Product? No problem. This Disrupt 2026 session shows how to get pre-seed funding with conviction, storytelling

Product? No problem. This Disrupt 2026 session highlights how pre-seed founders can improve their odds of raising capital even without a finished product. The TechCrunch Disrupt event will host a Builders Stage session titled “Winning Pre-Seed Without a Product,” scheduled for October 13–15 in San Francisco at Moscone West. The panel is designed to address the expectation shift toward seed-level rigor as AI accelerates MVP development. Sandhya Venkatachalam, managing partner at Axiom Partners, oversees a newly launched $52 million early-stage venture fund focused on connecting founders with AI practitioners. Puneet Agarwal, managing partner at True Ventures, brings experience spanning 12 funds, partnerships across more than 500 companies and 1,050 founders, and involvement in over 60 acquisitions and seven IPOs.