Free ForeverNo SignupRaise SizingUpdated 2026

Fundraising Target Calculator

Find the right raise amount — enough to hit your next milestone, priced to minimise dilution.

Fundraising target = the amount that gets you to your next key milestone with buffer, at a valuation where the resulting dilution is acceptable. Two common mistakes: raising too little (forces a premature re-raise) or raising too much at too low a valuation (excessive dilution upfront).

Current Monthly Burn

Net cash drain per month

Months to Key Milestone

Time to reach the milestone that justifies your next raise

Cash on Hand

Current bank balance

Target Pre-Money Valuation

Valuation you expect to achieve in this round

Max Acceptable Dilution

Maximum ownership % you're willing to give away this round

The Formula

Raise = min(Burn × Months × 1.2 − Cash, Pre-Money × Dilution% / (1 − Dilution%))

In plain English

Raise needed = monthly burn × months × 1.2 buffer − current cash. Cap by max dilution = pre-money × max dilution / (1 − max dilution).

Worked Example

$100K/mo burn, 18 months, $200K cash. Cash needed: $100K × 18 × 1.2 − $200K = $1.96M. At $8M pre, 20% dilution allows: $8M × 0.2/0.8 = $2M. Raise: $1.96M.

The Art of Raise Sizing

Too little: you run out of runway before hitting milestones, forcing a bridge or distressed raise. Too much: you give away too much equity at a price you'll later regret. The right raise is the minimum needed to reach your next milestone, plus a 15–20% buffer.

The milestone matters as much as the money. Define specifically what you're raising to achieve: $1M ARR, a working product, a key hire, FDA approval. Investors fund milestones, not runway. "We need 18 months of runway" is not a milestone.

20%

Standard buffer above base case burn

18–24 mo

Target runway post-close

15–25%

Typical dilution per round

4–6 mo

Typical Series A timeline

Fundraising Targets by Stage (2026)

Stage	Typical Raise	Dilution	Key Milestone
Pre-seed	$100K–$1M	10–20%	MVP or first customers
Seed	$1M–$4M	15–25%	$1M ARR or product-market fit
Series A	$5M–$15M	15–25%	$3M+ ARR, scalable growth
Series B	$15M–$50M	15–20%	$10M+ ARR, clear market leadership

Source: Crunchbase State of Startups 2025 · Pitchbook Q4 2024

Common Mistakes

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Raising to a calendar date, not a milestone

"18 months of runway" is not a milestone. Define what you'll accomplish with the capital: product launched, X customers, $Y ARR, Z team members. Investors fund milestones that de-risk the next round.

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Not modelling burn growth

If you plan to hire 10 people with this raise, model the resulting burn increase. Raising $2M at current burn of $50K/month gives 40 months of runway — but if burn grows to $150K/month after hiring, that's only 13 months.

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Setting a raise target before knowing the valuation

The raise amount and dilution are linked to valuation. Lock in your target valuation first, then determine how much you can raise at acceptable dilution. Raising $3M at a $3M pre-money (50% dilution) is very different from $3M at $12M pre-money (20% dilution).