Guide

Pre-seed fundraising: a two-week plan from warm-up to deck send

Pre-seed fundraising is raising your company's first outside money, usually from angels, pre-seed funds and accelerators, often on a SAFE or convertible note, before you have the traction a seed fund expects. Because you have little data, the round rests on the team and the problem. The plan below spends two weeks with the market problem in the conversation, then sends your deck to every investor on the same day and follows up based on what each one read.

Disclosure: Sublimnl makes a fundraising outreach tool built around this plan. You can run it by hand. We say where the tool helps and where it doesn't.

Who invests at pre-seed

Angels, especially operators from your industry and founders who've raised recently.
Pre-seed and early seed funds, which write first checks and sometimes lead.
Accelerators, which invest a set amount on standard terms and add a network.
Friends and family, if you can accept the relationship risk.

Seed funds sometimes write pre-seed checks, but many won't lead one. Check each firm's stated stage before it goes on your list. Our guide on how to find investors for your startup covers list-building in detail.

What to have ready

Item	Pre-seed standard
Deck	Short. Problem, why now, product, early proof, team, the ask.
Proof	Whatever you have that's real: users, pilots, letters of intent, waitlist, a working demo. Never round up.
The ask	Amount, instrument (SAFE or note) and what the money gets you to.
A short email	Three to five sentences. See our email template for investors.
A list	Investors who invest at pre-seed, in your sector, in your region.
A one-page data note	Cap table and any key terms, ready for when someone asks.

The two-week plan

Days 14 to 1: the warm-up

At pre-seed most investors haven't heard of you, and research on venture deal sourcing suggests only about 10% of deals come in as unsolicited pitches (NBER). So before the send, the problem you solve is already in the conversation. The warm-up posts are about your market, not your company:

12 days before: a post on the problem, framed around your market, not your raise.
7 days before: a post on why the usual fix falls short, with one real proof point.
3 days before: a post with proof that the problem can be solved, still without naming your company or hinting at a launch.
Launch week: a short press release, Tuesday to Thursday, so an investor who looks you up finds real news.
Throughout: ask for warm introductions to anyone on your list you can reach that way.

Launch day: send the deck to everyone at once

Pick a Tuesday, Wednesday or Thursday. Send each investor a separate, personal email on the same day, with your first slides in the email body so they can judge the pitch without clicking. Sending in one window keeps your round moving and makes your timeline real when an investor asks about it.

Days 1 to 10: follow up on what they read

If you use a tracked deck link, follow up on behavior, not on the calendar:

Not opened after about three business days: one short resend.
Opened but skimmed: a note pointing to the page most relevant to them.
Read most of it or reached the ask: offer two specific times for a call.
No reply after two follow-ups: a brief closing note, then stop.

Never mention reading data in the follow-up itself. Write about the topic, not about the tracking.

Doing it with Sublimnl

Sublimnl runs this exact plan. Before your deck goes out, the problem you solve is already in the conversation. When your deck arrives, the timing feels right. The press release goes out in launch week, the deck lands with the first slides in the email, and follow-ups are drafted from what each investor read. You approve every post, email and follow-up. $99 a month or $999 a year for one seat (second seat optional); signups are on a waitlist. Full details: how it works.

When you don't need it: if your round is mostly coming from people who already know you, or from a single accelerator application, skip the campaign and email them yourself.

Careful: posting about your market vs advertising your raise

In the US, most pre-seed rounds are private placements. Under Rule 506(b) you can't use general solicitation or advertising to market the offering. Under Rule 506(c) you can, but every purchaser must be an accredited investor and you have to take reasonable steps to verify that (SEC: exempt offerings). Posting about your product, your market and your company's news is not the same as advertising the round, but the line can blur. Keep warm-up posts about the market, which is what Sublimnl's posts are, and ask your lawyer before you post anything about the raise itself.

What's uncertain

There's no reliable public benchmark for pre-seed response rates by channel. Ignore precise numbers you can't trace to a source.
A warm-up puts the problem in the conversation before the deck arrives. It can't guarantee they've seen any particular post.
Midweek sending is a sensible convention, not a proven edge.

FAQ

What is pre-seed fundraising?

It's the first outside round a startup raises, usually from angels, pre-seed funds and accelerators, often on a SAFE or convertible note, before there's enough traction for a typical seed round.

How is pre-seed different from seed?

Pre-seed investors bet mostly on the team, the problem and early signs of pull. Seed investors usually expect clearer traction and a plan to reach the next round. Round sizes and expectations vary by market and sector.

How long does a pre-seed raise take?

It varies widely. Running the outreach in a tight window, with a two-week warm-up and a single send day, helps you learn quickly whether the round is working.

Should I use a SAFE for pre-seed?

SAFEs are common at pre-seed because they're simple and quick to sign. Compare the cap and discount with your lawyer and model the dilution before you agree.

Can I post on LinkedIn that I'm raising a pre-seed round?

Be careful. If you're raising under Rule 506(b), public advertising of the offering isn't allowed. Posting about your market is generally different, but ask your lawyer before posting about the round.

How many investors should I send my pre-seed deck to?

Enough that several no's don't end the round, but only investors who actually invest at pre-seed in your sector. Fit beats volume.