It feels like the goalposts moved again. AI startups are swallowing up massive amounts of capital. This isn’t just a trend, it’s a structural shift that’s making pre-seed fundraising a nightmare for everyone else. If you’re an early-stage founder, investors are treating you like a seed-stage company. They expect traction. They expect data.
You might be thinking, “I have an idea. It’s good. I don’t have code.”
The market is brutal for founders who can’t show a demo. But the definition of “product” is changing fast.
AI tools are shrinking development timelines. Building a Minimum Viable Product (MVP) used to take months. Now? Days. Weeks. The excuse of “we’re still building it” doesn’t carry weight anymore. If you have nothing concrete, what hope is left? That is exactly the question a specific panel at TechCrunch Disrupt 206 will tackle. The session, titled “Winning Pre-Seed Without A Product,” aims to cut through the noise for founders held to impossible standards.
This isn’t the main stage hype. This happens on the Builders Stage. It’s where the actual work gets discussed. Operational grit. Go-to-market war stories. Real talk on fundraising when the market is tight. If you are going to San Francisco at Moscone West from October 13 to 15, you need to see this. Tickets are still available, and prices are decent if you move now.
How to Convince Investors Before Your Code Runs
Who sits on this panel matters more than the advice. You don’t want theorists. You want the people signing the checks.
The lineup is heavy on early-stage veterans who actually deal with this friction daily.
Sandhya Venkatachalam runs Axiom Partners. She launched this new $52 million fund with a specific thesis: connect founders with top-tier AI practitioners. She isn’t guessing. Venkatachalam knows how exits work because she helped drive them. As a former General Partner at Khosla Ventures and Chamath Palihapitiya’s Social Capital, she was the first investor in Groq. She led money into Galileo AI, Forethought AI, and Fireflies AI. These companies either hit unicorn status or got acquired. She sees what works. She knows why some early-stage bets turn into millions.
Then there is Puneet Agarwal of True Ventures.
He’s been around since 2005, which basically makes him an elder statesman of Silicon Valley early-stage investing. Agarwal has focused on enterprise infrastructure lately. AI is reshaping enterprise, and he is watching the shift. True Ventures isn’t small. They have managed twelve funds. They partner with over 500 companies. More than 60 acquisitions. Seven IPOs. Agarwal can tell you exactly what a VC is thinking when they read your pitch deck.
But the third name on the list is the one pre-seed founders need to watch closely.
Austin Clements, managing partner at Slauson & Co..
This firm doesn’t have the balance sheet of True Ventures. And that is the point. Clements focuses on economic inclusion. He launched an accelerator to specifically help small business founders, often from underrepresented groups. He isn’t looking for the next Meta. He is looking for viability, inclusion, and grit. As founding chair of PledgeLA, he works with the Annenberg Foundation to push diversity in tech.
Here is why you should pay attention: Slauson & Co. backed Glīd. Glīd just won Startup Battlefield at the recent event.
That tells you everything. You don’t need a massive product suite to win. You need a mission and the right partners. Clements proves that inclusive funding strategies produce winners. The ecosystem benefits when it opens up.
Why Disrupt 206 Matters For Pre-Seed Founders
The industry is saturated with AI noise. Most panels talk about the technology. This one talks about the money. And specifically, how to get money without the tech.
That distinction is vital.
Venkatachalam brings the acquisition mindset. She will explain how to position an idea for exit, not just operation. Agarwal brings the institutional scale perspective. He knows how enterprise infrastructure buys change valuation caps. Clements brings the underdog narrative. He knows how to sell conviction when the data isn’t there yet.
You get all three in one room.
Is it worth going just for this session? Maybe not. But if you are in pre-seed mode right now, feeling the pressure of an AI-hyped market that ignores your non-AI idea (or your pre-product AI idea), this is where the practical answers are.
The Builders Stage covers everything else too. Go-to-market. Ops. Fundraising tactics. It is designed for founders who are in the weeds, not just on the clouds.
So, will you show up empty-handed? Or will you go prepared?
The doors at Moscone West open soon. October 13. San Francisco is waiting. The ticket prices are low. The conversations will be direct.
There’s no perfect strategy. Just the next move.
