What traction do I need to raise money right now?
- Landon steele
- Feb 24
- 4 min read
Updated: 2 days ago
Traction benchmarks for raising money from pre-seed, seed and Series A investors in 2026.
I spoke on a panel at the Angel Forum 7th Western Investor Summit in Victoria this week. The panel was called "Dealing with Investors' Reality". Here are a few things that came up in the discussion.
One of the investors on the panel said it quite bluntly: "We are all standing on quicksand right now. We are all trying to find our way in the fog". (Hat Tip Jenny Yang).
AI is changing everything, and the future is not clear. However, we all agreed that it is in times of massive change that opportunities present themselves. Smart founders are working on them now.
If you’re a founder trying to raise money right now, you’ve probably experienced some version of this:
You read about Openclaw getting acquired three months after its GitHub launch.
You are wondering if that's the "new normal".
You hear investors say “we want more traction”… But nobody tells you what "traction" actually means.
The result? Confusion, discouragement, and a feeling that the world is moving too fast. Can we just hit pause for a moment?
Here’s the truth:
Most investors are not expecting unicorn-level outliers. They’re looking for evidence that momentum is real and repeatable, and that customers are willing to buy what you are selling, and of an action-oriented team.
We are in what many investors quietly call a discipline cycle. Early-stage capital got pretty frothy a few years ago, and then pulled back dramatically. Now money is flowing again, but a lot of it is chasing relatively few big-name companies. Investors are still wary, and want proof that customers care and that your company is learning faster than it’s spending. The days of "growth at any cost" are over.
I got frustrated by not having clear traction guidance - across stages and sectors. I want founders to have concrete benchmarks instead of vague expectations. So I built an interactive Traction Benchmark table. It is now a standalone page on my website.
Follow the link to play with it. Just Hit the Pre-Seed / Seed / Series A tabs to see how things change by stage. The tables update to give a feel for what investors look for across sectors: Enterprise SaaS, Fintech, Consumer, Deeptech, Healthtech, Medtech, Industrial Biotech and Pharma Biotech. The tables also show Good, Strong and Exceptional traction metrics. Here's a static screenshot:
However, please be aware that the situation is fluid, can change, varies by geography and by sector. The data is these tables is US focused. So these are guidelines and benchmarks, not hard and fast rules.
Recent addition: I've included a little Canadian Context to show in aggregate how Canadian valuations and round sizes compare to US ones at different stages. The data is a little discouraging, frankly, but your mileage may vary.
Feel free to give your feedback in the comments so I can make this better.
When in doubt, ask your potential investor: "What is one piece of proof that would make you say Yes? " (Hat Tip to Rochelle Grayson)
______________________
Why This Is Actually a Good Market for Builders
Founders solve pain for their customers. Times of great change create more opportunities to solve pain. Historically many great startups were spawned during recessions and turbulent times. This environment favors founders who:
Move fast with discipline
Listen obsessively to customers and focus on customer revenue as validation.
Show compounding progress, and build moats
Use AI tools to move faster with lower cost towards your customers.
Treat capital as fuel, not oxygen.
Companies demonstrating real traction stand out quickly. The founders breaking through today are not chasing hype; they’re building undeniable momentum.
And momentum is the most persuasive fundraising story you can tell.
If you liked this post, please share it. If you have comments or feedback, feel free to leave them below.
Want to talk more about your own pitch or your own business growth? Contact me today.
________________ Raw Data Sources as of Q1-2026:
# | Source | Report / Page | Direct URL | Access |
1 | Carta | State of Seed 2025 (with a16z Speedrun) | Free (email gate) | |
2 | Carta | State of Pre-Seed: 2025 in Review | Free | |
3 | Carta | State of Private Markets (quarterly hub) | Free | |
4 | CVCA | 2024 Canadian VC Market Overview (Year-End) | Free (summary); full PDF free at link below | |
5 | CVCA | 2024 VC Report — Full PDF | Free PDF | |
6 | BDC | Canada's Venture Capital Landscape 2025 (landing page) | Free | |
7 | BDC | Canada's VC Landscape 2025 — Full PDF | Free PDF | |
8 | NACO / Startup Genome | 2026 Report on Funding Gaps in Canada (press release / coverage) | Free (BetaKit coverage below has more detail) | |
9 | BetaKit | NACO/Startup Genome Canada funding gap — detailed coverage | Free | |
10 | Forum Ventures | State of the Pre-Seed & Seed VC Market 2024 | Free | |
11 | Founder Institute | Startup Funding Benchmarks (live / regularly updated) | Free | |
12 | Qubit Capital | Biotech Series A & B Valuation Benchmarks 2025–26 | Free | |
13 | Qubit Capital | Biotech Seed Round Financial Modelling & Benchmarks | Free | |
14 | PitchBook / NVCA | Q4 2025 Venture Monitor (latest full-year report) | Free (email gate) | |
15 | PitchBook / NVCA | Q4 2025 Venture Monitor — Full PDF (via NVCA) | Free PDF | |
16 | PitchBook / NVCA | All Quarterly Venture Monitor Reports (hub) | Free (email gate) | |
17 | StartUs Insights | Global Startup Ecosystem / Deeptech Report 2026 | Free |
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