For as long as I can remember, one of the biggest challenges in fundraising has been trying to raise money when all you have is an idea. Or, as we call it in the investment world: pre-product, pre-revenue fundraising.
But AI has changed the game.
We’re now seeing a rise in seed funding for startups that are, at times, even pre-website.
How? Or, more importantly, why? Some may call it FOMO. Others call it the herd mentality. But I believe there’s a more profound reason that this kind of investment is on the rise.
Why now is the time for pre-product, pre-revenue fundraising
AI is driving massive process transformation in the workplace.
If you’ve read my article about the death of the pitch deck template, you’ll know that I’ve been preaching for founders to focus their pitch on process transformation — not their product. Not even if it’s AI.
And here’s why.
Investors don’t care about your technology or how innovative you are. They don’t even care about your product. What investors care about is process transformation at scale — think Slack changing the way colleagues communicate or Uber changing the way people get around their city.
And right now, AI is driving process transformation at a scale we’ve never seen before.
So if your idea is strong and you tell your story right (more on that in a second), you have a serious chance at nailing a pre-product, pre-revenue investment.
Four pitch principles to sell your idea to investors
Now that you know pre-product, pre-revenue fundraising is possible, you need to know how to do it.
Here are the four AI product pitch principles that keep winning it for me.
1. Make AI secondary
Yep, you heard me right. I know your solution is AI-based, but don’t make that your story.
Why? Because (I’ll say it again) investors care far more about the process you’re going to transform than the technology that will make it possible.
And, to be honest, AI is now the standard — it’s the entry ticket for a meeting with an investor. So if that’s your big story, you won’t stand out.
2. Tell a human story
Already started working on your TAM slide? Delete it.
Big numbers don’t win pitches — especially when all you have is an idea. Instead, focus on telling a human story that captures the investor’s attention.
Start by landing the problem in a way everyone can relate to. Then help them visualize the impact of your solution and how people’s lives will be better because of it.
Think of it like this: your story should be so simple that your investor will remember it and tell their partner about it when they get home.
3. Prove that there’s demand
Investing in an idea is a massive gamble. That’s why you need to be able to demonstrate that people really, really want what you’re going to create.
So do your homework, show solid evidence of the problem, and share quotes from target users talking about the impact your solution would make. If you can, go a step further and include testimonials from people who swear they’ll pay for your product on day one — this is gold dust for a pre-product, pre-revenue pitch.
Your goal here is to leave no doubt in the minds of your investors that there’s strong market demand for your product. Then all they have to do is give you the funding to make it.
4. Did I mention process transformation?
I had to plug this one more time to make it stick.
Do not focus your pitch on your product. Remember, this is a pre-product pitch. So if you spend the whole time talking about the technology you’re yet to build, you’ll invite nothing but questions and doubt.
The key to selling your idea is making your investors relate to the problem you’re solving. Or, in other words, the process transformation.
Final thoughts
The foundations of fundraising haven’t changed, the market has. And this has created an opportunity for founders to do something that was thought impossible this time last year: to raise with nothing but a presentation in your hands.
But make no mistake. Investors are still cautious with their money, so waving the AI wand isn’t enough.
To give yourself the best chance of a pre-revenue, pre-product raise, you need to put process transformation at the heart of your story and prove that there’s demand for your solution.
If you can do that and you tell your story well, you may just have a shot.