Generally, the reason for raising funds at any stage is to be able to take the company to the next ‘phase’ of its evolution.
Most startups would go through the following phases in their journey:
- Concept stage – i.e. when the idea is not yet developed into a product or service, but the founders may have done a fair bit of thinking on the concept and understanding the business dynamics surrounding that idea. This is the stage where the business case is being evaluated and assumptions are made and validated – hopefully by understanding the market and speaking to customers, etc.
- Prototype development stage – when the concept – either a product or service – is ready for testing with a limited audience – the startup may have a few initial employees.
- Early-stage – when the product or service has started gaining some traction – there are a few early customers/consumers, the product and processes are being refined and fine-tuned and the building blocks for growth are being built – a small team is getting formed
- Growth stage – when the startup has started getting more customers, processes are getting developed, an organization structure is getting into place and the company is in an expansion mode – this is probably the time when most companies would start getting profitable
Pre-seed money would typically be raised at concept stage, and should ideally last a little beyond the prototype stage. In most cases, pre-seed stage money is used for the things that will prepare the company to attract seed capital from angel investors or from early-stage VCs i.e.
- Understanding the business case by validating assumptions
- In building the prototype or the first version of the product – what is called the MVP or Minimum Viable Product which will allow you to test your assumptions in the market i.e. check if your customers find the value proposition meaningful, if they feel that this product / service does fulfill their needs, etc.
At pre-seed funding stage, a startup should keep capital expenses very low – i.e. rent ACs, furniture, etc. rather than buying. Operating expenses should also be kept low – take lower salaries, work out of a shared office, multi-task, etc. This is also in your interest because the valuations are likely be very low at this stage, and hence the lower the amount you raise, the lesser your equity dilution at this stage.
