Vee

Our AI is going to become the fastest way for founders to find the right investors without wasting months on cold outreach. That’s the mission. On it 🚀

Part 2 of 20 verified pre-seed leaders (2025/2026 deals only) that you should know and follow: 6. @NWischoff (@WischoffVC) - up to $1M, logistics & unsexy B2B 7. @BloombergBeta - $1M-$7M, future of work + AI 8. @haystackvc (@semil) - ~$700K first checks, generalist 9. @BeePartnersVC - $300K-$1.5M, deep tech 10. @EniacVC (@hadleyharris) - $500K–$5M, AI-native

@BrunoLabs absolutely, marketing deserves its own system too I’d add a simple marketing scoreboard: traffic, qualified leads, conversion, and payback marketing gets expensive when nobody knows which part is actually working

@vahidf24 What about the marketing part?

3 tools every early-stage startup should set up before hiring more people: -a single source of truth for decisions -a weekly customer feedback log -a simple dashboard for cash, growth, and churn Most startup chaos isn’t caused by speed it’s caused by missing systems

@ivanburazin The network advantage is rarely admitted. Building real users is slower but creates the only moat that survives hype cycles

If you're a former founder who made investors money, you'll raise again (product optional) If you're a former founder who failed but raised, you'll raise again (just need a story) If you're a founder with Ivy League + big tech pedigree, you'll get a small single-digit investment in millions (no product needed) If you're a founder with a strong network through family or connections, you have a significant advantage (most people won't admit) If you're none of the above, you need a working product + real users + a great story (you'll still get a lower valuation though) Self-awareness about which tier you're in is the most underrated fundraising skill.

Founders: here are 20 verified pre-seed leaders (2025/2026 deals only) that you should know as you build your startup (part 1): 1. @PrecursorVC (@chudson) - up to $500K, any sector, NA 2. @AforeVC - $50K-$2M+, pre-seed only, US 3. @pearvc (@MarHershenson) - $250K-$6M, generalist 4. @BoostVC (@AdamDraper) - $500K+, deep tech 5. @lererhippeau - pre-seed/seed, consumer + enterprise

We all like reading success stories, and here's one that hits different: Founder Sneha Das raised £300K with zero revenue just 3 months into her UK startup journey back in 2020. Smart tactics like SEIS tax relief, quick MVPs & pure persistence made it happen. Timeless lessons on momentum, resilience & as she put it “don’t take no personally, investors are just guessing anyway.” Great read in here: antler.co/blog/how-we-ra…

@TurnerNovak Nice breakdown, AI native firms staying lean with more engineers tracks

Interesting research on how an "AI-native company" looks different Using data from YC companies as a sample, AI startups are smaller, flatter, and more expert dense. They have a greater shares of engineers, more folks in senior roles, and fewer managers. Startups that use AI for processes look the same. But startups that embed AI directly into their products are organized differently. Biggest impact is found in service-based firms, especially healthcare and education. These businesses historically scaled by hiring more people, which you can do more efficiently with an AI product. The data is from early 2025, so doesn't include any impact from Claude Code or Codex.

and stealth one's

Founders: here are strong operator angels who back the seedstrapping approach: 1. @businessbarista - Alex Lieberman Morning Brew $10K-$100K USA 2. @henrythe9ths - Henry Shi Super.com $10K-$50K USA 3. Zdenek Fred Fous - €500K-€1M Europe

😁😭

@fairdotclub Exactly

@vahidf24 In as much as funding opportunities have become more present, teams can also ship faster which is good for both sides

AI has changed the seed-stage math small teams can now build faster, ship more, and reach revenue with less capital so the better question is not: “how much can we raise?” it is: “how little do we need to build something truly formidable?”

