Is an MVP with no revenue too early in CEE?
No, but you are earlier than most. In 2026 so far, 31% of the CEE founders who applied to BADideas were still building their first version or earlier, against 38% in 2025. Most now arrive with users.
The figures
| Company stage when applying, CEE | 2025 | 2026 (to date) |
|---|---|---|
| Idea | 7% | 3% |
| Building the first version (MVP) | 31% | 28% |
| Early users or revenue | 48% | 54% |
| Scaling | 14% | 15% |
In BADideas application data, most founders raising pre-seed still have no revenue (70% in 2026 so far), but they increasingly have a product with users.
What is changing
| Quarter | CEE applicants at MVP stage or earlier |
|---|---|
| Q2 2025 | 40% |
| Q3 2025 | 42% |
| Q4 2025 | 36% |
| Q1 2026 | 38% |
| Q2 2026 | 26% |
| Q3 2026 | 28% |
Founders apply later. The share at MVP stage or earlier is down from 38% in 2025.
Across CEE
CEE founders 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 | At MVP stage or earlier |
|---|---|
| All of CEE | 34% |
| Baltics | 39% |
| Latvia | 51% |
| Estonia | 28% |
| Lithuania | 38% |
| Poland | 26% |
| Ukraine | 25% |
| Romania | 28% |
| Czechia | 29% |
| Bulgaria | 15% |
At MVP stage or earlier: highest in Latvia (51%), lowest in Bulgaria (15%).
What it means for you
- An MVP is enough to start conversations. About a third of the founders applying are there.
- Get first users before you pitch if you can. Half the founders applying next to you already have users or revenue.
- Show what the MVP has proved. Tests run, users who came back, what you changed because of them.
- Say what the round pays for. At MVP stage, investors pay for you to learn. Say which questions the money answers and by when.
- Line up evidence you can show. Letters of intent, pilots and a waitlist carry weight when revenue is still zero.
Related questions
Are founders pitching earlier or later than before?
Later: MVP stage or earlier was 38% of CEE applicants in 2025 and 31% in 2026 so far.
How we measured it
- On this page: The stage is the founder's answer on the application form, else what the application says.
- Updated: 27 September 2026.
BADideas.fund, "Is an MVP with no revenue too early in CEE?", updated 27 September 2026. https://badideas.fund/answers/too-early-mvp-no-revenue-cee
Read next
- Do CEE startups with revenue raise more?
- How many CEE startups raise pre-revenue?
- Do CEE startups use angels before pre-seed?
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.