The Steele Startup Traction Matrix:
An interactive tool that shows early stage investor expectations.
Start by choosing Pre-Seed, Seed, or Series A. The tables change. Scroll down to your sector to see Good, Strong and Exceptional Traction
Traction benchmarks across nine sectors — Enterprise SaaS, Fintech, B2C / Consumer, Deeptech, Industrial Biotech, Pharma Biotech, Healthtech, Digital Health, and Medical Devices — US data updated quarterly, with Canadian context at every stage.
Free Resource - No Email Required or Pay Wall
Q2 - 2006 Version. Last Updated July 4, 2026
Jenny Yang, RiSC Capital, Vancouver
“This is a fantastic resource for founders highlighting what investors are looking for when startups are raising pre-seed to series A.”
Danielle Joworski, Accelerator Centre, Waterloo
“The Steele Startup Traction Matrix provides clear insights around investor expectations and investment realities for founders. A plan and strategy can be built around this combination.”
Lauren Taylor, CEO, NDVC, San Francisco
“Founders hear a lot of thought leadership; what they don’t always get is a tool they can use right now.”
Viveik Vivekananthan, CEO, BookHealth AI
“It’s a great blueprint to follow and it enables founders to have the appropriate investor conversations at the right time.”
About The Steele Startup Traction Matrix
Why this matrix exists
Founders waste months pitching investors who were never going to say yes — usually because nobody told them what "enough traction" means at their stage, in their sector. Investors know these numbers. Founders mostly have to guess. The Steele Startup Traction Matrix bridges that founder funder gap: it lays out what good, strong, and exceptional traction look like at pre-seed, seed, and Series A, across nine sectors, in the metrics investors actually use.
How it's built
The matrix is compiled by Landon Steele — founder with a successful exit, 30 years in the Bay Area startup ecosystem, and an active angel investor — from a literature base of 95+ primary sources (Carta, CVCA, RBCx, NACO, BDC, Pitchbook-NVCA, and sector-specific benchmark reports), refreshed through monthly research scans and published quarterly. Every edition notes what changed. It is free, unwalled, and intended to be used — bring it to your next board meeting, mentor session, or investor-prep sprint.
What's new in the Q2 2026 edition
The seed market has gone barbell — median post-money hit an all-time-high $24M while activity fell 29% year-over-year; seed extensions are now the norm (38% of seed startups raise one); Canadian VC pulled back 40% in Q1 2026 (RBCx); the FDA turned deregulatory on digital health; and Canada's IRAP added Defence, AI, and Cleantech streams while the SR&ED limit doubled to $6M.
FAQ
Common questions about the Steele Startup Traction Matrix
How much traction do I need to raise a seed round in 2026?
It depends on your sector, but for Enterprise SaaS the seed entry band is roughly $100K–$300K ARR with 10–15% month-over-month growth; strong candidates show $300K–$700K ARR. The median US seed round is $3.1M at a $24M post-money valuation. In biotech, medical devices, and deeptech, revenue is largely irrelevant at seed — milestones, IP, and validated science carry the round. The matrix above breaks this down for all nine sectors.
What do investors expect at pre-seed?
In 2026, insight and validation signals — not revenue. Most pre-seed investors expect a prototype or a signed design partner; a working demo dramatically improves close rates. Typical raises run $250K–$2M (median ~$1M) on SAFEs at a $4–6M post-money cap, with AI-native teams landing $8–15M.
How are Canadian benchmarks different from US ones?
The traction bar is the same — Canadian investors don't expect less proof — but rounds are 40–50% smaller and valuations 30–50% lower at Series A. The offset is Canada's non-dilutive stack: SR&ED (enhanced limit now $6M), NRC-IRAP (with new Defence, AI, and Cleantech streams), and provincial programs. "Build in Canada, raise in the US" remains the common playbook for top Canadian startups.
How often is the Steele Startup Traction Matrix updated?
A literature scan across all nine sectors runs monthly, and a new edition of the matrix is published quarterly with a visible "what changed" note. The current edition is Q2 2026, updated July 4, 2026, built from 95+ cited primary sources.
What counts as traction if I'm pre-revenue?
Depends on the sector: signed LOIs and paid design partners (SaaS), retention and organic growth (consumer), granted patents and TRL progression (deeptech), pilots and regulatory milestones (health and biotech), and non-dilutive grant wins everywhere — investors treat competitive grants as third-party validation. An unpaid pilot, on its own, is not traction.
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How do I cite this resource?
Steele, L. "Steele Startup Traction Matrix," Steele Consulting, Q2 2026 edition, updated July 4, 2026.
www.steeleconsultinggroup.com/traction-guidance
Citation and republication with attribution are welcome — that's what it's for!