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Fundraising

The Series A story starts before the seed metrics look good

The best Series A stories are not assembled at the end of the seed stage. They are built through choices long before the numbers look clean.

The Series A story starts before the seed metrics look good

The seed round does not fix the company

Raising a seed round gives a company more room, but it does not solve the underlying problems. In many cases, it exposes them faster.

The seed round does not fix the company

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Founder Notes — Essays on Product, Fundraising, Hiring, and Building a Startup

Founder Notes is an independent publication for early-stage founders and operators. Long-form thinking on product strategy, fundraising, hiring, and the quieter parts of leadership — written from inside the work, not above it. One carefully edited essay, every Sunday. Browse the full archive.

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Founder Notes editor

Nathan Baugh

Operator. Investor. Writer.

I write about building, scaling, and leading companies. Previously founded an enterprise SaaS company and invested in early-stage startups.

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