46 Startups Raising Now, Decks Included
1. Key Themes
Theme: The fundraising pipeline skews early-stage and small-check
Pre-seed dominates the list, with modest round sizes
The list is overwhelmingly early-stage, with small asks the norm.
"74% of the startups are pre-seed, and the median stated round is $750K"
"46 founders sent us their round and their deck for the October list, and 42 of them put an exact number on the raise. The median ask is $750K."
Theme: Capital-efficient traction is what rises to the top
Bootstrapped, revenue- and GMV-driven companies lead the ranking
The ranking criteria were "hard traction and money already committed," and the top entries are bootstrapped or lean.
"At the top sits a bootstrapped fintech that has processed $12.13M in GMV on $0 of outside capital and is now raising a $10M late seed."
"A Mexico City parking marketplace has reached $645K+ in GMV with a 3-person bootstrapped team, and it's raising a $500K SAFE."
Marketplaces and GMV-based models feature prominently
Three of the top six are marketplaces or GMV-led businesses (fintech, parking, fashion rental).
"A French fashion rental marketplace grew GMV 8.4x since January and has 1,600+ users, and it's raising €200K."
Theme: Early commercial validation in AI
Vertical AI and AI services show paid, recurring demand
Two AI companies made the top six, backed by real revenue rather than just pilots or waitlists.
"A US vertical AI agent had its $500K pilot paid in full by a national PE-backed platform, and it's raising a $1M angel SAFE."
"A French AI training platform signed 11 clients in six months and has €70K in 2026 revenue, 80% of it recurring, and it's raising €500K."
Theme: Fundraising is global, with the US and Spain leading
Geographic spread across 15 countries
"15 countries are represented, led by the US with 15 startups and Spain with 7"
The top six alone span the US, Spain, Mexico, and France.
2. Contrarian Perspectives
A bootstrapped company raising a late seed signals a different path than the standard pre-seed to seed ladder
Most of the list is pre-seed, but the top company has bootstrapped to substantial scale and is raising a larger round on its own terms, from a position of strength.
"A bootstrapped US fintech has $12.13M in cumulative GMV and $1M+ in revenue, and it's raising a $10M late seed."
The $10M ask is more than 13x the median ($750K), showing how much round size can diverge when traction precedes capital.
Small teams with small raises can still outrank bigger rounds on investor quality signals
The ranking weighted traction and committed capital, not round size or pedigree. A 3-person team and a €200K raise made the top six.
"We ranked every startup by hard traction and money already committed."
3. Companies Identified
The newsletter anonymizes the top companies (names are behind the premium paywall), so they are described rather than named.
- Description: Fintech processing payments/GMV with no outside capital
- Why mentioned: #1 ranked round on the list
- Quote: "has $12.13M in cumulative GMV and $1M+ in revenue, and it's raising a $10M late seed."
Spanish food-rescue brand
- Description: Consumer brand tackling food waste
- Why mentioned: Substantial revenue and Series A commitments already in hand
- Quote: "made €1.17M in revenue in 2025 and serves 10,000+ active households, with €1.1M of a €3M Series A already committed."
US vertical AI agent
- Description: AI agent serving a vertical, with enterprise customer
- Why mentioned: Paid pilot from a large PE-backed buyer
- Quote: "had its $500K pilot paid in full by a national PE-backed platform, and it's raising a $1M angel SAFE."
Mexico City parking marketplace
- Description: Parking marketplace run by a 3-person team
- Why mentioned: Strong GMV on a bootstrapped basis
- Quote: "has reached $645K+ in GMV with a 3-person bootstrapped team, and it's raising a $500K SAFE."
French AI training platform
- Description: Platform delivering AI training to business clients
- Why mentioned: Fast client acquisition with high recurring revenue share
- Quote: "signed 11 clients in six months and has €70K in 2026 revenue, 80% of it recurring, and it's raising €500K."
French fashion rental marketplace
- Description: Fashion rental marketplace
- Why mentioned: Rapid GMV growth
- Quote: "grew GMV 8.4x since January and has 1,600+ users, and it's raising €200K."
- Description: Venture platform/investor where Luis Llorens is a Principal
- Why mentioned: Co-curator's employer, extending reach to its investor audience
- Quote: "works as a Principal at Plug and Play."
Learning VC
- Description: Newsletter written by Luis Llorens
- Why mentioned: Co-publishes the monthly list
- Quote: "Luis Llorens writes Learning VC... He and The VC Corner build this list together every month."
4. People Identified
Luis Llorens
- Description: Principal at Plug and Play; author of Learning VC
- Why mentioned: Co-builds the monthly startup list
- Quote: "He and The VC Corner build this list together every month, so every founder who submits reaches both of our investor audiences in the same week."
- Description: Author of the post and The VC Corner
- Why mentioned: Byline on the issue and the one who reviewed the decks
- Quote: "One tip from reading every deck on this list: the six rounds above all state the round size and one hard traction number in plain view."
5. Operating Insights
Put round size and one hard traction number on a single slide
The author observed a common pattern among the strongest rounds and recommends it directly to founders.
"One tip from reading every deck on this list: the six rounds above all state the round size and one hard traction number in plain view. Put both on one slide and investors can say yes faster."
Show committed capital and paid commitments, not just interest
The ranking rewarded "money already committed," and the top entries lead with it (e.g., €1.1M of a €3M Series A committed; a $500K pilot paid in full).
"We ranked every startup by hard traction and money already committed."
Use low-friction distribution to reach investors
Submission is free and fast, and exposure reaches two investor audiences at once.
"Submitting takes two minutes and costs nothing. Your startup goes in front of the investors who read The VC Corner and Learning VC every month."
6. Overlooked Insights
Founders return for multiple months, suggesting long fundraising cycles
"6 new rounds entered in October, and 3 founders came back for a second month"
Only 6 of 46 rounds were new, and some founders needed more than one cycle of exposure, which hints at how long raises take.
Data is entirely self-reported, so traction figures carry unverified risk
"Every round size and traction number in this issue is company-reported, taken from the decks founders submitted through the Boost your Fundraising form."
Investors should treat the headline metrics (GMV, revenue, committed capital) as claims to diligence, not audited facts.