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Pre-Seed Financial Model Template

The right-sized financial model for your first raise: an 18-24 month budget, hiring plan, and runway view — not a 5-year DCF. Download the Excel template and follow the pre-seed setup guide below.

18-24
Months of Runway
70-80%
Of Burn Is Headcount
1
Revenue Scenario
Free
No Email Required

What Pre-Seed Investors Expect

  • +A monthly operating budget covering 18-24 months from close.
  • +A hiring plan with fully loaded costs (salary × ~1.25-1.4 for taxes and benefits).
  • +Burn rate and the exact month cash runs out under the raise amount.
  • +The milestones the round buys: launch, first customers, or the metrics that unlock a seed round.

What to Leave Out

  • -5-year projections and DCF valuations — nobody believes them at pre-seed.
  • -Multiple revenue scenarios — present one conservative case with visible assumptions.
  • -Cohort and retention analysis before you have cohorts to analyze.
  • -Precision theater — round numbers with clear logic beat decimals with hidden formulas.

Pre-Seed Setup Guide

01

Start With Costs

Fill the Cost Structure tab first. List every hire by start month with fully loaded cost — headcount will be 70-80% of your burn.

02

One Revenue Scenario

Keep the Revenue Model tab to a single conservative case: customers × price, with assumptions labeled.

03

Set the Raise

Enter your round size in Assumptions and check the Dashboard: cash-out should land 18-24 months out.

04

Map Milestones

Mark the months where you launch, land first customers, and become seed-ready — before the cash-out month.

Download

Download the Financial Model Template

One free Excel workbook — Assumptions, Revenue Model, Cost Structure, Cash Flow, Unit Economics, and Dashboard tabs. Follow the setup guide above to keep it pre-seed simple.

Download Excel Template

Free forever · No email required · Excel & Google Sheets compatible

Pre-Seed Financial Model FAQs

What should a pre-seed financial model include?

A pre-seed financial model should include a monthly operating budget for the next 18-24 months, a hiring plan with fully loaded salary costs, your burn rate and runway under the round you are raising, and a simple revenue outlook clearly labeled as assumptions. It should not include a 5-year DCF or precise revenue forecasts — at pre-seed, investors evaluate your reasoning, not your spreadsheet precision.

Do pre-seed investors really look at financial models?

They look for judgment, not precision. A pre-seed model answers three questions: how much are you raising, what will you spend it on (mostly headcount), and what milestones will you hit before the money runs out. A clean one-tab budget that answers those beats a complex model every time.

How much runway should a pre-seed round cover?

Most founders plan for 18-24 months of runway from a pre-seed round. That typically gives 12-18 months to reach seed-ready milestones plus a 6-month buffer for the next fundraise. Model your burn so the milestone date lands well before the cash-out date.

Should I model revenue at pre-seed?

Yes, but keep it honest and simple: a bottoms-up view of customers × price under clearly stated assumptions. Label it as a scenario, not a forecast. Investors expect pre-seed revenue projections to be wrong; what they are checking is whether your pricing and customer math is coherent.

How do I adapt the template for pre-seed?

Download the financial model template below, then follow the setup guide on this page: fill in the Assumptions and Cost Structure tabs first (headcount is usually 70-80% of pre-seed burn), keep the Revenue Model tab to one conservative scenario, and use the Dashboard tab to present burn, runway, and milestones. Ignore the cohort analysis until you have real customers.