Do CEE founders pitch with money committed?
Most founders pitch with nothing committed. Only 10% of the CEE founders raising pre-seed who applied to BADideas in 2026 so far stated money already committed to the round, down from 18% in 2025. Those who had commitments had typically filled about 35% of the round.
The figures
| CEE applicants with money committed to the round | 2025 | 2026 (to date) |
|---|---|---|
| Raising pre-seed | 18% | 10% |
| Raising seed | 15% | 12% |
In BADideas application data, a first commitment is rare enough to stand out: about one in ten founders raising pre-seed has one.
What is changing
| Quarter | CEE founders raising pre-seed with money committed |
|---|---|
| Q2 2025 | 26% |
| Q3 2025 | 18% |
| Q4 2025 | 14% |
| Q1 2026 | 6% |
| Q2 2026 | 8% |
| Q3 2026 | 13% |
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 | Money already committed |
|---|---|
| All of CEE | 13% |
| Baltics | 12% |
| Latvia | 12% |
| Estonia | 10% |
| Lithuania | 14% |
| Poland | 15% |
Money already committed: highest in Poland (15%), lowest in Estonia (10%).
What it means for you
- You can pitch a VC with nothing committed. Most founders do; a fund can be the first money in.
- Any commitment helps. Even a small amount from a credible angel shows someone checked you.
- State it plainly. Amount, who, and on what terms; vague "interest" counts for little.
- Ask early backers for a small amount of money, rather than a promise. Money in the bank convinces the next investor; a verbal yes rarely does.
Related questions
How much of the round is usually committed when founders apply?
Among CEE founders who had commitments, the median was about 35% of the round, across 2025 and 2026 so far.
How we measured it
- On this page: Committed means money the founder states is already committed or soft-circled for this round. Founders who do not mention commitments count as having none.
- Updated: 27 September 2026.
BADideas.fund, "Do CEE founders pitch with money committed?", updated 27 September 2026. https://badideas.fund/answers/round-committed-before-pitching-cee
Read next
- Do CEE startups use angels before pre-seed?
- Do CEE startups take grants before pre-seed?
- How do CEE startups spend a pre-seed round?
- How do CEE founders settle VC concerns?
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.