What is ‘seedstrapping’? A new route for startup founders in 2025

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.

Bootstrapping, VC, and Now — Seedstrapping

To understand seedstrapping, it helps to compare it to its more familiar cousins:

• Bootstrapping is the purist path — fund your business with your own money or early revenue. It's slow, often lonely, and gives you complete control
• The traditional route is the opposite — raise successive, usually starting with SEIS/EIS and angel investors before progressing to VCs for series A and beyond, burn fast, and grow even faster. It works for some, but requires playing by VC rules, with heavy dilution and a focus on exit multiples
• Seedstrapping sits in between. You raise a small amount (often pre-seed or seed), use it to get to market and early revenue, then build a profitable or cash-efficient business that doesn’t require further funding — but could take it if the terms are right

It’s about optionality, not obligation.

Why Seedstrapping Is Gaining Ground

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:

• AI-native tools: The rise of no-code, low-code, and plug-and-play SaaS stacks has dramatically lowered the capital required to launch and scale
• Founder control: Retain equity, skip the board reshuffles, and keep decision-making close to the product
• Valuation discipline: Founders avoid inflated rounds that create future down-round risks
• Investor fragmentation: With VC attention concentrated on fewer deals, founders must find sustainable paths independently

The Benefits of Seedstrapping

Done right, seedstrapping offers powerful upsides:

• Control: With smaller rounds, you avoid over-dilution and retain board-level power
• Focus: Less time on fundraising means more time with customers and product
• Leverage: Profitability or break-even puts you in a stronger position for any future funding
• Survivability: Capital-efficient startups are more resilient in downturns or investor dry spells

Investors also see benefits: reduced dilution, alignment on sustainable growth, and better downside protection. In volatile markets, those traits matter.

The Trade-Offs You Need to Know

It’s not without challenges. Seedstrapping demands tight discipline:

• Short runway: Your raise may only buy 6–12 months. Monetisation is non-negotiable
• Constrained resources: Hiring, R&D, and GTM need to be ruthlessly prioritised
• Liquidity delays: SAFEs or convertible notes may not convert for years — an issue for investor returns
• Capped upside? Without growth capital, you may hit ceilings earlier unless reinvestment is managed well

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.

Is It Right for You?

Seedstrapping won’t suit everyone. It works best for:

• Experienced founders with networks or prior startup knowledge
• Startups that can monetise early, especially in SaaS, fintech, or digital services
• Low capital intensity models — where speed to revenue trumps long R&D

It’s likely a poor fit for:

• Deeptech or medtech startups with long timelines or high regulatory costs
• Hardware-heavy ventures, where infrastructure costs are high
• Aggressive land-grab models, where blitzscaling is the only path

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.

References & Resources

1. Enterprise Investment Scheme, Seed Enterprise Investment Scheme and Social Investment Tax Relief statistics: 2025 | HMRC - https://www.gov.uk/government/statistics/enterprise-investment-scheme-seed-enterprise-investment-scheme-and-social-investment-tax-relief-may-2025/enterprise-investment-scheme-seed-enterprise-investment-scheme-and-social-investment-tax-relief-statistics-2025
2. VC Fund Performance Report 2024 | Carta - https://carta.com/uk/en/data/vc-fund-performance-q4-2024/
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