A Pre-Seed Fundraising Strategy

One thing we've learned after more than 15 years building startups, communities, and mentoring founders is that fundraising is a lot more about trust than it is about a deck

Every founder eventually asks the same question:

"How do I get investors to reply?"

The answer usually doesn't start with more emails, way ahead of that you need to be spending months, or years, building credibility

We've watched serial founders raise multiple rounds, and one thing they consistently say is that fundraising becomes more repeatable over time. Not because pitching gets easier, but because every previous company created relationships, references, social proof, and a reputation that compounds

First-time founders have to build that foundation intentionally, this is the strategy we're following as we raise our own pre-seed round for Markkët

Start with community before investors

Community offers a unfair advantage. Long before we had a company, we organized meetups, mentored founders, spoke at conferences, volunteered in developer communities, and helped people without expecting anything in return. Those relationships become your first advisors, first customers, first hires, and eventually your first investor introductions

If you're just starting out, don't begin by making a list of venture capital firms

Start by making a list of communities.

• University entrepreneurship programs
• Local startup accelerators
• Chamber of Commerce events
• Founder meetups
• Industry associations
• Hackathons
• Startup weekends

Many cities also have excellent programs that take no equity. Some universities, state economic development organizations, and nonprofit accelerators exist specifically to help founders become investor-ready, those programs often provide mentorship, office hours with lawyers, accounting guidance, pitch practice, and introductions without requesting equity

If you don't already have founder friends, lawyers, experienced operators, or investors in your network, these communities become incredibly valuable

Your mentors become your advocates

Good mentors do much more than review your pitch deck, they help you avoid obvious mistakes, challenge unrealistic assumptions, tell you when your pricing makes no sense, and help you navigate the investor landscape

A warm introduction from someone an investor already trusts is dramatically more valuable than another cold email, think about genuine relations. If you haven't found mentors or advocates yet, don't approach them by requesting something, specially money; reach out by offering something, even a coffee chat is more likely to get you to the next step

Investors will Google you

This sounds obvious, but many founders underestimate it, after an initial meeting, there's a good chance someone on the investment team will search your name. They'll look at your LinkedIn, your X account, public presentations, Github, they'll ask in group chats

"Has anyone worked with this person?"

They're not only evaluating your startup, specially at this stage, they're looking for a culture fit and signals that you can deliver. Building a public presence intentionally can help you anticipate this. Is not about hundreds of thousands of followers, just making sure your surface content aligns with your corporate comms

Any evidence that you've consistently built things, contributed to your community, and earned people's trust helps

Every investor has different red flags

One lesson we've heard repeatedly is that there is no universal definition of a "red flag., some investors won't care if you've been laid off but Others might.

Some investors may love founders who are outspoken about Social Justice, others prefer founders who stay completely neutral online

Some funds actively invest in mission-driven founders, others intentionally avoid anything they perceive as political

You don't control what another person considers a red flag, what you can control is choosing investors whose values align with your company. Trying to convince every fund is a waste of time. The better approach is to research each firm's thesis, portfolio, and interests before reaching out

Your online reputation matters

People talk, and this is a social business. There are meetups, conferences and dinners you're not being invited to, associates have Slack groups, operators have WhatsApp groups, communities have private Discord

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That's simply how the startup ecosystem works and it shouldn't scare you, just another thing to prepare for; If you've made mistakes in the past, think about how you'll explain them honestly, figure out a clear narrative that got you here. Authenticity travels much further than trying to appear perfect

Build a data room

We keep our fundraising materials organized in Notion, there are dozens of tools for investor data rooms, but honestly, Notion works extremely well for an early-stage company and being a popular tool it sends a good signal

Your data room must include information about your research, traction, and operation plans; we recommend including vendors and partners to signal readiness to execute once the checks arrive

Our data room currently includes:

• Executive summary
• Pitch deck
• One-pager
• Product demo videos (recorded with Loom)
• Company overview
• Market research
• Customer discovery notes
• Product roadmap
• Technical architecture overview
• Financial model
• Cap table
• Incorporation documents
• SAFE information
• Team bios
• Press mentions
• Product screenshots
• Frequently asked questions

As your company grows, your data room grows with it. Later stages might include audited financial statements, detailed cohort analyses, customer references, board materials, retention metrics, churn analysis, enterprise contracts, security documentation, and much more

Show evidence, not optimism

One mistake many first-time founders make is exaggerating market numbers; investors have seen thousands of decks. If every slide says "our TAM is $500 billion," they'll notice. Don't stretch numbers, explain how you reach your conclusions

Traction can include:

• Customer interviews
• Pilot customers
• Waitlists
• Active users
• Partnerships
• Community growth
• Newsletter subscribers
• Repeat usage
• Design partners
• Letters of intent

Make it easy to understand your product

We also record short Loom videos demonstrating our product, not every investor will have time to schedule another demo. A two-minute walkthrough explaining your product, your customers, and your vision lets people understand what you're building whenever it's convenient. It also creates consistency, everyone sees the same video and you control the flow

Build before you raise

Perhaps the biggest lesson we've learned is that fundraising should amplify momentum, not create it, investors don't create great companies. They accelerate companies already moving.

The stronger your community, your product, your customers, your reputation, and your story are before fundraising, the easier every conversation becomes

If sharing our process helps another founder avoid even one mistake, then it's worth documenting the journey

Good luck!