The Official SaaStr Podcast: SaaS | Founders | Investors

SaaStr 799: The Series A Landscape in 2025: Insights from Chemistry VC’s Ethan Kurzweil

19 snips
Apr 18, 2025
Ethan Kurzweil, founding partner at Chemistry VC and former partner at Bessemer Venture Partners, dives deep into the Series A funding landscape. He discusses the significant declines in deal activity since 2021 and extended funding timelines for startups. Kurzweil highlights the fierce competition with more capital concentrated in fewer deals and a drastic drop in graduation rates from seed to Series A, creating a challenging environment for founders. Strategies for adapting to these changes and the impact of AI on funding dynamics are also explored.
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ADVICE

Seed Raise Strategy

  • Raise enough seed capital to survive for about three years with a base plan.
  • Have an accelerator plan to ramp burn when confident about hitting aggressive milestones for Series A.
INSIGHT

Series A Timeline Doubling

  • Series A funding timelines have roughly doubled from 12 to 25 months.
  • Capital is concentrated in fewer deals, making the funding environment more binary and competitive.
ADVICE

Plan Seed Rounds Strategically

  • Plan for multiple seed rounds including pre-seed and seed-plus rounds.
  • Only accelerate spending when you have at least 80% confidence in hitting metrics attractive for Series A.
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