Insight

U.S. Startup Funding Graduation Rates (Pre-Seed → Seed and Seed → Series A) Pre-Seed to Seed Graduation Rate Current Conversion: Recent industry benchmarks indicate roughly half of U.S. startups that secure pre-seed funding go on to raise a seed round. Specifically, about 45–55% of pre-seed–backed companies manage to “graduate” to a seed financing. This figure … Continue reading Update on Venture graduation rates →

You can watch the full conversation here: Product and User Experience, how to make a cure and not a vitamin with Greg Raiz From Friction to Fire: Turning UX Into a Cure, Not a Vitamin One of the core principles that guides our investment thesis at Incisive Ventures is a relentless focus on real pain—not … Continue reading RECAP: “Product and User Experience, how to make a cure and not a vitamin” webinar →

Most technology innovations are incremental improvements—the next faster chip, the next bigger hard drive, a new feature for your CRM, a better email client, etc. Every now and then, something comes along that opens up huge new white spaces of innovation by enabling us to solve previously intractable problems. Problems people had been working on … Continue reading With AI solve for the previously intractable →

Accounting tends not to be a strong suit at pre-seed companies. It's okay if you own it and get better over time. Here are the most common accounting errors I have seen in Pre-seed (fix them if you have them).🧵 Cash accounting vs GAAP. Getting paid a one-year subscription up front and counting all the … Continue reading Accounting blunders for pre-seed founders to watch out for →

Watch the full broadcast here: How to Pick your first Angel or Pre-Seed investors In today's dynamic tech landscape, securing the right investor can be a game-changer for startups. During a compelling presentation, Martin Tobias, a seasoned pre-seed investor, shared valuable insights into the intricacies of choosing the right investor, particularly in the realm of … Continue reading RECAP: “How to Pick your first Angel or Pre-Seed investors” →

I have been a pre-seed software investor for 25 years, investing in over 250 companies. Chat GPT would be a terrible Pre-Seed Software investor; here is why. I asked Chat GPT "How do you evaluate Pre-Seed software companies"? Here is their 7-part framework and how it is off base versus my experience in the industry. … Continue reading Chat GPT would be terrible at pre-seed investing, here is why →

https://youtu.be/RcCAkNBUNqg?si=kb40k3nZpxJOSU8t In the fast-paced world of venture capital and startups, understanding the significance of timing is often as crucial as the idea itself. In his engaging talk, Martin Tobias, General Partner of Incisive Ventures and an experienced investor, unfolds the layers behind the crucial element of a "Why Now?" narrative in pitch decks. The "Why … Continue reading RECAP: “The Importance of Inflection Points: Telling a Compelling “Why Now?” Story” →

A comment many founders hear is that their start-up may not be "venture scale." Ok, but what the hell does that mean? A simple rule of thumb for what makes an idea venture-scale is having a path to $100 million a year in revenue and hitting $1 billion+ valuation, in 10 years. Essentially, can you get big and profitable … Continue reading What does “Venture Scale” really mean? →

In a recent webinar, I had the pleasure of speaking with Ihar Iharouski, a fellow pre-seed or seed venture capitalist based in New York. As early-stage VCs, we delved into various aspects of venture capital, particularly focusing on what we look for in both red flags and green flags when evaluating pre-seed companies. Through our … Continue reading RECAP OF: “Red Flags and Green Flags for Pre-Seed VCs”: A Conversation with Martin Tobias and Ihar Mahaniok →