Pre-Seed Funding Preparation: 100 Key Points from VC Reading List @MartinGTobias

This blogger post was inspired by:

Martin Tobias (Pre-Seed VC)  

@MartinGTobias Entrepreneur, Investor, girldad, cyclist, surfer, poker player, and life hacker. Pre-seed up to $500K. Chat with me https://delphi.ai/martingtobias

Pre-Seed Funding Preparation: 100 Key Points from the Reading List

This list gives you easy-to-learn techniques from the pre-seed reading list. These insights focus on mindset, resilience, decision-making, habits, and community—critical for founders navigating uncertainty, pitching investors, and building early traction. I've grouped them by source for easy reference.
Have fun! :-)

Midjourney - George Ohan

From Thinking in Bets by Annie Duke (Decision-Making Under Uncertainty)

1. Frame every business decision as a "bet" to force probabilistic thinking and evaluate risks like odds in poker.
2. Acknowledge uncertainty explicitly by saying "I'm not sure" to avoid overconfidence in pitches or pivots.
3. Redefine "wrong" not as a bad choice, but as an outcome that didn't match your prediction—key for learning from failed prototypes.
4. Use the "buddy system": Share decisions with a trusted peer to spot biases before committing resources.
5. Seek deliberate dissent from advisors to strengthen your startup thesis and prepare for investor scrutiny.
6. Honestly review past decisions post-mortem, separating luck from skill to refine your funding strategy.
7. Treat entrepreneurship like poker, not chess: Embrace incomplete information and adapt in real-time.
8. Manage emotional biases by detaching ego from outcomes, ensuring clear-headed negotiations with early backers.
9. Align your past, present, and future selves when deciding on milestones—avoid short-term traps that derail long-term vision.
10. Surround yourself with diverse perspectives to widen your decision-making "pre-mortem" and anticipate market shifts.

From The Obstacle Is the Way by Ryan Holiday (Stoic Resilience in Adversity)

11. Apply the Perception-Action-Will framework: Reframe funding rejections as opportunities to iterate your pitch.
12. Persevere through setbacks by viewing them as integral to mastery, like refining your MVP after beta failures.
13. Recognize obstacles as growth catalysts—use "no's" from investors to sharpen your unique value proposition.
14. Accept unchangeables (e.g., market timing) to focus energy on controllables like team morale.
15. Stay objective by journaling emotions during crises, maintaining an even keel for consistent founder leadership.
16. Intentionally see the upside in every problem, turning supply chain issues into innovative partnerships.
17. Hunt for hidden advantages in constraints, such as bootstrapping pre-seed to build authentic traction stories.
18. Shift perspective by deconstructing challenges—break a competitive threat into actionable angles.
19. Adopt Stoicism to build antifragile operations, preparing your startup for economic volatility.
20. Steady your nerves by ignoring distractions, channeling focus into high-impact tasks like customer validation.

From The Subtle Art of Not Giving a Fck* by Mark Manson (Prioritizing Values)

21. Happiness in founding stems from solving meaningful problems—pick battles aligned with your core mission.
22. Accept you're wrong about most assumptions; test hypotheses early to pivot without ego attachment.
23. Embrace failure and pain as forward momentum—each rejection builds resilience for the next pitch.
24. Wisely allocate your limited "f*cks": Prioritize product-market fit over vanity metrics.
25. View setbacks as entrepreneurial rites—use them to forge unbreakable grit.
26. Claim responsibility for outcomes to empower control, like owning delays in your launch timeline.
27. Redefine success personally: Measure by impact, not funding rounds, to sustain motivation.
28. Leverage suffering for growth—channel prototype flops into breakthrough insights.
29. Avoid competitor comparisons; focus inward to craft a defensible niche.
30. Mind only business worth minding: Ignore noise, amplify signal in your network.

From Zen and the Art of Motorcycle Maintenance by Robert Pirsig (Pursuit of Quality)

31. Avoid careless attitudes—full engagement prevents mediocre products and sloppy founder habits.
32. Deeply understand your "motorcycle" (tech stack or model): Hands-on knowledge trumps superficial ownership.
33. Embrace the Metaphysics of Quality: Prioritize excellence in every feature to differentiate your startup.
34. Harness Dynamic Quality: Innovate at the leading edge, like experimenting with unproven tech.
35. Accept loss of control in scaling—balance vision with investor input without resentment.
36. Achieve excellence through immersion—lose self-object separation in deep work sessions.
37. Blend classical (analytical) and romantic (intuitive) thinking for holistic strategy.
38. Draw innovation from philosophy: Question "why" to uncover novel business angles.
39. Pursue self-discovery via relentless practice, mirroring founder iteration cycles.
40. Focus on practical fixes: Maintain startup "maintenance" like regular user feedback loops.

From Flow by Mihaly Csikszentmihalyi (Optimal Performance States)

41. Cultivate Flow states to turn mundane tasks (e.g., cold outreach) into enjoyable, productive rituals.
42. Balance challenges with skills: Scale tasks to avoid boredom or anxiety in early development.
43. Set clear, immediate goals—like daily user acquisition targets—to trigger Flow and momentum.
44. Leverage Flow for outlier results: Founders in Flow outpace competitors through sustained focus.
45. Derive meaning from intrinsic enjoyment, not external validation like funding hype.
46. Redefine success inwardly: Flow aligns personal fulfillment with scalable growth.
47. Seek complex experiences: Layer skills in your venture to deepen engagement.
48. Control destiny by engineering environments for Flow, like distraction-free co-working.
49. Fuel creativity via Flow: Use it to ideate disruptive features during brainstorming.
50. Build Flow-based teams: Reduce turnover and costs by fostering engaging workflows.

