Pre-Seed Fundraising is a Low Probability Game

I publish this series to discuss the nuances of bootstrapped entrepreneurship. Please subscribe to my Best of Bootstrapping series to never miss an article.

For our Seed Capital series of podcasts, I’ve interviewed hundreds of investors, especially micro-VCs and angels who play an important role in the early-stage game. The toughest round of funding an entrepreneur will seek to raise is Pre-seed. How do you increase your odds?

Pre-seed has the lowest probability of success. Over 99% of the entrepreneurs who seek financing are rejected. Read more about the Probability of Pre-Seed Funding.

Startup funding is a low probability game. LESS than 1% GET funding. How do you play this game and win? Learn from great Unicorn founders like Fred Luddy (ServiceNow), Christian Chabot (Tableau), and Greg Gianforte (RightNow). Read more about how VCs love to come to the rescue of victory.

Sridhar Vembu built Zoho with zero outside funding to a billion-dollar ARR SaaS company. I wrote the first piece ever written on him in 2007 in my Forbes column. No one had yet heard of Zoho. But VCs were already salivating. Read more about how to Make VCs Salivate.

Read Best of Bootstrapping: Why 99% of Entrepreneurs Face Rejection and How to Overcome It to understand the trend.

In 1Mby1M, we like Seedstrapping to Exit. An example would be Adya’s acquisition by Qualys. Adya raised a small seed round. I introduced them to Philippe Courtot, CEO of Qualys. Qualys acquired Adya. Read more about Seedstrapping to Exit.

If you missed last week’s 683rd 1Mby1M Roundtable, please find the recap and the recording here. The next 684th free mentoring roundtable is on May 8th. Please register to pitch or attend.

If you need help with your Pre-Seed Fundraising or Exit Strategy, join 1Mby1M Premium.

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Image by Eglantine Shala from Pixabay