How many CEE startups raise pre-revenue?
Pre-revenue is the norm when founders raise in CEE. 70% of the CEE founders raising pre-seed who applied to BADideas in 2026 so far had no revenue, and so did 46% of those raising seed.
The figures
| Applicants with no revenue | 2025 | 2026 (to date) |
|---|---|---|
| CEE, raising pre-seed | 72% | 70% |
| CEE, raising seed | 55% | 46% |
| CEE, all stages | 63% | 61% |
In BADideas application data, the share with no revenue is about the same as in 2025: founders are not waiting for revenue before they raise.
What is changing
| Quarter | CEE applicants with no revenue |
|---|---|
| Q2 2025 | 64% |
| Q3 2025 | 67% |
| Q4 2025 | 60% |
| Q1 2026 | 61% |
| Q2 2026 | 60% |
| Q3 2026 | 63% |
Across CEE
CEE founders raising pre-seed who applied in 2025 and 2026 so far. We show each country with enough applicants; smaller countries count only in the CEE row.
| Where the founder is based | Applied with no revenue |
|---|---|
| All of CEE | 71% |
| Baltics | 72% |
| Latvia | 72% |
| Estonia | 79% |
| Lithuania | 65% |
| Poland | 71% |
Applied with no revenue: highest in Estonia (79%), lowest in Lithuania (65%).
What it means for you
- You can raise pre-seed without revenue. Most founders around you apply without it.
- Replace revenue with evidence. Without revenue, show pilots, letters of intent, usage or a waitlist.
- At seed, about half have revenue. Without it you compete with founders who have some, so the rest of the evidence has to be stronger.
Related questions
What share of startups raising pre-seed have no revenue?
70% of CEE founders raising pre-seed applied with no revenue in 2026 so far, against 72% in 2025.
What share of startups raising seed have no revenue?
46% of CEE founders raising seed in 2026 so far, against 55% in 2025.
How we measured it
- On this page: No revenue means the application states no current revenue. This is founders who raise, not the investors' decisions. An application that states no revenue counts as having none.
- Updated: 27 September 2026.
BADideas.fund, "How many CEE startups raise pre-revenue?", updated 27 September 2026. https://badideas.fund/answers/pre-revenue-startups-cee
Read next
- Do CEE startups with revenue raise more?
- How much do pre-seed startups in CEE raise?
- What valuation do CEE founders ask for?
- Is €60k for 8% a normal accelerator deal?
- Should a CEE SaaS with revenue raise €1–2M?
Who we are
We are a pre-seed and seed fund for founders in Central and Eastern Europe. We have built and sold companies ourselves, and since 2022 we have backed more than 40.
We back founders who see something about their market that others do not see yet. They want to change how a whole industry works, and they start small.
Good founders rarely fail on the idea or the product. They fail on selling it. We give your company hands-on help from go-to-market operators who grew Zendesk, Square and Scale AI.