How to raise pre-seed capital with only an idea

Pre-seed is about proving you can execute on a big opportunity. Day 0 investors look for exceptional founders with clear thinking and early validation.

The five pillars of pre-product fundraising

1. Problem obsession over solution

Don't lead with your product idea. Lead with the problem you're obsessed with solving.

Spend 70% of your pitch explaining why this problem matters now. Use specific examples, recent data, and stories that show the pain points getting worse. The more urgent and widespread the problem feels, the more investors will believe someone needs to solve it.

2. Founder-market fit and unfair advantage

At the pre-seed stage, investors are betting on founders, not ideas. Your unfair advantage must demonstrate both why you're uniquely positioned to solve this problem AND that you can execute.

Why You? Your unfair advantage might be:

• Deep domain expertise from years experiencing the problem firsthand
• Unique access to customers or distribution channels
• Technical insight others lack from previous building experience
• Perfect timing based on recent market shifts you understand better than anyone

Can you execute? Investors need confidence in two fundamental capabilities:

Technical execution: Can you actually build what you're describing?

• You have deep technical skills and previous building experience
• Your technical co-founder has shipped products customers use
• You understand the technical complexity and have a realistic development plan

Commercial execution: Can you sell what you build?

• You understand your customers' buying process and decision criteria
• You have relationships or credible paths to early customers
• You can articulate your go-to-market strategy with specific tactics

The strongest pitches combine unfair advantage with execution credibility:

• "I've personally felt this pain for 3 years as a VP of Sales at two different SaaS companies, and my technical co-founder built the infrastructure that handles 100M+ API calls daily at his previous startup"
• "We're the compliance officers who designed these processes at Fortune 500 companies, and we know exactly which executives have budget authority to buy solutions"

Be specific. "I understand this market" isn't enough. "I've been the customer trying to solve this exact problem for 4 years and failed with every existing solution" is compelling.

3. Market timing evidence

Show that the market is ready for your solution now, not in 5 years. Why now and not 5 years ago?

Point to recent changes that create urgency:

• Technology shifts enabling new solutions
• Behavioral changes accelerating demand
• Economic pressures forcing efficiency
• etc.

4. Customer discovery proof

You don't need a product, but you need customer conversations.

Before fundraising, talk to 30+ potential customers. Document their exact words about the problem (ideally transcribe your calls). Show that people are actively seeking solutions and willing to pay for them.

Include quotes like:

• "I'd pay $10K right now to solve this"
• "This is our number one operational challenge"
• "We've tried three different solutions and none work"

Tip: Read the 130-page book The Mom Test. Great ROI.

5. Credible execution plan

Investors need to believe you can build what you're describing.

Your execution plan should include:

• Clear milestones for the next 18 months
• Realistic timeline for MVP development
• Specific metrics you'll track to prove progress
• Team roles and hiring plan

Be honest about what you don't know, but show you've thought through the key challenges.

The fundraising process

Target the right investors

Pre-product investors fall into three categories:

• Angel investors who've built companies in your space and can provide domain expertise alongside capital.
• Pre-seed funds that specialize in idea-stage investments.
• Strategic investors who see your solution fitting into their ecosystem or customer needs.

Avoid seed / series A funds. They will say you're too early and "please come back when you have €XX MRR".

Timing your raise

Start fundraising conversations 3-4 months before you need the money. Pre-seed rounds typically take 2-3 months to close, and you want buffer time.

The best time to raise is when you have maximum momentum and minimum desperation. This usually means after completing customer discovery but before burning through personal savings.

Common mistakes that kill pre-seed raises

Overselling the idea

Your idea isn't special. Every investor hears 10 similar ideas each month. What matters is your insight into why previous attempts failed and what's different now.

Underestimating competition

Saying "we have no competition" signals you don't understand your market. Every problem has existing solutions, even if they're imperfect. Show you understand the competitive landscape and why you'll win.

Unrealistic financial projections

Don't present hockey stick revenue projections for year one. Show realistic milestones that prove you understand what needs to happen to build a real business.

Settling for mediocre team

Founding team and first-hires must be top-tier. You need to demonstrate that you can attract the best people. Soft commitments are enough for potential hires.

Making your ask

Be specific about what you're raising and why.

"We're raising $500K to build our MVP and validate product-market fit with 10 paying customers over the next 12 months."

Explain exactly how you'll use the money:

• 60% on team (specific hires)
• 25% on product development
• 15% on customer acquisition experiments

Show that this funding gets you to a meaningful milestone where the next round becomes easier.

Conclusion

The strongest pre-seed pitches combine deep problem understanding, clear market timing, and founder credibility.

You're asking investors to bet on your ability to navigate uncertainty and build something valuable.

Focus less on having all the answers and more on proving you're asking the right questions.

The idea is just the starting point. What matters is your ability to turn that idea into a business customers actually want.