There are typically six stages of venture round financing offered in Venture Capital, that roughly correspond to stages of a company's development.
Pre Seed & Seed funding: The earliest round of financing needed to prove a new idea, often provided by friends, family, angel investors, and early stage firms. Equity crowdfunding is also emerging as an option for seed funding.
Growth (Series A round): This is typically where VCs come in. Subsequent investment rounds are called Series B, Series C and so on. This is where most companies will have the most growth.
Second-Round: Working capital for early stage companies that are selling product, but not yet turning a profit. This can also be called Series B round and so on.
Expansion: Also called Mezzanine financing, this is expansion money for a newly profitable company
Exit of venture capitalist: VCs can exit through secondary sale or an IPO or an acquisition. Early stage VCs may exit in later rounds when new investors (VCs or Private Equity investors) buy the shares of existing investors. Sometimes a company very close to an IPO may allow some VCs to exit and instead new investors may come in hoping to profit from the IPO.
Bridge Financing is when a startup seeks funding in between full VC rounds. The objective is to raise smaller amount of money instead of a full round and usually the existing investors participate.
Between the first round and the fourth round, venture-backed companies may also seek to take venture debt.