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Pre-Seed & Angel Round

A first-time founder's route to a pre-seed round: whether and how much to raise, the legal basics, a weekly raise rhythm, friends and family, angels and pre-seed funds, and closing commitments.

Free · Mac (Apple silicon) and Windows · v1.0.0 · Other platforms

Then open the Marketplace in the app, search for Pre-Seed & Angel Round, and click Install. It goes into your own files, and works offline from then on.

Before you start: this plan is general information to help you organise your own money decisions. It is not financial, investment, tax or legal advice. Check decisions that matter with a qualified, licensed adviser in your country, and remember that investing and trading can lose money.

What it installs.

1

Pillar

1

Area

50

Projects

193

Starter tasks

💰 Fundraising & Investor Relations

Pre-Seed & Angel Round

Raising the first outside money from angels, friends and pre-seed funds, from deciding the amount to closing commitments, for first-time founders.

  1. Deciding whether to raise pre-seed money now
  2. Pre-seed readiness check before the first ask
  3. Milestones the pre-seed money must buy
  4. Deciding how much to raise at pre-seed
  5. Founder personal runway during the raise
  6. Co-founder equity split and vesting before outside money
  7. Company set-up and IP assignment check
  8. Choosing a startup lawyer for the first round
  9. Checking who you may legally raise from
  10. One-page pre-seed round summary
  11. Pre-seed raise tracker set-up
  12. Weekly fundraising sprint rhythm
  13. Commitment ledger and soft-circle tracking
  14. Monthly progress note to interested angels
  15. Keeping the product moving during the raise
  16. Company runway check while raising
  17. Monthly pre-seed traction snapshot
  18. Pass reasons log and monthly pattern review
  19. Putting your first angels to work after close
  20. How individual angels make pre-seed decisions
  21. How pre-seed funds make decisions
  22. Benchmarking pre-seed round sizes and caps
  23. Founder story of why you and why now
  24. Asking friends and family for money well
  25. Qualifying an investor in the first call
  26. Handling angel side letters and pro rata requests
  27. Choosing the round mix of angels and pre-seed funds
  28. Letters of intent or paid pilots before the raise
  29. Minimum viable round and go or no-go date
  30. Finding the anchor cheque
  31. Rolling close or single close decision
  32. Spotting pre-seed deals that break the next round
  33. Choosing the raise window and close date
  34. Co-founder division of fundraising work
  35. Friends and family ask fortnight
  36. Pitch competition entry for pre-seed founders
  37. First close of the pre-seed round
  38. Announcing the pre-seed round
  39. Final close and round retrospective
  40. Solo founder raising a pre-seed round
  41. Raising pre-seed while still employed
  42. Student or recent graduate founder raising pre-seed
  43. Technical founder learning to sell the round
  44. Raising pre-seed far from a startup hub
  45. Restarting a stalled pre-seed raise
  46. Managing a party round of many small cheques
  47. Pre-seed for deep tech or hardware
  48. Pre-seed for a regulated product
  49. Raising from diaspora and cross-border angels
  50. Pre-seed raise alongside early revenue

Where it starts.

Each project arrives with its purpose, milestones and first tasks written out. Here is how the first three read.

Deciding whether to raise pre-seed money now

Outside money starts a clock: once angels own part of the company, they expect a venture-sized outcome and a next round within about eighteen months. Before writing a single investor email, a first-time founder should test whether customer revenue, a grant, a part-time job or savings could carry the company to the same point without giving away a slice of it.

First tasks

  • List what the company must spend over the next twelve months
  • Note which costs savings, revenue or a grant could cover instead
  • Write one paragraph on why this business needs outside money to win
  • Record the raise or wait decision and its reopening trigger

Pre-seed readiness check before the first ask

Angels forgive a lot at pre-seed, but they still expect a founder who can explain the problem, show some proof that people want the solution and say clearly what the money is for. A one-afternoon readiness check against those questions shows the gaps while they can still be filled quietly, rather than in front of the investors you most wanted.

First tasks

  • Write two-sentence answers to the ten common pre-seed questions
  • Ask a founder who has raised to mark the three weakest answers
  • Record a five-minute product or prototype walkthrough
  • Set the outreach start date or list the gaps to close first

Milestones the pre-seed money must buy

Pre-seed money is judged by one thing: whether it gets the company to evidence that makes a seed round raisable. Writing down the three to five milestones that evidence consists of, such as a launched product, a retention figure or a set of paying pilots, gives the raise its logic and gives every later spending decision a test.

First tasks

  • Draft the milestones a seed investor would want to see in 18 months
  • Estimate the months and money each milestone needs
  • Ask two recently funded founders whether the milestones are enough
  • Score progress against each milestone @recurring(monthly:14)

Make it yours.

Install Pre-Seed & Angel Round, then tell Aurum the date you're aiming for. It checks whether the plan fits the weeks you actually have.

Free · Mac (Apple silicon) and Windows · v1.0.0 · Other platforms

Blueprints are general information to help you organise your own work. They are not medical, financial, legal or other professional advice. See the Terms.