There is no national market for startups — but there are patterns.
Say you're raising $1M-$1.5M for your startup. What valuation (cap) are you likely to receive?
Across these 12 cities, it's a widely varied answer.
...just kidding, it's always a $10M valuation cap 😅
Data here is from hundreds of companies raising in this narrow capital range from 2025. They all use Carta and they all are raising money on post-money SAFEs.
𝗪𝗵𝗮𝘁 𝗱𝗼𝗲𝘀 𝗶𝘁 𝗮𝗹𝗹 𝗺𝗲𝗮𝗻?
Clearly there is some clustering! At this stage, ppl go with round numbers. We almost never see a $11.2M valuation cap, it would just be $11M. And what's the roundest of all round numbers? $10M.
$1M raised on a $10M cap means you sold 10% of the company (a little more or less depending on the option pool). Does that seem fair?
Shocker, the companies raising in the Bay Area have a high floor and higher ceiling than anywhere else.
But in many places across the country, the benchmark for pre-seed really holds pretty true.
The valuation cap of your pre-seed round is a reflection of the demand for your company. If you are in high demand with many potential investors, your valuation cap will rise. If you are in low demand with a single potential VC, your valuation cap may fall.
I would guess (educated guess, but still guessing) that 50% of the companies raising this amount of money have more than $0 of revenue.
A raise of $1M typically involves more than one investor, btw (the median is 5 I believe). Be sure to consider the investor base emotions if you're changing the deal terms with every new SAFE.
What say you, sharks? Who wants to give me $1 million in exchange for 10% of my company?
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