Series A pitch deck, answered.

Fifteen to twenty body slides plus a heavy appendix. Series A partners will read further than seed partners will, but they'll also test every claim against the data room. The deck is the index. The appendix is the proof.

$1–3M ARR is the typical 2026 band for software. $1.5M is a common floor for top-tier funds. ARR alone won't clear the bar. You also need 110%+ net revenue retention, payback under eighteen months, and a GTM motion that obviously scales. A $2M ARR business with 80% NRR raises a hard round.

Most US software Series A rounds in 2026 land between $10M and $20M. The common median is $12–15M. Size to twenty-four months of runway and a specific Series B milestone, usually $5–8M ARR with retention intact. Round size signals confidence. Over-raising signals desperation.

Three things. Cohort retention curves the partner can stress-test. A CAC payback slide with channel-level detail. An org chart for the next eighteen months. At seed you're selling potential. At Series A you're selling a machine, and the deck has to look like one.

Slide four or five. Before market sizing, before product depth. Net revenue retention is the most-stared-at number in a Series A diligence call. Leading with it tells the partner you know what they're underwriting and you're not afraid of the answer.

Eighteen to twenty-five percent on a priced Series A is typical. Stack that on existing seed and pre-seed dilution and founder ownership often crosses below fifty percent at this stage. That's normal. Model it explicitly. If your cap table can't survive a Series B at flat valuation, recut the round.

Selling growth instead of selling a system. A Series A deck that shows revenue going up and to the right without explaining the repeatable motion behind it (channel, segment, sales cycle, payback) reads as luck. Partners pass on luck.

Yes, and it has to be honest. By Series A, partners know your competitors and have probably talked to them. A self-flattering 2x2 with you in the top right reads as naive. Use a 'we win here, they win there' frame with named profiles, win rates if you have them, and the wedge that holds at scale.

Ten to eighteen weeks from first meeting to wired in 2026, for rounds that close. Partner meetings cluster in weeks five to ten. Full diligence sits in weeks eight to fourteen. Plan for two parallel processes: one with your top three funds, one with the next eight. Run both on the same calendar.

Yes. It has to tie to the deck slide for slide. Three sheets at minimum: monthly P&L through twenty-four months, cohort retention by month, and CAC and payback by channel. If the deck claims a number the model can't reproduce in two clicks, partners notice.