raise.

Series B

What is it: Having established itself within its target market, a series B round can grant a startup the ability to expand its reach and serve new communities by adding new features, creating marketing campaigns and scaling their platform to allow for growth.

Who’s involved: Some or all of the investors from the series A round will likely be involved in the series B round, in addition to potentially adding new VCs - as rounds advance, evaluations and amounts raised get higher, sometimes requiring extra investors.

Series C

What is it: This round is raised by startups that are already relatively successful. Raising capital at this stage allows a startup to aggressively pursue new markets, beat out or buy competitors as well as smaller startups they may have worked with to build their technology.

Who’s involved: Given that the company has shown a record of success and the risk factor of investment is smaller than in previous rounds, bigger investors like investment banks and hedge funds may be drawn to getting involved at this point.