How many startups raising in CEE are 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. Investors who back pre-seed in CEE are, in most cases, backing a company before it earns.
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% |
What it means for you
- You can raise pre-seed without revenue. Most founders around you apply without it.
- Replace revenue with evidence. Pilots, letters of intent, usage and a waitlist carry a pre-revenue pitch.
- 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.
Also answers
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
- Source: applications founders sent to BADideas in 2025 and 2026 to date. CEE means the company is in a Central or Eastern European country. No revenue means the application states no current revenue. This is founders who raise, not the investors' decisions.
- Limits: these are founders who applied to one CEE pre-seed fund, so the sample leans towards companies that see themselves as a fit for it. A single quarter can swing, so read the change between years first. An application that states no revenue counts as having none.
- Read: 26 September 2026. Updated every quarter.
BADideas.fund, "How many startups raising in CEE are pre-revenue?", founder application data read 26 September 2026. https://badideas.fund/answers/pre-revenue-startups-cee
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, start with something small, and learn fast.
Good founders rarely fail on the idea or the product. They fail on selling it. So that is where we help: operators who grew Zendesk, Square and Scale AI work on your go-to-market.
Raising soon? Get your deck read the way our deal leads read it