Hey everyone,
I had a founder call me last week, three days after their seed round closed. First thing they said: "So... what do I actually do now?"
I hear this more than you'd think. And it's a fair question, because for most founders, the raise feels like the finish line. Months of pitching, refining the story, investor meetings, diligence, negotiation, all of it finally ending with the wire hitting your account.
The reality is, that moment is the starting gun, not the finish line.
Having worked with 60+ founders through this transition, I see too many treat the raise like the destination rather than what it actually is - the start of a bloody tough slog. Like the dog that finally catches the car, many founders don't quite know what to do once the capital arrives.
The aim is simple. Convert that capital into revenue. So if you've just raised a seed or Series A, here are four things you should be doing in those first 90 days.
1. Start planning your next round (now)
I know, you've just closed your cap raise and you're dying to get stuck back into building. Counterintuitive as it sounds, the first thing you should do is start planning for the next raise.
Word of warning: too many founders get lulled into the false sense of security that capital brings. Carta data from last year shows bridge rounds make up more than 36% of all rounds, with many startups failing to hit the metrics they need in the timeframe they envisioned. This is particularly common for seed companies progressing to Series A, where you start getting judged on results, not just promise. For companies who have raised, this is actually the stage where most startups fail.
The best thing you can do after raising is map out the 5-7 key metrics which will show your business’ progress and what you will likely be spruiking to investors at your next round, then structure the entire business around achieving them. Those metrics won't just be MRR. They could be product milestones, user growth, daily active users. They'll be unique to your business and give you and the team focus and clarity. If that project you’re keen to do doesn’t help drive one of those metrics forward, why are you doing it?
2. Build an operating rhythm
Once you've mapped out those metrics, the whole company needs to be structured around hitting them.
Don't get me wrong, the urge to invest in everything at once makes total sense after months of being capital constrained. But here's the biggest trap I see: founders trying to do it all simultaneously. Hiring, marketing, product, expansion, all at once. In practice, spreading too thin creates complexity rather than progress, and the strongest companies use the raise to focus entirely on the one or two things that actually drive growth. Capital should amplify focus, not dilute it.
Break those metrics into quarterly and monthly targets, then meet weekly with your leadership team. Focus on leading indicators, things like new leads entering the funnel, rather than outcomes like revenue, which can be volatile week to week in early-stage businesses. Outputs give you something you can actually influence.
3. Build two forecasts (not one)
Let's be honest, the forecast you showed investors was probably an optimistic view of the world. Even achievable, conservative numbers don't account for the inevitable curveballs.
This is why I tell founders to run two models post-raise - a budget and a forecast.
The first is the budget - what you want to occur. This is the basis for your targets and goals and sets you and the team up to focus on what you’re aiming to achieve. The budget shouldn’t change month-to-month. These are numbers you have likely shared with investors and the team and it’s important to track how far behind or ahead you are against these.
The second version of your model is a forecast - what you actually think is going to happen. This should be updated month-on-month as new information becomes available. That big deal you built into the budget for Q2 has fallen through? Update the forecast to reflect that, but still track that you’re off target.
This process also allows you to overlay is a conservative downside case with burn rate at the forefront. It answers the most important question: when do we run out of money if things don't go to plan? This is the important number Founders should be tracking to know what a true runway looks like and whether you’ll be able to get from your current round to the next one.
"So are we showing a fake forecast to investors and a real one internally?" No. Your budget is your target. Your downside forecast is your safety net.
4. Hire the right people (not the most expensive ones)
Another pattern I see post-raise is aggressive hiring the moment the round closes. Founders feel pressure to show momentum or fill gaps quickly, but too many people too early creates its own problems. Culture gets harder to maintain, communication gets complex, and teams end up solving the wrong problems.
Where this goes wrong most is sales. Founders see revenue targets and immediately think they need to hire a senior sales leader from a big-name company. Great resume, completely misaligned with a startup often still figuring out true product-market fit.
In my opinion, at this stage you're probably still the best salesperson in the company. So instead of a $250k+ sales leader, think about how to free up your own time. A junior SDR generating leads, or an ops manager taking admin off your plate. Treat hiring like capital allocation: deliberately, and in line with the next major milestone.
Early-stage startups don't need corporate executives. They need builders.
Just because the money's in the bank doesn't mean you've earned the right to spend it. The founders who understand that are the ones building companies worth backing again.
If you've recently raised or you're thinking about what comes next, I'm always happy to have a chat.
Cheers,
Luke
PS: If you missed last edition's breakdown of the Folklore x Cut Through Venture report, hit reply and I'll send it through.