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Jul 8, 2015 · 20m · 20vc

20 VC 052: How To Make The Leap From Seed To Series A with Ari Helgason @ Dawn Capital

Ari Helgason · 14m spoken Harry Stebbings · 4m spoken
0:00 / 0:00

gold bands on the timeline = statements, start to end. Hover to read, click to jump. CC turns on captions

In this episode of The 20 Minute VC, host Harry Stebbings speaks with Ari Helgason of Dawn Capital to examine how early-stage founders can successfully bridge the gap from Seed to Series A funding. Ari provides strategic guidance on key SaaS metrics, managing cash war chests, investor outreach, and Dawn Capital's core thesis in Enterprise SaaS and FinTech.

How this conversation actually went

Every chapter scored 0–10 on four independent dynamics. Hover any point for the reasoning behind the score. Harry holds 24.5% of the talking time here. How this is scored →

Harry as informed peer 2.3 Guest teaching 2.0 Guest disagreement 0.8 Harry pushing back 1.5
05100:0010:0020:001:07–3:48 · Harry as informed peer 1/10 Ari Helgason's Entrepreneurial Journey and Move to VC Harry asks standard background questions regarding Ari's entrepreneurial history and transition into VC. Ari provides straightforward narrative answers without friction or deep technical debate.3:49–6:03 · Harry as informed peer 2/10 Fundraising Philosophies and Cash War Chests Harry cites Ari's article on fundraising. Ari gently reframes his own article's premise regarding why founders should always be fundraising, clarifying it applies strictly to non-profitable companies.6:04–13:05 · Harry as informed peer 4/10 Setting Goal Metrics and Ambition at Series A Harry actively pushes Ari to give specific metrics for Dawn Capital rather than generalities, and brings up the 40% rule citing Brad Feld and Mark Suster. Ari provides detailed ARR and MRR targets in response.13:06–16:06 · Harry as informed peer 2/10 Market Size Requirements and London's FinTech Ecosystem Harry asks standard questions about market size requirements and London's FinTech ecosystem. Ari explains nuances around market growth and platform shifts, educating the host on how VCs view TAM.1:07–3:48 · Guest teaching 1/10 Ari Helgason's Entrepreneurial Journey and Move to VC Harry asks standard background questions regarding Ari's entrepreneurial history and transition into VC. Ari provides straightforward narrative answers without friction or deep technical debate.3:49–6:03 · Guest teaching 2/10 Fundraising Philosophies and Cash War Chests Harry cites Ari's article on fundraising. Ari gently reframes his own article's premise regarding why founders should always be fundraising, clarifying it applies strictly to non-profitable companies.6:04–13:05 · Guest teaching 2/10 Setting Goal Metrics and Ambition at Series A Harry actively pushes Ari to give specific metrics for Dawn Capital rather than generalities, and brings up the 40% rule citing Brad Feld and Mark Suster. Ari provides detailed ARR and MRR targets in response.13:06–16:06 · Guest teaching 3/10 Market Size Requirements and London's FinTech Ecosystem Harry asks standard questions about market size requirements and London's FinTech ecosystem. Ari explains nuances around market growth and platform shifts, educating the host on how VCs view TAM.1:07–3:48 · Guest disagreement 0/10 Ari Helgason's Entrepreneurial Journey and Move to VC Harry asks standard background questions regarding Ari's entrepreneurial history and transition into VC. Ari provides straightforward narrative answers without friction or deep technical debate.3:49–6:03 · Guest disagreement 2/10 Fundraising Philosophies and Cash War Chests Harry cites Ari's article on fundraising. Ari gently reframes his own article's premise regarding why founders should always be fundraising, clarifying it applies strictly to non-profitable companies.6:04–13:05 · Guest disagreement 1/10 Setting Goal Metrics and Ambition at Series A Harry actively pushes Ari to give specific metrics for Dawn Capital rather than generalities, and brings up the 40% rule citing Brad Feld and Mark Suster. Ari provides detailed ARR and MRR targets in response.13:06–16:06 · Guest disagreement 0/10 Market Size Requirements and London's FinTech Ecosystem Harry asks standard questions about market size requirements and London's FinTech ecosystem. Ari explains nuances around market growth and platform shifts, educating the host on how VCs view TAM.1:07–3:48 · Harry pushing back 0/10 Ari Helgason's Entrepreneurial Journey and Move to VC Harry asks standard background questions regarding Ari's entrepreneurial history and transition into VC. Ari provides straightforward narrative answers without friction or deep technical debate.3:49–6:03 · Harry pushing back 1/10 Fundraising Philosophies and Cash War Chests Harry cites Ari's article on fundraising. Ari gently reframes his own article's premise regarding why founders should always be fundraising, clarifying it applies strictly to non-profitable companies.6:04–13:05 · Harry pushing back 4/10 Setting Goal Metrics and Ambition at Series A Harry actively pushes Ari to give specific metrics for Dawn Capital rather than generalities, and brings up the 40% rule citing Brad Feld and Mark Suster. Ari provides detailed ARR and MRR targets in response.13:06–16:06 · Harry pushing back 1/10 Market Size Requirements and London's FinTech Ecosystem Harry asks standard questions about market size requirements and London's FinTech ecosystem. Ari explains nuances around market growth and platform shifts, educating the host on how VCs view TAM.

speaking balance: gold is Harry, purple is the guest (3 minute bins)

0:00 · Harry 44.4% · guest 55.6%0:00 · Harry 44.4% · guest 55.6%3:00 · Harry 18.5% · guest 81.5%3:00 · Harry 18.5% · guest 81.5%6:00 · Harry 21.3% · guest 78.7%6:00 · Harry 21.3% · guest 78.7%9:00 · Harry 22.5% · guest 77.5%9:00 · Harry 22.5% · guest 77.5%12:00 · Harry 11.5% · guest 88.5%12:00 · Harry 11.5% · guest 88.5%15:00 · Harry 16.8% · guest 83.2%15:00 · Harry 16.8% · guest 83.2%18:00 · Harry 40% · guest 60%18:00 · Harry 40% · guest 60%
Sharpest disagreement ▶ 4:06 Clarifying Article Premise

Ari gently pushes back on Harry's framing of always fundraising by noting his own article's phrasing was slightly misleading, clarifying that it only applies to non-profitable companies.

