💰 What It Actually Takes to Get a $2M Pre-Seed Check from 16VC

No pitch deck? No problem. Here’s what actually convinced us to wire $2M.

Jul 28, 2025

TL;DR:

We recently wrote a $2 million check at the pre-seed stage — no deck, no co-founder, no demo. Just a Google Doc and an idea that felt inevitable.
This post breaks down what we saw, why we moved fast, and how you can apply the same playbook (if you dare).

First, Yes — This Really Happened.

We know how this sounds:

“A solo founder walks in with no product, no traction, and walks out with $2M.”

But in this case? That’s exactly what happened.

Let’s be clear — this was not some trust fund hobbyist with an idea scribbled on a napkin. This was one of the most compelling early-stage bets we’ve ever seen.

And here’s why.

1. The Founder Wasn’t Just Smart — They Were Inevitable

Plenty of people are smart.
Many are hardworking.
Very few have the kind of earned insight that makes you lean forward and go:

“If this person doesn’t build this company, the world is worse off.”

In this case, the founder had spent 6+ years inside the exact ecosystem they were trying to disrupt — and they weren’t theorizing. They had receipts: broken workflows, missed opportunities, untapped markets.

They weren’t solving a problem.
They were correcting a market dysfunction they’d lived through.

2. The Idea Wasn’t “Big” — It Was Uncomfortable

We’re not chasing “the next Uber.”
We’re chasing ideas that feel too early… until suddenly, they’re not.

This idea made people nervous. Not because it was illegal or unethical — but because it challenged entrenched power.

When VCs say they want “category-defining,” this is what they should mean:

Not just faster
Not just cheaper
But different in a way that forces everyone else to react

We saw the edge.
And we bet on it before it became obvious.

3. The Execution Plan Was Scary in a Good Way

No slide decks. No buzzwords. Just a clean Notion doc with:

A 90-day roadmap
First 5 hires
How they'd test distribution before writing code
What they’d kill if it didn’t work

It was sharp. Specific. Ruthless.

This wasn’t a “vision board”; it was the founder's energy.
This was:

“I know where the bodies are buried, and I know where I’ll make my first million.”

4. Their Community Was Already Building the Demand

Here’s what most first-time founders miss:
You don’t need traction. But you need a signal.

This founder had already built a niche community of 2.3k users around the problem.
They weren’t monetized. They weren’t even being pitched.
But when the founder whispered the idea to a few of them?

50+ immediately asked to be in the beta.

That’s not luck. That’s trust capital. You can’t fake it.

5. They Didn’t Pitch Themselves — They Made Us Ask Questions

This might sound counterintuitive, but:

The best pitches don’t feel like pitches. They feel like puzzles.

We didn’t sit through a 30-slide deck.
We sat through a conversation that made us realize how little we understood about the space — and how much we wanted to learn more.

The founder wasn’t trying to impress us.
They were pulling us into the idea, brick by brick.

That’s rare. That’s magnetic.
That’s what gets you a $2M check before you even write a line of code.

What This Means for You

Most pre-seed decks are filled with fluff.
Most founders over-index on pitch polish and under-index on clarity.

Here’s what we actually care about at 16VC:

✅ Are you the one person who has to build this?
✅ Are you solving a pain so people already follow you for it?
✅ Are you obsessed with execution over aesthetics?
✅ Are you moving faster than our due diligence?

Final Word: No Deck? No Problem.

You don’t need a shiny pitch.
You don’t need a perfect cofounder.
You don’t need Silicon Valley access.

But you do need to be dangerous.
Dangerous enough that when we close the call, we’re afraid someone else will fund you before we do.

🧨 If You’re Building Something This Bold, Apply.

We write $100K–$2M checks at Pre-Seed and Seed.
And we move fast when it feels right.

👉 Apply here www.16vc.co
(Yes, even if you’re “too early.” Especially then.)

16VC