Fundraising 2026: The New Rules In A Tough Market

​Fundraising has changed more in the past 18 months than in the previous 5 years. Pre-seed investors now expect real customer validation and early revenue. Seed rounds increasingly resemble what Series A rounds looked like not long ago. And the benchmark for a strong Series A has risen from roughly $500K–$1M ARR to $2M–$3M ARR, with $3M becoming increasingly common.

​The data reflects a market where the funnel has tightened at every stage. Recent analyses show that only about 45–55% of pre-seed companies secure a seed round within 18 months. Seed-to-Series A conversion has fallen sharply: Earlier cohorts were closer to 30%, but companies raising seed in 2022 saw only 15–17% reach Series A within 2 years. And only 9% of companies that raised a Series A in 2022 have reached Series B so far, compared with 25% from the 2018 cohorts.

​In short, it's rough out there. 

​Most founders aren’t running out of ambition. They are running into a market whose expectations are rising faster than their runway, with efficiency now weighed as heavily as growth.

​On December 11th at 2 PM, Venture Partner at Level Up Ventures and MyCofoundr founder Gary Stewart will unpack what these shifts mean for underestimated founders preparing to raise in 2026. Gary has backed companies that have raised more than $1.5B, and he is raising in this environment himself. He will share what he’s seeing behind closed doors with funds, corporates and scouts, and how founders can prepare long before the pitch.

​Topics Covered
• The updated traction expectations for pre-seed, seed and Series A
• Why revenue and efficiency both matter at the earliest stages
• Why leading funds increasingly look for AI defensibility or optionality
• How the funnel math has shifted, and what conversion risk really means
• Red flags that stall conversations early
• A practical checklist for a Q1/Q2 2026 raise
• How to evaluate whether venture funding is the right path