What is ‘Seedstrapping’? A New Route for Startup Founders in 2025
Seedstrapping: raise a small seed round, reach revenue fast, skip Series A. A lean, founder-first path in today’s funding climate
Seedstrapping: raise a small seed round, reach revenue fast, skip Series A. A lean, founder-first path in today’s funding climate
In the ever-evolving world of startup funding, the language keeps changing — so do the rules. Enter seedstrapping: a new term for a strategy that’s been quietly gaining traction as the traditional VC path becomes harder to access. Seedstrapping refers to a hybrid funding approach where founders raise a modest seed round and then aim to become profitable without further institutional backing.
For UK-based founders, often caught between dwindling VC appetite and limited bootstrapping options, seedstrapping offers a compelling middle ground.
To understand seedstrapping, it helps to compare it to its more familiar cousins:
It’s about optionality, not obligation.
Over the past 18 months, founders have been navigating a new climate. VC activity, particularly at the seed stage, has slowed significantly. Deal sizes are down, timelines are longer, and competition is fierce. According to HMRC, 6,070 startups raised £1.817 billion through SEIS and EIS in 2023 – 24 — a decline in both volume and value from the prior year.
But it’s Series A where the bottleneck is sharpest. Peter Walker, Head of Insights at Carta reports that only 15.5% of startups that raised in early 2023 had secured a Series A after two years. This sits in stark contrast to startups who raised in the same quarter in 2020, with 34.9% of them raising Series A after the same timeframe.
Investors now expect clear metrics and capital-efficient growth from the outset, particularly in sectors like AI where efficiency has soared and barriers to entry have reduced.
Seedstrapping appeals for several reasons:
Done right, seedstrapping offers powerful upsides:
Investors also see benefits: reduced dilution, alignment on sustainable growth, and better downside protection. In volatile markets, those traits matter.
It’s not without challenges. Seedstrapping demands tight discipline:
As GoHub Ventures notes, some investors are shifting their focus down the funnel, into Pre-Seed, to preserve optionality — making even early-stage rounds more competitive.
Seedstrapping won’t suit everyone. It works best for:
It’s likely a poor fit for:
But if your model allows for early traction, and you value control, seedstrapping might be your most strategic move.
Seedstrapping isn’t just a reaction to tough funding markets. It’s a mindset shift—towards building real businesses that work, not just pitch decks that raise.
As the funding ecosystem evolves, this approach gives founders something rare: leverage. You control your timeline, your narrative, and your destiny. And if you do choose to raise again? You do so from a position of strength.
In a funding market full of noise, seedstrapping is about clarity. Build something that works, and the money will follow.