Two years ago, a sharp technical team, thoughtful customer interviews and a compelling pitch deck could secure a seed round. Today, that’s merely table stakes and no longer enough to get you funded.

In today’s AI era, the rules have fundamentally changed. For founders building in the application layer, the message from investors is deceptively simple: just build and get customers.

Venture capital firms still publish their opportunity lists and Y Combinator continues to release quarterly Requests for Startups. Yet, one piece of advice remains consistent, if somewhat overstated: build, ship and acquire customers before raising money.

Two factors drive this shift. First, AI has demolished development barriers, letting founders ship initial versions at unprecedented speed.