What traction to lead with at pre-seed, seed and Series A

Traction is evidence that something real is happening. Investors scan for it in the first few seconds of reading your email or deck, so the question isn't just "what are our numbers?" but "which number makes the strongest case at our stage?"

The principle: lead with your rarest proof

Every stage has metrics investors expect to see and metrics that genuinely stand out. Lead with the one that is hardest to fake and hardest for others to match. One crisp, specific figure beats a list of five vague ones.

Pre-seed: proof of pull

At pre-seed, investors are mostly betting on the team and the insight. Revenue is a bonus. What they want to know is whether anyone wants this badly enough to act. Strong signals include:

• Paid pilots or letters of intent, especially with recognisable customers
• Waitlist conversion, not just waitlist size: "1,200 sign-ups, 31% activated in week one"
• Design partners who are using the product weekly and giving feedback
• Early retention, even across a small cohort
• Founder-market fit: years in the industry, a prior exit, or unusual access to customers

Example: "Three months live: 18 clinics on paid pilots, all renewed, and every one came from a referral."

Seed: proof of repeatability

By seed, investors want to see that early demand wasn't a fluke and can be repeated. The focus shifts to growth and retention:

• Revenue and growth rate: MRR or ARR, plus month-on-month growth over several months
• Retention or churn: logo churn, net revenue retention, or cohort curves
• Early unit economics: CAC payback or LTV to CAC, if you have enough data to be honest about it
• A repeatable acquisition channel that isn't just the founders' network

Example: "$42K MRR growing 15% a month for six months, with zero churn across 57 customers."

Series A: proof of a scalable machine

At Series A, investors are underwriting a business that can grow several times over with more capital. They'll look for:

• ARR scale and growth, often benchmarked against peers in your sector
• Net revenue retention above 100%, which shows customers expand over time
• Efficient growth: burn multiple, payback periods, gross margin
• Sales motion maturity: pipeline coverage, win rates, sales cycle length

Example: "$2.1M ARR, 3x year on year, 128% NRR, and a 14-month CAC payback."

How to write traction well

• Be specific. "$22K MRR" beats "five figures in revenue".
• Add a time frame. "In eight months" turns a number into a growth story.
• Pair size with quality. A revenue figure plus a retention figure answers two questions at once.
• Say "measured" when you can. Investors trust usage data more than survey results.
• Never round up. Diligence will find it, and trust is hard to rebuild.

Not much traction yet?

That's normal at the earliest stages. Target investors who explicitly back pre-seed and pre-revenue companies, lead with your insight and your team, and use whatever signals you do have. A clear story and the right audience matter more than a big number.

KapVista uses the traction you add to your profile to shape every personalised email, putting your strongest proof up front. Build your profile and see your matches.