The conventional wisdom on Series A is that you need warm intros.
The real conventional wisdom is that you need warm intros to the right Series A investors, and identifying who those are is where most founders fail.
Here is how to build a list of Series A investors who are actually deploying into your stage and sector right now, and how to win them over whether you have warm intros or not.
Start with readiness, not outreach
Before you target anyone, make sure you are actually Series A ready.
The founders who waste the most time are the ones pitching Series A when their metrics say seed extension. This breakdown of signals that indicate Series A fundraising readinesscovers the exact metric thresholds investors look for: ARR, growth rate, retention, gross margin, and sales efficiency.
The general 2026 benchmarks:
- $1.5M to $3M ARR
- 3x YoY growth minimum
- Net revenue retention above 110%
- Gross margin above 70% for SaaS
If you are below those thresholds, your problem is not investor targeting. It is traction.
Build a targeted list of active Series A investors
Series A investor lists go stale fast.
A firm that led five Series A rounds in 2023 may not have written a Series A check all year in 2025. Fund timing, partner transitions, or portfolio concentration can all shift a firm’s deployment pattern in months.
Build your list using three filters:
- Active in the last 12 months (they have led at least two Series A rounds recently)
- Sector fit (they have three or more portfolio companies in your category)
- Check size match (your round size matches their typical lead check, usually $8M to $15M at Series A)
A quality active Series A investor platformdoes the filtering work for you, surfacing partners at the right firms with recent Series A deal activity, sector fit, and verified contact data.
Doing this manually across 200 firms is a 30-hour research project that will be stale in six months anyway.
Do not pitch Series A investors in Series A language
A costly mistake: founders who pitched seed rounds successfully often try the same framing at Series A.
It does not work.
Seed investors buy vision and founder quality. Series A investors buy metrics and a credible path to Series B.
You need to walk in with a data room that demonstrates:
- Product market fit with cohort retention data
- An ARR growth chart broken down by new versus expansion
- A sales efficiency model
- A clear Series B milestone plan
If you cannot articulate what you will do with the money that gets you to Series B in 18 months, you are not ready.
Which brings up the natural follow up: what is Series B funding, and how much is Series B funding in 2026?
The median Series B funding amount in 2026 sits around $35M on $150M to $250M pre-money valuations, raised by companies at $5M to $15M ARR with strong unit economics.
The key metrics for Series B funding (gross margin, NRR, LTV/CAC, burn multiple) are the same ones you will be tested on at the Series A table, just applied to smaller numbers.
Showing your investor that you already understand what Series B will demand is one of the strongest signals you can send at Series A. It tells them you are thinking about capital efficiency, not just raising money to raise money.
This Series B funding playbook breaks down the full set of expectations in detail.
Cold outreach can work, if the targeting is right
Warm intros still convert better than cold.
But a well-targeted cold email to an active Series A partner who has invested in three companies adjacent to yours in the last 12 months converts at 8 to 12%, which is competitive with warm intro conversion rates from tier 3 connections.
The keys to cold outreach at Series A:
- Subject line references a specific portfolio company of theirs
- First sentence is a data point, not a hook
- Second paragraph is three metrics (ARR, growth, retention)
- Close with a specific time ask, such as “15 minutes next Tuesday or Wednesday at 10 a.m. PT”
Series A partners receive 30 to 50 pitches a week. Standing out is not about cleverness. It is about being the rare founder who demonstrates an understanding of the investor’s fund thesis and has metrics that match.
A 45-day targeting plan
- Weeks 1 to 2: confirm Series A readiness against the metric thresholds
- Week 3: build a filtered list of 80 to 120 actively deploying Series A investors
- Week 4: produce the data room and deck
- Weeks 5 to 6: begin outreach, 20 per week, tracking opens and replies
Founders who follow this plan close their Series A in a median 4.5 months.
Founders who skip it average 8+ months or do not close at all. The difference is almost always in the targeting, not the pitch.
