Tell Me Your Pre-Seed GTM Strategy

Pre-seed is about proving focus and discipline.

And yet — when I review decks from founders raising their first round — the GTM slide is almost always either missing or meaningless.

I don’t need to see “paid + content + partnerships.” I need to see something real.

What I want to see in your pre-seed GTM slide

1. ICP clarity
Who exactly is your first customer segment? Don’t tell me “SMBs in Europe.” Tell me which SMBs, in which market, and why they’re the wedge.

2. Beachhead strategy
What’s the first door you’ll kick open? Founder-led outbound? Community-first? A niche partnership? Show me you know where you’ll start.

3. Experiment mindset
How will you run and log GTM experiments to learn fast? A few small, well-documented tests tell me more than a hundred generic marketing ideas.

Don’t wait for traction slides to look perfect. At pre-seed, your discipline and focus is the traction.

Example of a strong GTM story

Instead of this:
“We’ll acquire customers through digital marketing and partnerships.”

Say this:
“In the last 8 weeks, we ran 5 GTM experiments. Two were inconclusive. Two gave clear insights (CTOs in Nordic SaaS reply at 8%). One repeatable motion emerged (referrals convert at 30%). This is our beachhead. We’ll run 15 more experiments in the next 9 months.”

That’s a story investors believe — not because it’s polished, but because it’s disciplined.

How to frame it in your deck

A good pre-seed deck is 10–12 slides. GTM should always be in there:

• Problem

• Vision

• Team

• Market size

• Product mockup/demo

• Roadmap

• GTM strategy ← don’t skip this

• Ask

The goal at this stage is simple: sell the dream and show you have a credible process to chase it.

If you’re unsure where to start, Antler has a pre-seed pitch deck guide.

Final thoughts

Investors don’t expect you to have CAC nailed at pre-seed.
They expect you to know:

• Who you’re targeting

• How you’ll reach them

• How you’ll learn fast

That’s what I want to see in your GTM strategy slide.

Proof of discipline. Proof of focus.

Because that’s what turns a vision into traction.