Founders should plan on 3–6 months to close a pre-seed round, not the 1–3 months some timelines suggest, says Steve Walsh.
Walsh points to his experience reviewing roughly 6,000 deals over the last 9 years and participating in about 70 fundraises. He is currently involved in four active raises: two pre-seed and two seed.
Planning your pre-seed timeline
Walsh advises founders to expect an extended process: potentially 200 investor conversations at about 30 minutes each — roughly 100 hours of direct investor calls alone. That estimate does not include the time required to identify the right investors, secure introductions, perform outreach and follow-up, update the deck, respond to diligence questions, and continue running the company.
If founders assume a 30–60 day timeline, Walsh warns, they may start fundraising too late, leave themselves short on runway, or build a pipeline of only 50 investors when 200 are needed. He notes that pre-seed rounds can close in 30 or 60 days, but those outcomes are exceptions rather than the rule and should not form the basis of a fundraising strategy.
What fundraising really takes
The practical advice Walsh gives is simple: give yourself 3–6 months, build a large investor pipeline, start before you desperately need the money, and expect to hear “no” many times. If you do close in 60 days, take the win.
For founders raising capital now, Walsh offers a 30-minute Strategy Session to help determine how much to raise, who to target, what valuation to seek, whether a deck is ready, and why investors may not be responding. He frames the session as a way to assess where a founder is, identify obstacles, and define next moves.
— Steve Walsh
Hands On Angel
