Pre-Revenue
A startup that has not yet started earning revenue, still building, testing, or pre-launch. Post-revenue means money has started coming in, however little.
Why it matters
Being pre-revenue shapes how you can fund the company and what investors expect, since there are no sales to point to, only the idea, team, and early signals. Reaching first revenue is a meaningful milestone that changes the conversation.
For example
A biotech startup is pre-revenue for years while it develops its product, so it must raise on the strength of the team and science, not sales.
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Related terms
Also in Starting Up
See how founders actually handle this on Founder life, part of the Starting Up hub.
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