PRE-SEED FUNDRAISING GUIDE: INTRO

10 Tips for First Time Founders Raising a Pre-Seed Round

7 months and over $500k raised later

Fundraising is one of the most difficult things you’ll do as a founder, especially if you’re a first-time founder and especially for your first raise.

Every company is different, but here are some of my biggest takeaways from raising a pre-seed round that included Micro VCs, Angels, and Family Offices. The vast majority of investment came from people I knew only at arm's length before starting the raise, friends and family accounted for less than 5% of the raise.

1. Build something worth investing in

It seems obvious, but it’s so often ignored — this is step one. You need to build something worth investing in and believe that it is worth investing in. The more traction you have, the easier your life will be. If you try to fundraise too early, you risk wasting valuable time that you could have spent building your product or making money.

If you’re unsure of if your startup is worth investing in, read this article by Paul Graham.

2. Simple sells

People invest in things they understand and people understand simple things. So…