From This Is Water by David Foster Wallace (Awareness and Perspective)

51. Train awareness of "invisible" realities—like hidden biases in your pitch deck.
52. Consciously manage instincts: Override self-centered defaults for empathetic investor reads.
53. Prioritize self-awareness: Reflect daily to avoid unconscious founder blind spots.
54. Counter default solipsism: Practice radical empathy in team and stakeholder interactions.
55. Exercise freedom to assign meaning: Choose startup struggles as noble pursuits.
56. Use education for adjustment: Learn to worship wisely, valuing process over quick wins.
57. Apply knowledge strategically: Turn insights into applied tactics for revenue experiments.
58. Spot the obvious: Question core assumptions, like "What if our market isn't what we think?"
59. Make bold calls with sparse data: Cultivate intuition through deliberate practice.
60. Enable cross-functional harmony: Foster awareness to align diverse team visions.

From Jonathan Livingston Seagull by Richard Bach (Breaking Limits)

61. Harness self-belief: Visualize funding success to overcome imposter syndrome.
62. Prioritize self-discovery: Experiment solo to uncover your unique founder edge.
63. Push societal limits: Ignore "flock" norms to pioneer bold startup models.
64. Live with purpose: Align daily actions to a higher vision beyond survival.
65. Build self-discipline: Practice relentlessly, like daily skill drills for pitching.
66. Embrace individuality: Your quirks are assets in a sea of conformity.
67. Dare differently: Reject safe paths for high-reward innovation.
68. Attain mastery via iteration: Perfection emerges from 1,000 flights (or tests).
69. Follow your path fearlessly: Tune out critics during vulnerable pre-seed phases.
70. Love your craft: Passion sustains you through isolation and doubt.

From Antifragile by Nassim Taleb (Thriving in Chaos)

71. Bias toward learning: Prioritize growth experiments over immediate revenue chases.
72. Design resilience-first: Build modular ops that withstand funding droughts.
73. Insist on skin in the game: Align incentives with co-founders and early hires.
74. Act on intuition: Do unexplained things that feel right, like gut-pivot decisions.
75. Tinker voraciously: Generate black swan upsides through low-cost prototypes.
76. Seek asymmetric bets: High-upside, low-downside moves like viral growth hacks.
77. Decentralize power: Empower teams to fail small without systemic collapse.
78. Maximize optionality: Keep multiple paths open in negotiations and strategies.
79. Thrive via volatility: Use market shocks as signals for antifragile adaptation.
80. Build redundancy: Diversify networks to buffer against single-point failures.

From Tribe by Sebastian Junger (Power of Community)

81. Satisfy belonging needs: Build tight-knit teams to combat founder loneliness.
82. Counter prosperity's isolation: Foster interdependence to boost collective happiness.
83. Unite through shared hardship: Rally around challenges like tight deadlines.
84. Derive purpose from others: Tie success to team wins, not solo glory.
85. Learn loyalty from tribes: Cultivate unbreakable bonds for long-haul support.
86. Reclaim tribal joy: Counter modern alienation with ritualistic team huddles.
87. Honor rites of passage: Mark milestones to build shared identity.
88. Practice disciplined responsibility: Lead by serving the group's greater good.
89. Evolve beyond solopreneurship: Form tribes to leverage collective evolution.
90. Every founder needs a tribe: Network intentionally for emotional and strategic lifelines.

From Atomic Habits by James Clear (Building Sustainable Systems)

91. Shift identity: Become "the resilient founder" to embed winning behaviors.
92. Build systems over goals: Automate daily rituals for consistent pre-seed progress.
93. Harness compounding: Tiny daily improvements yield exponential traction.
94. Atomize big goals: Break funding prep into 2-minute micro-tasks.
95. Stack habits: Link outreach calls to post-pitch reviews for seamless flow.
96. Make it attractive: Gamify metrics to sustain motivation in grind phases.
97. Shape environment: Design your workspace for focus, minimizing distractions.
98. Layer behavior change: Target outcomes, processes, and identity sequentially.
99. Apply four laws: Make cues obvious, actions easy, rewards immediate, habits satisfying.
100. Track immediate cues: Use them to predict and reinforce long-term startup discipline.

Bonus: From The Matrix (Questioning Reality and Bold Choices)These cinematic angles reinforce awakening to entrepreneurial truths—take the red pill on your venture's potential.

101. Choose the red pill: Commit fully to your vision, rejecting comfortable illusions of stability.
102. Question the simulation: Challenge industry "rules" to uncover untapped opportunities.
103. Learn continuously: "Download" skills rapidly via mentors and tools.
104. Serve the mission: Lead like Morpheus—empower others without seeking credit.
105. Overcome doubt: Bend the "spoon" of reality with persistent belief.
106. Embrace the unknown: Free-fall into uncertainty, trusting your adaptability.
107. Build alliances: Assemble a crew of believers to amplify your impact.
108. Evolve mid-journey: Update your "code" after every failure loop.
109. Fight for freedom: View funding as liberation from scarcity mindsets.
110. Become "The One": Own your unique role in disrupting the status quo.

U.S. Army Veteran

George Ohan @ UCLA

 ORIGINAL POST on X: @MartinGTobias 

Repost of my Pre-Seed reading list for Founders SUMMARY LIST  

Thinking in bets, Annie Duke 

The Obstacle is the Way, Ryan Holiday 

The Subtle Art of Not Giving a F*ck, Mark Manson 

Zen and the Art of Motorcycle Maintenance, Robert Persig 

Flow, Mihaly Csikszentmihalyi 

This is Water, David Foster Wallace Jonathan Livingston 

Seagull, Richard Bach 

AntiFragile, Nassim Taleb 

Tribe, Sebastian Junger 

Atomic Habits, James Clear 

bonus: The Matrix