Monthly or annual recurring revenue, growth rate, and the trend line. Funders at this stage want to see numbers, not promises.
At seed stage, the conversation changes. Investors are no longer asking whether the problem is real or whether you can build something. They're asking whether the business works. Revenue is the most honest answer to that question. Not projections. Not letters of intent. Actual money from actual customers.
Monthly Recurring Revenue (MRR) is the standard metric for subscription businesses — the predictable revenue you can count on each month. If you're not a subscription business, Annual Recurring Revenue (ARR) or total revenue per month works the same way. Know your current number to the pound.
More important than the number itself is the growth rate. A business at £3,000 MRR growing 20% month-on-month is a far more compelling story than a business at £10,000 MRR that hasn't moved in four months. Investors at seed stage are buying the trajectory, not just the current position.
Show the last six to twelve months of revenue. A simple chart — month on month — tells more than any paragraph of explanation. If growth has been inconsistent, be ready to explain why. A dip in month three because you lost a key customer is explainable. Six months of flat revenue with no clear reason is a harder conversation.
For early-stage SaaS, 10–20% month-on-month is considered strong. For businesses in a slower sales cycle — enterprise, regulated industries — even 5–10% month-on-month is respectable at seed stage. Flat is a problem. Declining is a significant problem unless you have a very clear explanation.
These benchmarks vary by sector and investor — treat them as directional, not fixed rules.
Not all revenue is equal. Recurring revenue from retained customers is worth more than one-off project revenue. High-margin revenue is worth more than low-margin. Revenue with low churn is worth more than revenue you have to fight to keep. Investors will ask about churn — know your monthly churn rate before any meeting.
That's fine at seed stage. £1,500 MRR growing at 15% month-on-month with clear customer feedback and low churn is a fundable story. What isn't fundable is £1,500 MRR with no growth and no clear explanation for why that will change.
Don't just show the number. Connect it to the story. "We launched in January with two customers. By March we had eight. Churn has been zero. We're now at £4,200 MRR and we've been adding roughly £800 per month. The constraint isn't demand — it's our capacity to onboard." That's a founder who understands their business.
What good looks like: A founder who can show a clean chart of MRR for the last 6–12 months, state the current number and the month-on-month growth rate without looking it up, and explain the one or two moments where growth accelerated or slowed and why. Numbers plus narrative. Both matter.
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Try the funding finder →This is general information, not financial or legal advice. Always do your own research and seek independent professional advice.