{"id":941572,"date":"2026-07-17T17:55:14","date_gmt":"2026-07-17T17:55:14","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/941572\/"},"modified":"2026-07-17T17:55:14","modified_gmt":"2026-07-17T17:55:14","slug":"no-product-no-problem-this-disrupt-2026-session-shows-how-to-get-pre-seed-funding-with-conviction-storytelling","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/941572\/","title":{"rendered":"No product? No problem. This Disrupt 2026 session shows how to get pre-seed funding with conviction, storytelling\u00a0"},"content":{"rendered":"

It\u2019s not just you: AI startups are taking in a huge amount of seed funding, and in the process making things harder for anyone looking for funding even at a pre-seed stage.\u00a0We\u2019ve covered the trend in detail<\/a>, and at this year\u2019s TechCrunch Disrupt event<\/a>, we want to help pre-seed founders now being held to seed-stage expectations.\u00a0<\/p>\n

With AI making the development of a minimum\u00a0viable\u00a0product swifter than ever, is there even hope for a founder who has a compelling idea, but nothing concrete to show for it?\u00a0That\u2019s\u00a0what our \u201cWinning Pre-Seed Without a Product\u201d panel will\u00a0seek\u00a0to answer.\u00a0<\/p>\n

And\u00a0it\u2019s\u00a0just one of\u00a0the many sessions you can look forward\u00a0to\u00a0at\u00a0our popular Builders Stage at Disrupt 2026<\/a>.\u00a0That\u2019s\u00a0where our most pointed conversations and workshops take place, tackling everything from getting your hands dirty with operational decisions, fundraising,\u00a0go-to-market\u00a0strategies,\u00a0and other\u00a0vital\u00a0subjects.\u00a0<\/p>\n

And you can be a part of it all by\u00a0getting your ticket to attend Disrupt 2026<\/a>\u00a0in San Francisco at Moscone West, October 13-15, at the best prices\u00a0you\u2019ll\u00a0find for the\u00a0remainder\u00a0of the year.\u00a0<\/p>\n

As for this specific session,\u00a0we\u2019ve\u00a0gathered a great trio of speakers to provide their\u00a0expertise\u00a0on this nuanced and pivotal topic.\u00a0<\/p>\n

Sandhya Venkatachalam:\u00a0Founder, managing partner, Axiom Partners\u00a0<\/p>\n

\"\"Image Credits:<\/strong>Axiom Partners<\/p>\n

Venkatachalam\u00a0both\u00a0knows\u00a0a thing or two about having a successful exit, and\u00a0what investors are looking for when\u00a0taking the plunge with companies that eventually succeed through an acquisition of their own. Her current role is overseeing\u00a0the\u00a0newly launched\u00a0Axiom\u00a0Partners<\/a>, which is\u00a0an early-stage, $52 million\u00a0venture fund<\/a>\u00a0that\u2019s\u00a0focused on connecting founders to top-class AI practitioners to help fuel AI that leads to real-world improvements.\u00a0<\/p>\n

Previously, she worked as a GP at Khosla Ventures and Social Capital, where she was the first investor in\u00a0Groq,\u00a0and also\u00a0led investments into\u00a0GalileoAI,\u00a0ForethoughtAI,\u00a0and\u00a0FirefliesAI, which have all either been\u00a0acquired\u00a0or reached unicorn status.\u00a0<\/p>\n

Puneet Agarwal:\u00a0Managing partner, True Ventures\u00a0<\/p>\n

\"\"Image Credits:<\/strong>True Ventures<\/p>\n

True Ventures has been a mainstay of the startup community, with a focus on\u00a0early-stage\u00a0companies that\u00a0stretches\u00a0back to 2005. And Agarwal has worked there for\u00a0nearly that\u00a0whole time, starting in 2008\u00a0and now evolving into a managing partner who\u2019s especially focused on the transformation of enterprise infrastructure and applications amid the AI era.\u00a0<\/p>\n

If\u00a0you\u2019re\u00a0looking for expert advice on what VCs want, Agarwal is here to provide it.\u00a0True Ventures\u00a0isn\u2019t\u00a0just a\u00a0fund; it stretches across 12 funds, with partnerships stretching from more than 500 companies and 1,050 founders to more than 60 acquisitions and seven IPOs.\u00a0<\/p>\n

Austin Clements: Managing partner, Slauson & Co.\u00a0<\/p>\n

\"\"Image Credits:<\/strong>Slauson & Co.<\/p>\n

Slauson & Co.<\/a>\u00a0isn\u2019t\u00a0at the scale of True Ventures, but their mission, and Clements\u2019 work within it, will be of\u00a0particular note\u00a0for the founders in the crowd.\u00a0They\u2019re\u00a0particularly\u00a0focused on economic inclusion and small business empowerment, and Clements\u00a0started an accelerator within the firm to\u00a0hone in on\u00a0this mission even further.\u00a0\u00a0<\/p>\n

His work to broaden the founder community through inclusive efforts is echoed in his work as the founding chair of\u00a0PledgeLA<\/a>, which in partnership with the Annenberg Foundation and LA mayor\u2019s office, further promotes the importance of diversity within the tech community.\u00a0\u00a0<\/p>\n

And frequent readers may recognize one of the companies Slauson & Co. has invested in:\u00a0Startup Battlefield 2026 victor Gl\u012bd<\/a>!\u00a0<\/p>\n<\/p>\n

Learn from experts, embrace the Disrupt 2026 excitement\u00a0<\/p>\n

They\u2019re\u00a0just the beginning of our rollout of Disrupt 2026 programming as we build up to our October 13 kickoff in San Francisco.\u00a0\u00a0<\/p>\n

And let that Battlefield highlight be a reminder that Disrupt isn\u2019t just the valuable insights and sessions \u2014 it\u2019s getting to celebrate the community, learn from their success and stumbles, and equip yourself for the new step of your journey. Whether you\u2019re a founder, investor, or playing any number of other vital roles in the startup ecosystem, now\u2019s the time to get your Disrupt 2026 ticket<\/a>!<\/p>\n

When you purchase through links in our articles, we may earn a small commission<\/a>. This doesn\u2019t affect our editorial independence.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"It\u2019s not just you: AI startups are taking in a huge amount of seed funding, and in the…\n","protected":false},"author":3,"featured_media":941573,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":"","_share_on_mastodon":"0"},"categories":[16],"tags":[64,607,609,17166,67,132,68],"class_list":["post-941572","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-entrepreneurship","tag-business","tag-entrepreneurship","tag-techcrunch-disrupt","tag-true-ventures","tag-united-states","tag-unitedstates","tag-us"],"share_on_mastodon":{"url":"","error":""},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/941572","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/3"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=941572"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/941572\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/941573"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=941572"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=941572"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=941572"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}