A successful fundraise is often a sign that your business has proved commercial traction and managed to reach crucial commercial milestones. In other cases, fundraising could be sought in order to mature your business and prove commercial traction. Each phase of growth carries its own set of risks that must be carefully mitigated for your startup to mature into a successful enterprise. It's critical to understand that fundraising isn't the goal, but is often a means to achieve key commercial traction that ensures your startup’s long-term viability and success.
At the pre-seed stage, your primary focus lies in reducing technical risk. This is the foundational phase where you develop a minimum viable product (MVP) through customer discovery. It's all about proving that your idea can be developed into a functional product that addresses a specific customer problem. During this stage, it's crucial to gather a core team that shares your vision and is learning quickly from customer discovery conversations. Your goal is to validate the technical feasibility and commercial desirability of your solution and secure funding based on the potential of your idea and the strength of your team.
