Overview

Most funders invest in specific moments of progress, which are points where a business moves from one stage of capability to the next. These moments are called fundable milestones. They represent tangible achievements that signal readiness, validate demand, or expand capacity.

Y Combinator describes the standard planning horizon as "the next fundable milestone, which will usually be 12 to 18 months later." This timeframe allows enough room for substantial progress while remaining concrete enough to plan around.

Michael Seibel adds useful clarity:
"A financing round is not a milestone. It is literally cash."

The milestone exists in what that cash accomplishes, like customer growth, product launches, revenue thresholds, or infrastructure that changes how your business operates.

What Funders Look For in a Milestone

Fundable milestones demonstrate verifiable progress. They show movement from where you are now to a measurably stronger position. Reviewers assess whether the milestone is realistic, whether it signals market validation, and whether achieving it positions you for the next phase of growth.

Common fundable milestones include:

Market validation
Completing a pilot with early users, reaching a revenue threshold, or securing letters of intent from potential customers

Operational capacity
Making a strategic hire, implementing systems that allow you to scale, or reaching a team size that supports increased delivery

Product or program development
Launching a new product line, completing beta testing, or expanding into a new market segment

Partnership or distribution
Securing a partnership that validates your model, entering a new distribution channel, or establishing relationships that accelerate growth

Regulatory or IP progress
Obtaining necessary approvals, filing patents, or achieving compliance milestones required for market entry

The strongest milestones combine tangible outcomes with strategic positioning. They prove something worked while opening doors to what comes next.

Building Your Milestone Map

Map your growth trajectory across three horizons: 6 months, 12 months, and 18 months. For each period, identify what progress looks like and what achieving that progress would enable.

At 6 months:
What early indicators of traction will you demonstrate? What foundational work will be completed?

At 12 months:
What measurable progress will validate your approach? What capacity will you have built?

At 18 months:
What position will you be in? What opportunities will this progress unlock?

Within each horizon, break the work into phases with specific outcomes. This creates a roadmap you can communicate clearly to funders, team members, and partners.

Activity: Document Your Milestones

Open the worksheet in your resource section. For each time horizon (6, 12, ord 18 months), document:

The milestone
What specific achievement marks this phase?

The work required
What steps, resources, or capacity does reaching this milestone require?

The proof
How will you demonstrate that you've achieved it?

This document becomes your strategic reference. It shapes how you talk about your business, which funding opportunities you pursue, and how you frame your capital needs in proposals.

What's Next

Now that you've mapped your milestones, the next lesson introduces the funding landscape. You'll learn which capital sources align with different stages of growth, how each type operates, and how to match your milestones to the opportunities most likely to fund them.