Founders: here are strong broad pre-seed and seed investors who back the seedstrapping mindset 1. @HustleFundVC - $25K-$150K USA/SG 2. @BlackhornVC - $500K-$2M USA 3. @MartinGTobias - operator checks 4. @openskyvc - $50K-$500K USA 5. @Larryjamieson_ - early checks 6. Champion Venture Partners - $100K–$500K+ USA These are flexible check writers who understand building for profitability instead of just chasing the next round The right $500K beats the wrong $5M every time

seedstrapping is underrated raise enough to reach profitability not enough to become dependent on the next round the goal is not to raise the biggest seed the goal is to buy enough time to control your own path

Founders: here are the top SaaS and B2B seed funds that get the seedstrapping approach: 1. @saastrfund - $500K-$2M+ USA 2. @BloombergBeta - $250K-$1M USA 3. @flybridge - $250K-$10M USA 4. @homebrew - $500K-$1.5M USA 5. @costanoavc - $1M-$5M USA 6. @forumventures - $100K USA These ones focus on real revenue and sustainable growth instead of endless dilution. More groups coming.

@sergey_science @indievc Good catch, thanks for pointing that out. I'll update the list 🙌

@vahidf24 @indievc You can remove Calm Fund (number 2) from the list - they are not investing since June 2024. calmfund.com/writing/pause

Founders: you don’t need a $5M seed round you need the right seedstrapping investor Seedstrapping = raise once, get profitable, keep your company here are 25 investors you should know grouped by strategy Group1: Seedstrapping-native/ profit-first @indievc - $250K-$2M USA @earnestcapital - calm company style @tinyseedfund - $120K-$220K SaaS @D2Fund - up to €2M Europe @go_STRT - €50K-€250K Hungary @EarthlingVC - $50K-$250K USA BootstrapperCap - bootstrap focused Flying Founders - Europe profit first Reflexion Capital - €3M-€5M Europe

@hello_code_ Congrats John!

Almost at $40k MRR after 1.5 years. Still feels weird typing that. No massive team. No VC. No perfect launch. No magic growth hack. Just shipping, talking to customers, posting what we learn, and stacking small wins every week. Building in public changed everything for us. #BuildInPublic

@raymonduekpo Content has probably worked best so far. Still looking for something that's consistently repeatable though. What about you?

@vahidf24 Yeah, it's the one everyone runs into eventually. What have you actually tried so far, and has any of it worked even a little, or does it feel like nothing's sticking yet?

Warm intros usually come from 3 places: 1. Your existing network Old colleagues, alumni, operators, founders, angels, advisors, and people already in your inbox 2. Portfolio founders Founders backed by your target investors are often the strongest introducers because they have already been through the meeting 3. Investors who passed before A “too early” rejection can become useful later if you keep the relationship warm with real progress The mistake is asking for an intro too early Start with a specific, thoughtful message Mention something relevant: A post they wrote A company they backed A podcast they joined A problem they understand Ask for feedback first After a few real exchanges, the intro ask becomes much more natural Most warm intros are built before they are requested.

@TongHeConv @eladgil @orenzeev @joshbuckley @rex_woodbury Happy to help, Simon! The fact people immediately recognize the problem sounds like a strong signal. Looking forward to seeing how it evolves🙌

Vee, this is incredibly helpful. Thank you for seeing how we can help. To be completely transparent, TongHe is still at the concept stage. I'm not a technical founder, and I'm currently trying to understand what the first prototype should prove. What's been encouraging is that the feedback has been remarkably consistent, from the multilingual families I've spoken with and from the conversations I've had here on X. People seem to recognise the problem immediately. My goal now is to find the right technical collaborators and investors who can help determine whether ambient multilingual conversation can become a real product category. I really appreciate you pointing me toward people who think about these kinds of opportunities. Very respectfully Simon J Carr

Founders: solo capitalists who actually write checks fast (often 24-48 hrs) here are 5 you should know: 1. @eladgil - Gil Capital, $3B Fund, AI/infra/defense (backed Airbnb, Stripe, Coinbase) 2. @orenzeev - Zeev Ventures, $2B+ AUM, B2B software 3. @joshbuckley - Buckley Ventures, Enterprise & deep tech (Rippling, Figma) 4. @HarryStebbings - 20VC, EU & US tech 5. @lachygroom - LGF, B2B SaaS & fintech (ex-Stripe, backed Figma, Notion)