Assertion Partly supported AI assessment confidence: 85% certainty 4/5 debate potential 1/5

Quintini: Series B Headcount and Mean Round Sizes Doubled Between 2016 and 2021

Renata Quintini · Renata Quintini and Roseanne Wincek – Renegade Spin-Out in the Supercritical Stage, Venture is Eating the Investment World 11 (Capital Allocators, EP. 242) · Mar 21, 2022 · at 19:40

Renata Quintini, co-founder of Renegade Partners, describes data analysis showing increased headcount and capital demands on startups prior to raising Series B rounds.

0:00 / 0:33exact quote · 33.1s

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“We actually ran an analysis of companies that raise money from 2016 to 20 21. Company Series A, Series B, Series C. On the mean round size has gone up about twice. They're raising twice as more money, but also the number of people that they have by the time they come to raise that money also increase at least twofold. So a company, a series B on average used to have about 50 people five years or so ago, and now they have 80 to a hundred by the time they come to raise that series B.”

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The claim, plainly

Between 2016 and 2021, mean venture capital round sizes doubled and the average headcount for companies raising a Series B increased from approximately 50 people to 80 to 100 people.

a quote alone can be ambiguous, so this restates it with the references and context of the conversation around it resolved. AI-written; the tape below the player is the source.

Assessment

The claim consists of two distinct assertions regarding venture-backed startups between 2016 and 2021: (1) mean round sizes approximately doubled across early funding stages, and (2) the average headcount for companies at the time of raising a Series B increased from ~50 to 80-100 employees. The first assertion is corroborated by market data from PitchBook, Crunchbase, and the Angel Capital Association, which show Series A mean round sizes grew from $9.6 million (2016) to $18.7 million (2021), Series B grew from ~$18 million to ~$35 million, and Series C grew from ~$26.4 million to over $59 million. However, the second assertion is not supported by market-wide cap table data. Carta's dataset across thousands of private companies shows that median headcount at the time of raising a Series B remained relatively flat between 45 and 55 full-time employees between 2016 and 2021, rather than doubling to 80-100 employees (even as post-raise scaling in specialized sectors reached higher counts). Because the funding size leg is accurate but the Series B headcount increase leg fails across aggregate market data, the claim is partially true.

PitchBook and Crunchbase data show US Series A average round sizes rose from $9.6M in 2016 to $18.7M in 2021 (~95% increase), and Series B deal sizes increased from ~$18M to ~$35M (an ~89-100% increase).
Series C average funding rounds expanded from ~$26.4M in the mid-2010s to $59M-$74M by 2021.
Carta's 'State of Private Markets: Q4 2021 and Year in Review' and historical equity datasets report that median company headcount at the Series B raise hovered between 45 and 55 employees from 2016 through 2021, showing no market-wide doubling.

Checked against

[1] indeed.com [2] foundershield.com [3] angelcapitalassociation.org [4] pitchbook.com [5] inc.com [6] foundershield.com [7] carta.com [8] carta.com

"Series B" headcount 2016 2021 employees OR "team size" PitchBook NVCA Venture Monitor 2021 average round size 2016 2021 Series A B C "mean deal size" OR "average deal size" "Series A" "Series B" "2016" "2021" PitchBook average mean VC round size 2016 2021 Series A Series B Series C PitchBook "PitchBook-NVCA Venture Monitor" "2016" "2021" "Series A" "Series B" "Series C" "deal size" OR "round size" "Series A" "Series B" "Series C" "2016" "2021" "deal size" pitchbook "Median pre-money valuations from seed to Series B continued a growth trend in 2021" "Carta" average headcount Series B funding 2016 2021 employees

assessed as of 2026-09-02

This assessment is an AI reading of a public statement, made against the cited references with the confidence shown. It can be wrong. The quote, the tape and the references are all on this page; if something is off, use report an error below. full disclaimer →

Mentioned

Renegade Partners Series B

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