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Founder's Playbook, 2025

This playbook distills data from thousands of Indian startup deals to set benchmarks that help answer questions around fundraising that often stump founders. Alongside the numbers, we also cover the subjective calls - context, trade-offs, and founder-focused advice - to help you make better decisions.

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- Who this is for: Early-stage Indian startups (Pre-Seed →Series A)

- What this is not: Legal advice or a one-size-fits-all formula

- Data window: Benchmarks from mid of 2022 to 2025

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Table of Contents:​

  1. When should you start planning to raise capital?​

  2. How much should you raise in each round?

  3. How much stakes should you retain over multiple rounds?

  4. Who should you approach for funding?

  5. How should you prepare for a fundraise?

  6. ​How much ESOPs are enough?

  7. How should you manage idle funds?

  8. When should your startup break-even?

  9. Learning from Case Studies

  10. Startup Indian's Role

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