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The 14 stages of a venture round

A raise is not "pitching until someone says yes." It is a pipeline with distinct stages, each with its own definition of done. Here is every stage, what it actually means, and where rounds die.

By the VCTerminal team · Updated 2026-07-26

Most fundraising advice describes the emotional experience of raising money. Very little of it describes the mechanics: what state each conversation is in, what has to be true to move it forward, and how to tell the difference between a deal that is progressing and one that is merely polite.

These are the fourteen stages VCTerminal is built around. Eleven are active, and three are holding states for deals that are not moving. The distinction matters more than it sounds, and we come back to it.

The stages

  1. Approved
  2. Outreach
  3. Meeting Scheduled
  4. Initial Meeting
  5. Active Conversation
  6. Due Diligence
  7. Soft Circle
  8. Term Sheet
  9. Negotiation
  10. Legal
  11. Closed

Plus three holding states: Dead, Future Fits, Stuck.

The active pipeline

These eleven stages are the forward path. A deal in any of them is alive and has a defined next step.

STAGE 1

Approved

On the target list, not yet contacted.

A fund you have researched and decided is genuinely worth your time. Nothing has been sent yet.

Genuinely done whenYou know who the right partner is and why this fund should care.
Typical durationDays. This should not be a parking lot.
Where founders go wrong. Treating this as a wish list. A 400-name "approved" list is not a pipeline, it is procrastination. If you cannot say in one sentence why a fund fits, it does not belong here.
STAGE 2

Outreach

First email sent. No reply yet.

You have made contact, cold or through an intro. The clock is now running on your follow-up sequence.

Genuinely done whenThey reply, or you exhaust your follow-up sequence and move them out.
Typical duration1 to 3 weeks including follow-ups.
Where founders go wrong. Sending once and waiting. Most positive replies come from the second or third touch, not the first. Equally: never defining an end. Decide up front how many follow-ups a fund gets before it moves on.
STAGE 3

Meeting Scheduled

A call is on the calendar.

They responded and agreed to talk. Nothing has been evaluated yet, but you have their attention.

Genuinely done whenThe meeting happens.
Typical duration1 to 2 weeks out from booking.
Where founders go wrong. Going in cold. You know the firm, the partner, their recent deals and their thesis, or you waste the only first meeting you get.
STAGE 4

Initial Meeting

First real conversation done.

You have pitched. Both sides now know whether there is enough to continue.

Genuinely done whenThey either ask for something specific, or they go quiet.
Typical durationDecision signal within 1 to 2 weeks.
Where founders go wrong. Reading politeness as interest. Investors are pleasant to almost everyone. The only real signal is a specific next step with a date on it.
STAGE 5

Active Conversation

Ongoing dialogue with real engagement.

Multiple touchpoints. They are asking follow-up questions, looping in colleagues, or requesting materials. This is genuine interest, not yet a process.

Genuinely done whenThey open formal diligence, or interest decays.
Typical duration2 to 6 weeks.
Where founders go wrong. Letting this drift. This is the stage where deals quietly die of neglect. Every conversation should end with a named next step and a date.
STAGE 6

Due Diligence

They are formally evaluating you.

Data room access, customer references, financial review, technical review, background checks. The firm has committed real hours, which is itself a strong signal.

Genuinely done whenThey reach an investment committee decision.
Typical duration2 to 6 weeks, longer at larger funds.
Where founders go wrong. Slow, incomplete answers. Diligence is a competence test as much as a data exercise. A fast, well-organized response tells them how you will operate as a portfolio company.
STAGE 7

Soft Circle

Verbal interest in a specific amount. Nothing signed.

They have named a number they are prepared to invest, subject to the round coming together, a lead being found, or final approval.

Genuinely done whenIt converts to a term sheet or signed allocation, or it evaporates.
Typical duration2 to 8 weeks. This is where rounds stall.
Where founders go wrong. Counting soft circles as closed money. A soft circle is a statement of intent, not capital. Track it separately from committed amounts, always, and assume some fraction disappears.
STAGE 8

Term Sheet

Written offer on the table.

A non-binding document setting out valuation, structure, and the key economic and control terms. The real negotiation starts here.

Genuinely done whenYou sign, or you decline.
Typical duration1 to 2 weeks to negotiate.
Where founders go wrong. Optimizing valuation alone. Liquidation preference, participation, board composition, and the option pool shuffle can matter far more to your eventual outcome than the headline number.
STAGE 9

Negotiation

Working through the terms.

Going back and forth on specific clauses, usually with counsel involved on both sides.

Genuinely done whenTerms are agreed and the sheet is signed.
Typical duration1 to 3 weeks.
Where founders go wrong. Negotiating every point. Pick the three that genuinely matter to you and concede gracefully elsewhere. Founders who fight everything acquire a reputation before the round even closes.
STAGE 11

Closed

Money is in the bank.

Documents signed, funds wired, cap table updated. This is the only stage that counts as capital raised.

Genuinely done whenIt is done. Now the investor relations work begins.
Typical durationPermanent.
Where founders go wrong. Going quiet. The investors who just funded you are the ones most likely to lead or support your next round. Consistent updates from day one are the cheapest fundraising you will ever do.

The three holding states

This is the part most CRMs get wrong. Deals that are not progressing do not belong in your active pipeline, but they must not be deleted either. They are separated so your forecast reflects reality, and kept because they are the cheapest source of investors for your next round.

HOLDING

Dead

A clear no.

They passed, and gave a reason or none at all. Keep the record: why they passed is intelligence for the next raise.

Genuinely done whenNot applicable. It stays here unless something changes materially.
Typical durationPermanent, usually.
Where founders go wrong. Deleting them. A pass is data. If four funds passed for the same reason, that reason is your actual problem, and you should hear it before the fifth conversation, not after the fifteenth.
HOLDING

Future Fits

Right fund, wrong moment.

They liked the company but you are too early for their stage, outside their current fund cycle, or ahead of a milestone they want to see.

Genuinely done whenYou hit the milestone they named, and you go back.
Typical durationOne to two rounds away.
Where founders go wrong. Never going back. This is the single most under-used list in fundraising. A founder who returns saying "you said come back at $1M ARR, we are at $1.4M" starts the conversation with credibility almost nobody else has.
HOLDING

Stuck

Alive on paper, going nowhere.

No response, no clear no, no forward motion. Ambiguous by nature, which is exactly why it needs its own place.

Genuinely done whenYou force a decision or you write it off.
Typical durationShould not exceed 3 to 4 weeks.
Where founders go wrong. Leaving it in the active pipeline. Stuck deals inflate your numbers and let you believe the raise is healthier than it is. Separate them so your forecast tells you the truth.

Why separating stalled deals matters

If a fund that went silent eight weeks ago still sits in "Active Conversation," your pipeline says you have more live interest than you do. Founders make bad decisions on that number: they stop adding new investors, they turn down a workable term sheet, they let runway compress while waiting on a deal that ended weeks ago without anyone saying so.

Move stalled deals out. The forecast becomes honest, and you can see whether you need more names at the top of the funnel while there is still time to add them.

How long a full raise takes

Adding the typical durations gives roughly three to six months from first outreach to wired funds, assuming the round comes together. That is why the standard advice is to start with nine to twelve months of runway. Below six months, investors can see the pressure, and it changes the terms you are offered.

Run your raise on this

VCTerminal tracks every deal through these exact stages, separates the stalled ones automatically, and shows you what your round really looks like.

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