8 Investors Discuss Pre-Seed, Post-Seed, and Series A Financing via the Virtual Accelerator Investor Forum

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, read to how several of the investors I’ve spoken with recently define “seed.” You will also learn what kind of validation they are looking for in a startup before getting into a deal.

Jon Staenberg, Managing Partner at Staenberg Venture Partners, has been a seed investor in over 300 ventures over the last 30 years. Jon draws from his long background and discusses some of what interests him to invest in a startup. He also reflects on the question People or Market: Which takes priority?

Jake Seid, Managing Director, Stone Bridge Ventures, talks about trends, AngelList Syndicates, ICOs and more.

Aniruddha Malpani, Director and Founder of Malpani Ventures, is an active angel investor in the Indian circuit. He discusses what he looks for in companies he wants to invest in.

John Frankel, Partner at ff Venture Capital, discusses the firm’s investment thesis as well as key trends in the industry.

Laurel Touby, Managing Partner at Supernode Ventures, and a former entrepreneur and avid angel investor, has now launched her new institutional pre-seed fund.

Semyon Dukach, Managing Partner at One Way Ventures, a firm that is 100% focused on immigrant entrepreneurs.

Hussein Kanji, Partner at Hoxton Ventures, is based in London and the primary focus is on European ventures.

Photo credit: socialmediasl444/Flickr.com.