The Ask Slide: Use of Funds and Milestones
‘Raising $1.5M to scale marketing and hiring’ asks investors to trust a vague plan. A strong ask slide shows the amount, the runway, where the money goes and the specific milestones it buys, so the round reads as the cheapest way to remove known risks.
What should the ask slide say?
The ask slide should state how much you are raising, the instrument if relevant, how many months of runway it buys, the main uses of the money, and the measurable milestones that unlock the next round or profitability. For example: ‘Raising $1.5M to reach $80K MRR, 75 paying customers, CAC payback under 12 months and repeatable acquisition through partners within 18 months.’
What does a strong ask slide look like?
How do you choose the milestones?
Choose milestones that answer the biggest open questions the next investors will ask. Each one should remove a specific risk.
| Risk today | Milestone that removes it | How you’ll show it |
|---|---|---|
| Will customers pay at scale? | 75 paying customers at a stable price | Customer count and contract values |
| Is acquisition repeatable? | One channel producing deals at known cost | Pipeline and CAC payback by channel |
| Do customers stay and grow? | Logo retention above 90%, early expansion | Cohort retention table |
| Can the team sell without the founder? | First sales hire hitting target | Rep-sourced pipeline and win rate |
How much runway should the round buy?
Enough to reach the milestones with time left to raise again. Raising takes months, and the gap between rounds has been long: Carta’s data on time between rounds put the median time from seed to Series A at 1.9 years in Q4 2025, down from its recent peak. Plan runway past your milestones, not to them, and build it from your financial projections.
Raise for a milestone, not for runway.
Decide what the next investor needs to see, then size the round to get there with time to spare.
How do you decide how much to raise?
Work it out bottom-up: the hires and spending needed to hit the milestones, month by month, plus a buffer for things taking longer. Raising more than you need increases dilution; raising too little leaves you short before the milestones. How the round itself works is on how to raise a seed round, and the hires should match the gaps on your team slide.
Frequently asked questions
What should be on the ask slide of a pitch deck?
Round size, instrument if relevant, runway, use of funds and the measurable milestones the money will reach.
How do I show use of funds?
A simple split by area, such as product, sales and operations, tied to the milestones each part pays for.
How much runway should a seed round give?
Enough to reach your milestones with months to spare for the next raise. Many founders plan around 18 to 24 months.
Should I say my valuation in the deck?
Usually not. Share the round size; valuation or SAFE terms are discussed in meetings and term sheets.
What is a value inflection milestone?
A result that makes the company clearly more valuable to the next investor, such as proven repeatable acquisition.
How do I decide how much to raise?
Build it bottom-up from the hires and spending needed to hit your milestones, plus a buffer.
Sources & further reading
Standards and platform rules change. These sources let you verify the current requirements directly. All screens shown are mock-ups of fictional products.