Pre-Seed Reality Check: What K Actually Buys You
Most founders think pre-seed is about product development. Wrong.
It's about proving you can execute under constraints. When I review
pre-seed applications, I'm looking at how founders allocate their
first K—because that tells me everything about their judgment.
The smart ones spend 40% on customer discovery, 30% on minimal
viable testing, and 30% on team validation. The ones who blow it
all on development before talking to customers? They never make it
to Series A.
Series A Preparation: The 18-Month Rule
Here's what nobody tells you about Series A timing. You need 18
months of consistent metrics before investors take you seriously.
Not 18 months of existence—18 months of measurable, repeatable
growth patterns.
I've seen brilliant founders with amazing products get rejected
because they rushed to Series A after 8 months of traction. The
data wasn't deep enough. Investors need to see you've survived
multiple business cycles, handled customer churn, and adapted your
model based on real market feedback.
