Funding & Investment
Pre-Seed Funding
Also Known As
Pre-Seed RoundAngel RoundFriends & Family
Pre-seed funding is the earliest stage of external startup financing, typically used to validate an idea, build an initial prototype, or support founders before product-market fit.
What is Pre-Seed Funding?
Pre-seed is the funding stage before seed round. It supports the earliest company formation—validating ideas, building prototypes, and getting to initial traction. Pre-seed rounds have become more common and formalized in recent years.
Pre-Seed Characteristics
| Aspect | Typical Range |
|---|---|
| Amount | $50K - $500K |
| Valuation | $1M - $5M |
| Stage | Idea to MVP |
| Investors | Angels, micro-VCs, studios |
What Pre-Seed Funds
- Founder salaries for 6-12 months
- MVP development
- Initial customer discovery
- Early hires (if any)
- Basic operations
Pre-Seed vs Seed
| Pre-Seed | Seed |
|---|---|
| Pre-product or MVP | Working product |
| Unproven concept | Initial traction |
| 1-2 founders | Small team |
| Angels, studios | Seed VCs |
Venture Studio Advantage
Studios often provide pre-seed capital internally, eliminating the need for external pre-seed fundraising and allowing startups to reach seed stage faster.
Example Usage
“The venture studio provided $250K in pre-seed funding to support six months of validation.”