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Also known as: pre-seed round, pre-seed funding

Pre-Seed

FoundationalFundraising

Definition

Pre-Seed: Pre-seed is the earliest stage of startup funding, typically used to validate an idea, build an initial prototype, or conduct customer discovery. Pre-seed rounds are usually under $500K and come from founders' savings, friends and family, angel investors, or accelerators.

Example Usage

“We bootstrapped with a $150K pre-seed from angels to build our prototype before applying to YC.”

Common Misconceptions

Pre-seed requires a working product. It's often raised on an idea and team alone.
Pre-seed is always from friends and family. Professional pre-seed funds exist.
You can skip pre-seed and go straight to seed. Most startups need pre-seed capital.

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