Pre-Seed

Definition

The earliest stage of startup funding, which is a polite way of saying you're raising money based on nothing but a dream, a napkin sketch, and the audacity of a person who has never run a business. It's called pre-seed because the seed hasn't even been planted yet -- you're basically fundraising with dirt.

Example Usage

"We closed our pre-seed round at $250K, which sounds impressive until you realize the entire company is a Google Doc, a domain name, and two guys who met at a hackathon last week."

Related Terms

Beginner

innovative

The adjective slapped on every product, service, and startup pitch deck to signal 'we're doing something allegedly new.' Something innovative is supposed to be groundbreaking and forward-thinking, though these days it often means 'we added AI to it.' If your company isn't innovative, you're basically admitting you're stuck in 2005 with a flip phone.

🚀 Startup / VC

Beginner

cold email

Unsolicited outreach to investors or customers who have no idea who you are and probably don't care. The digital equivalent of knocking on strangers' doors, with similar success rates.

🚀 Startup / VC

Beginner

minimum viable product

The most stripped-down version of your product that customers will actually use without demanding a refund—or at least that's the theory. In practice, it's whatever you can ship before running out of money.

🚀 Startup / VC

Advanced

spray and delay

A strategy where investors make many small bets, then heavily support only the winners in subsequent rounds. The venture capital version of throwing spaghetti at the wall, then only cooking the pieces that stuck.

🚀 Startup / VC

Advanced

halo effect round

A funding round that attracts investors primarily because a prestigious VC or strategic investor has already committed, rather than on the company's standalone merits. One famous name creates a stampede of followers.

🚀 Startup / VC

Advanced

zombie VC

A venture capital firm that's functionally dead but still managing old funds, unable to raise new capital but too undead to fully shut down. They're not investing in new companies but still collecting management fees from their limited partners.

🚀 Startup / VC

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