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How Pre-Seed VCs Think About Startups with Sramana Mitra
Rating: 4.7 out of 5(99 ratings)
412 students

How Pre-Seed VCs Think About Startups with Sramana Mitra

Case Studies of Real World PreSeed Investors (Venture Capitalists, Angels); due diligence frameworks for Venture Capital
Created bySramana Mitra
Last updated 2/2025
English

What you'll learn

  • Through interviews with real-world investors you will come to understand investor-entrepreneur fit.
  • How you can think from an investor's point of view when pitching your startup.
  • What you can do to increase your chances of getting funded.
  • Where you can seek further mentorship regarding startup funding.

Course content

2 sections • 33 lectures • 12h 30m total length

  • Introduction1:30
  • How Pre-seed Investors Think About Startups1:26
  • Finding Investor - Entrepreneur Fit10:36

    Discussing how to win the low probability game of startup fundraising.

  • Probability of Raising Funds2:45
  • Conversation with Geoff Ralston, President of Y Combinator36:43

    Geoff Ralston is President of Y Combinator. We have a terrific discussion on what we each are seeing in the startup ecosystem.

  • A View into Pre-Seed Funding with Gaurav Jain of Afore Capital28:28

    Gaurav Jain is Managing Partner at Afore Capital, a firm focused on pre-seed investments. This is an excellent conversation for entrepreneurs looking for insights into pre-seed.

  • Global Startup Acceleration Networks are Growing with Shuly Galili, UpWest Labs26:07

    Shuly Galili, Founding Partner, UpWest Labs, talks to us about pre-seed and seed investments in the Israel – Silicon Valley corridor.

  • Discussion on Pre-Seed Funding with Gans Subramanian, Hourglass Venture Partners23:52

    Gans Subramanian, Managing Partner at Hourglass Venture Partners, and a former 1Mby1M Premium member, discusses how he has now formed his own venture fund.

  • Discussion on Pre-Seed Financing with Julie Lein, Urban Innovation Fund23:06

    Julie Lein, Managing Partner at Urban Innovation Fund, discusses pre-seed and seed funding in companies focused on the betterment of cities.

  • Pre-Seed Funding with Suman Talukdar, AiSprouts.VC30:01

    Suman Talukdar is Founder and Managing Partner at AiSprouts.VC.

  • Discussing Pre-Seed Investing with Elizabeth Yin, Hustle Fund20:00

    Elizabeth Yin is General Partner at Hustle Fund, a pre-seed investment firm.

  • Seed Funding for B-to-C Ventures with Vishesh Rajaram, Speciale Invest21:25

    Vishesh Rajaram, Managing Partner, Speciale Invest, discusses his fund’s investment thesis.

  • Lean Startups vs. Fat Startups with Venktesh Shukla at Monta Vista Capital33:38

    Venktesh Shukla is General Partner at Monta Vista Capital. I have known Venk for more than 20 years, and we discussed both industry trends and his fund strategy.

  • Pre-seed Investing in Latin America with Laurel Touby at Supernode Ventures16:05

    Laurel Touby, Managing Director of Supernode Ventures, talks about pre-seed investing in Latin America.

  • Pre-seed Funding Strategy for Indian Startups with Deepak Gupta, WEH Ventures22:06

    Deepak Gupta, Founding Partner at WEH Ventures, discusses his fund’s pre-seed and seed funding strategy for Indian startups.

  • Shane Neman of Neman Ventures on Solo Entrepreneurs2:03

    Shane Neman is Founder of EZ Texting, JoonBug.com, and Principal at Neman Ventures. Shane has bootstrapped two companies as a solo entrepreneur, found successful exits for both, and is now an investor. Needless to say, he has no bias against solopreneurs.

  • Discussing Women Entrepreneurs in Healthcare with Pamela York, Atasi Ventures13:46

    Pamela York is Founder and CEO, Atasi Ventures, with a special focus on women entrepreneurs in healthcare.

  • Spotlight on Retail Tech with Vincent Diallo, Interlace Ventures24:38

    Vincent Diallo is Managing Partner at Interlace Ventures, a fund focused on retail tech.

  • Spotlight on Startups in the US Midwest with Tony Olivito, Comeback Capital27:09

    Tony Olivito, Partner at Comeback Capital, discusses his firm’s Midwest focused investment thesis.

  • Deep Tech Early Stage Startups with Ritesh Agarwal, CerraCap Ventures25:55

    Ritesh Agarwal is Co-founder and Managing Director at CerraCap Ventures, a deep tech focused early stage firm.

  • Deep Dive into AI Investing with Evangelos Simoudis, Synapse Partners31:35

    Evangelos Simoudis, Founder and Managing Director at Synapse Partners, takes us on a deep dive into AI investing.

