Ask HN: Anyone else finding pre-seed investors drying up the last year?

Out of interest, How many times have you needed to raise a pre-seed round? It sounds like you are doing it a lot. I've only been involved in 1, it was ~2 years ago, and I wouldn't say it was super easy. I have seen several news articles talking about the fact that venture capital has really dried up at almost all levels in 2023, but I'm not involved enough to really gauge the truth.

Could be a product problem. I had trouble raising back in the day too; by contrast, it was real easy to get paying users and acquisitions.

Seed money likely goes into different things. It could be that non-AI just isn't in anymore.

Perhaps.

We raised $500k pre-seed in Europe earlier this year. Spoke to 20 VCs agreed terms with 4 and couple angels.

This was with co-founders connections.

how did you manage to raise 50k in 15 minutes of meeting someone? i never managed to do that despite having a real business with customers and revenue

Speaking as someone who works alongside pre-seed investors (also known as the 'fools' in the phrase 'friends, family, and fools'), purse strings have tightened since around the beginning of the year, ostensibly due to the uncertainty over inflation and the metastable hope of a soft landing. I hear anecdotal reports from many founders with whom we collaborate that raising similar amounts is now requiring much more effort compared to previous years, when money was 'cheap', so to speak.

That said, some great startups have emerged from a similar position in the economic cycle (for instance, Uber did its first raise in 2010, iirc). If the idea and the founding team are solid, there's almost always someone in the world who has money burning a hole in their pocket. It might, however, take a bit longer to find them given economic conditions. There may be better luck in seeking out investors that have a strong connection to the vertical you're working in (so called 'smart money').

Hoping the luck turns for you soon --