Pre-seed investor outreach planner
Pre-seed fundraising is a funnel. Working backward from the dollars you need, the number of investors you need to put through the top of the funnel is usually 10× what founders expect.
Target list size
1,002
Investors to research and qualify.
Warm intros to line up
668
The number of investors who should hear about you via mutual connection.
First meetings to book
334
Half of warm-introduced investors take a first meeting.
Second meetings expected
100
~30% of first meetings → second meetings.
Commits expected
20
~20% of second meetings convert at pre-seed.
Pace per week
84 intros / 28 meetings
Sustained cadence to hit the funnel above in your timeline.
The funnel
The conversion rates baked into the calculator are calibrated to a representative pre-seed raise where the founder has:
- A clear story for what they’re building.
- Some early signal (a working prototype, a few users, or unusual founder credentials).
- A targeted list of investors known to write at the stage and check size in question.
- Mostly warm intros, not cold outreach.
Adjust your expectations down if you’re missing any of those. Cold-outreach conversion is roughly one-quarter the warm-intro rate.
What the calculator doesn’t capture
- Quality of fit.Ten investors who do your stage and sector will outperform 50 generalists. The calculator’s funnel assumes you’ve done the targeting work upfront.
- Momentum.Raises close based on momentum, not pace. If you stretch a 12-week raise to 18 because you’re ahead of plan, the late investors will sense it and pass. Compress instead.
- Lead vs. follow.The math assumes a lead at your average check is realistic. If you don’t have a lead in sight, that conversation is the first one to fix.