  • Capital Efficient Startups with David Lambert, Right Side Capital Management30:18

    David Lambert, Managing Director at Right Side Capital Management, a firm that invests small chunks of capital in capital efficient ventures. The firm is very much in line with the Bootstrapping to Exit philosophy we’ve been discussing.

  • Pre-seed Funding for B-to-B Tech Startups with Anupam Rastogi, Emergent Ventures22:20

    Anupam Rastogi is General Partner at Emergent Ventures, a firm focused on B-to-B tech investments.

  • Telling a Startup Story Through Financial Metrics with Sandeep Sardana29:50

    Sandeep Sardana, Founder and General Partner at BluePointe Ventures. We had a terrific discussion on how we each look for a startup story through financial metrics.

  • Pre-seed Investment Strategies with Jonathan Lewy, Investo41:34

    Jonathan Lewy, Managing Partner at Investo, discusses pre-seed investment strategies and the Series A gap.

  • Vertical Niche Opportunities in Tech with Clint Chao, Moment Ventures35:58

    Clint Chao, Co-founder and General Partner at Moment Ventures, discusses the vertical niche opportunities in the tech industry during this episode of our podcast.

  • Kara Weber of Brilliant Ventures on Female Founders23:48

    Kara Weber, Founder General Partner at Brilliant Ventures, speaks extensively about her commitment to female founders during this episode of our podcast.

  • Nitin Pachisia, Unshackled Ventures, Discusses Pre-Seed and Seed Investing43:11

    Nitin Pachisia, Founding Partner at Unshackled Ventures, discusses pre-seed and seed investing during this episode of our podcast.

  • Seed and Series A Investing with Greg Sands at Costanoa Ventures35:52

    Greg Sands, Founder and Managing Director at Costanoa Ventures, a venture firm focused on Seed and Series A investing during this episode of our podcast.

  • Synthesis3:11

Requirements

  • The only requirement for this course is an open mind and a willingness to learn.

Description

The 1Mby1M Methodology is based on case studies. In this course, Sramana Mitra shares the tribal knowledge of tech entrepreneurs by giving students the rare seat at the table with the entrepreneurs, investors and thought leaders who provide the most instructive perspectives on how to build a thriving business. Through these conversations, students gain access to case studies exploring the alleys of entrepreneurship. Sramana’s synthesis of key learnings and incisive analysis add great depth to each discussion.

This course is primarily for entrepreneurs who want to learn how to think like an investor and increase their chances of getting funding for their startup.

For example, want to apply to Y Combinator? Listen carefully to Sramana’s conversation with Geoff Ralston, President of Y Combinator. He spells out very clearly what they are looking for in a startup application and why 98% of Y Combinator applications are rejected and how startups can increase their chances of getting in.

The early stage investment ecosystem has fragmented, it’s no longer just seed and Series A. The seed part has fragmented to friends and family financing, pre-seed, seed, post-seed, small Series A, and large Series A.

In this course, we will do a deep dive into the pre-seed stage.

What is the difference between pre-seed, post-seed and pre-Series A? This is not so simple anymore to understand. For entrepreneurs who are seeking financing for the first time, it’s not easy to understand where they fit in.

There is a lot of competition to get into some of the deals for Series A (and Series B). If you look at the numbers, there are 50,000 to 70,000 seed stage investments a year versus 1,200 to 1,500 Series A investments. Clearly there is a lot of companies in that pool that are not getting to Series A. Only a percentage of those are really the hot companies. The hot companies, by definition, are few and far between, which is why there is such a competition. There are a lot of companies in the middle.

Then there are the stranded businesses that don’t deserve Series A. That is irrelevant, because there are a lot of companies that do get seed investments and don’t really pan out. They shouldn’t be raising more money. That is not of concern to me because it makes sense that they shouldn’t get to Series A. But still, there is a big number of startups in the middle. They’re not the hottest companies, but they are good solid companies. Many of those are falling in the Series A crunch as well.

To keep up with the evolving nuances of startup financing, this course shares how several of the investors I’ve spoken with define “pre-seed.” You will also learn what kind of validation they are looking for in a startup before getting into a deal during our in-depth conversations.

The 1Mby1M courses are all heavily based on interview-based case studies on Innovation, Business Models, Go To Market Strategies, Validation Principles, and various other nuances of an entrepreneur's journey. We offer extensive opportunities for entrepreneurs to learn the lessons from the trenches from successful entrepreneurs who have done it before and Investors who support their ambition.

Who this course is for:

  • Technology entrepreneurs who want to think like investors and increase their chances of getting funded.
  • Aspiring founders who want to increase their chances of getting accepted into a top startup accelerator such as Y Combinator, Techstars, or 500 Startups.
  • Developing world entrepreneurs who want to increase their chances of getting investment.
  • Professors worldwide teaching technology entrepreneurship courses.

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