 Hardest push from Harry ▶ 8:16 Demanding Specific Fund Metrics

When Ari gives a generalized answer about investor expectations varying, Harry immediately interrupts to press for Dawn's specific target metrics, forcing Ari to state exact numbers.

 Biggest teaching moment ▶ 13:19 Nuancing Market Size Beyond $1B

Ari educates Harry on why static TAM numbers are insufficient, explaining that rapid market growth and architectural platform shifts matter more than present market size.

 Harry holds his own ▶ 9:51 Citing the 40% Rule

Harry demonstrates domain familiarity by bringing up the SaaS 40% rule and referencing VCs Brad Feld and Mark Suster to prompt Ari's perspective.
the scores for every segment, with the reasoning behind each
ChapterTopicHarry as informed peerGuest teachingGuest disagreementHarry pushing backWhy
Ari Helgason's Entrepreneurial Journey and Move to VC 1100 Harry asks standard background questions regarding Ari's entrepreneurial history and transition into VC. Ari provides straightforward narrative answers without friction or deep technical debate.
Fundraising Philosophies and Cash War Chests 2221 Harry cites Ari's article on fundraising. Ari gently reframes his own article's premise regarding why founders should always be fundraising, clarifying it applies strictly to non-profitable companies.
Setting Goal Metrics and Ambition at Series A 4214 Harry actively pushes Ari to give specific metrics for Dawn Capital rather than generalities, and brings up the 40% rule citing Brad Feld and Mark Suster. Ari provides detailed ARR and MRR targets in response.
Market Size Requirements and London's FinTech Ecosystem 2301 Harry asks standard questions about market size requirements and London's FinTech ecosystem. Ari explains nuances around market growth and platform shifts, educating the host on how VCs view TAM.

Statements from this episode (11)

Opinion
Helgason: Working in venture capital is less stressful than being a founder
“It's less stressful than being in the trenches as a founder. But it quite appeals to me in that you can kind of take a step back and think more strategically and be more analytical Rather than having to be in kind of animal mode every day.”
Ari Helgason Jul 8, 2015 ▶ 3:33
Insight
Helgason: Unprofitable founders must prepare for next round from day one
“And what I really mean is that if you're going to run out of money, it's never too early to begin preparing for the next round. You really have to have a plan from the beginning as to how you're going to get that next bunch of funding in the bank.”
Ari Helgason Jul 8, 2015 ▶ 4:47
Insight
Helgason: Founders should always build a cash war chest when capital is available
“I absolutely agree with that. You know, when the money's there and it's available take it. You know, things take to, tend to take longer than anticipated, and the reality is that when you have a cash buffer, your options are extended. You have the advantage of…”
Ari Helgason Jul 8, 2015 ▶ 5:14
Disclosure
Dawn Capital expects £100k MRR and 2x ARR growth for Series A
“Ours would be for a SaaS business, for example we want to see a business that's, you know, doubling annual recurring revenue run rate year on year, at least approaching fast approaching, you know, a hundred thousand pounds a month in revenue or kind of about t…”
Ari Helgason Jul 8, 2015 ▶ 8:18
Disclosure
Warm introductions almost always result in a pitch meeting at Dawn Capital
“We listen to portfolio CEOs or our venture partners really anyone, anyone I trust, I'll take an intro from, and that's pretty much always going to lead to at least the call or a quick meeting.”
Ari Helgason Jul 8, 2015 ▶ 11:48
Disclosure
Dawn Capital responds to every inbound founder pitch
“At Dawn, we also respond to all Inbound direct approaches, but they're just not, they're not as powerful as getting an introduction from a trusted party.”
Ari Helgason Jul 8, 2015 ▶ 12:03
Disclosure
Ari Helgason prefers Twitter outreach over cold emails from founders
“Via Twitter. I'm quite active on there, and it's usually a better way to catch my attention than sending an email.”
Ari Helgason Jul 8, 2015 ▶ 12:54
Disclosure
Dawn Capital invests in markets smaller than $1 billion
“We've invested in, in businesses that are addressing markets that are today smaller than a billion dollars.”
Ari Helgason Jul 8, 2015 ▶ 13:30
Disclosure
Dawn Capital focuses investments on enterprise software and FinTech
“So at DAWN we look at two things. We look at enterprise software, which is mainly SaaS, but also a lot of open source stuff some on premise cyber security stuff and the second vertical we focus on is, is FinTech.”
Ari Helgason Jul 8, 2015 ▶ 14:48
Opinion
Helgason: London is Europe's top city for hiring FinTech talent
“If you're trying to hire teams that have, you know, that financial services experience, then London's by far the best place in Europe and one of the best places in the world to do that.”
Ari Helgason Jul 8, 2015 ▶ 15:47
Insight
Helgason: Predictable Revenue should be mandatory reading for software CEOs
“It's based on the model that Salesforce used to get from zero to a hundred million dollars in annual recurring revenue, and I really think it should be mandatory reading for every Software, CEO, or salesperson.”
Ari Helgason Jul 8, 2015 ▶ 16:32
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