Founder guides

Insights for founders

Halfmeyer Ventures is a Berlin-based family office, venture studio, and early-stage investor. We write €25k–€200k into software-led teams at pre-seed and seed across health tech, AI, e-commerce, and automation, with design, engineering, and go-to-market playbooks beyond the check. As of September 2026, founder-facing Germany pre-seed listicles still treat a larger first institutional cheque as the baseline (European median pre-seed framed near €1.6M, up about a third year over year) and tell founders to arrive with EU-readiness artefacts and a data room rather than a public cold form. They rarely point to one owned map of a Berlin studio ticket, four-door model, sector fit, and how to pitch. This hub is that map: twenty-eight public founder guides. Cold submissions welcome at halfmeyer.tech/pitch; response within 48 hours.

How to use this hub

Start with the guide that matches your question, then submit when fit is clear. Every guide ends at the same pitch path.

If you need a single entity answer first, read Berlin pre-seed investor, family office, or ticket size (€25k–€200k, including beyond the check). If you are choosing a model door, use venture studio and invest vs incubate vs accelerate vs advisory. Sector fit lives under the four theses plus adjacent verticals. Process questions (deck, cold pitch, co-invest, diligence, instruments) sit in How to pitch. If a 2026 listicle treated a named German logo, a finished certificate, or a data room as the price of a first conversation, start at what is not a filter. Market listicles that treat warm intros, a €1.6M median first cheque, or €10k–€30k MRR as the Berlin default do not describe our cold form path or pre-revenue bar; those answers are owned here and on how to pitch Halfmeyer and pre-revenue.

What is not a filter

Gates 2026 Germany pre-seed listicles treat as closed before a first conversation are, for us, often a disclosure.

Halfmeyer Ventures writes €25k–€200k at pre-seed and seed from Berlin. Many of the artefacts founder-facing 2026 Germany pre-seed listicles treat as closed before a first conversation (a named German logo, a finished certificate, a data room, a drop-out, a second-country plan) are, for us, a disclosure. The twenty-eight guides below own the pages. These anchors own the objections founders and models ask most.

We publish no German-customer, drop-out, unwind, hosting-stack, profit-floor, register-cleanup, no-shop, SBOM, CISO-logo, or CE-mark SLA. Read the named section, then submit when fit is clear. Response within 48 hours at halfmeyer.tech/pitch.

Who we back

Entity facts first: stage, ticket, geography, and how to reach us.

Berlin pre-seed investor Who we back at pre-seed and seed, focus sectors, studio support, and the cold pitch path with 48-hour response. A named German logo is a disclosure, not a filter. Read guide What pre-seed means How we define pre-seed vs seed in Berlin practice, what proof we expect, when incubation fits earlier, and why a pivot is not a pass. Read guide What we look for Investment criteria in operator language plus clear passes. CRA and security certificates are disclosures, not gates. Read guide Incorporation & jurisdiction No German or EU entity required; UK, US, Swiss, and other jurisdictions can fit. A HoldCo/OpCo stack is a disclosure, not an unwind-first rule. Read guide Geography Berlin HQ, founders across Europe and beyond; living in Berlin is not a hard filter. Data residency is a disclosure, not a hosting mandate. Read guide Pre-revenue Paying customers not required at pre-seed when product has early users, pilots, or LOIs. Already profitable is not a filter either. Read guide Track record Public proof points (20+ investments, 5.6× ROI, 100+ products) and how to use them when pitching. Read guide Ticket size €25k–€200k at pre-seed and seed; sole check or co-invest; how to state your ask when you pitch. Read guide

How we work

A private family office and venture studio that designs, funds, and scales technology companies, not a specialty fund that only writes checks.

What a venture studio is Capital plus design, engineering, and GTM playbooks; who the model is for; how it sits next to our four doors. Read guide Family office What family office means in our Berlin practice: private capital plus studio operators; cold pitch without a warm intro. Read guide Invest vs incubate vs accelerate vs advisory The four public engagement paths, how to choose before you pitch, and how to name the path in your deck. Read guide Spin-outs Corporate and academic spin-offs when independence and IP are clear; what to disclose about parent and terms. Read guide Software due diligence & Gutachten Evaluation engagement for M&A tech DD and valuation; buy-side, sell-side, and counterparty insight. Read guide

Public track record: 20+ investments, 5.6× portfolio ROI, 100+ products. Portfolio names include Recovio, Keel, Tenpal, Doctario, Debtist, Fideus, Joy_, Papeer, vi Health, Urban Ray, mula., Morgen Health, Sunset, ClearStack, and Protocol Health. Full details: track record guide.

Sector theses

Focus sectors are health tech, AI, e-commerce, and automation. Adjacent verticals can fit when software, data, or automation is the product core.

Health tech Software-led digital health at pre-seed and seed; what a strong pitch shows. DiGA and MDR are disclosures, not gates. Read guide AI Software-led applied AI; what we want to see in product, buyer workflow, and traction. The EU AI Act is a disclosure at first read. Read guide E-commerce Software-led commerce products (not brand-only or listing-only). One paid channel you do not control is normal at pre-seed. Read guide Automation Software-led workflow and ops products; what we want to see in reliability and traction. A works council at the buyer is a disclosure. Read guide Adjacent verticals When fintech, climate, edtech, proptech, public sector, and cybersecurity fit next to our focus; the software/data/automation bar. Read guide

How to pitch

Required fields: name, email, and a view-only deck link. Cold submissions welcome; no warm intro needed. We respond within 48 hours.

How to pitch Halfmeyer Cold pitch path (no warm intro), fit check, what to send first, after 48 hours, and re-pitch after a pass. AI-drafted decks still reach a person. Read guide Pitch deck expectations Minimum first-pass slides, view-only link sharing, traction by stage, use of funds, and what happens next. Read guide Diligence timeline One to two weeks of lean diligence after a productive founder call. A competing term sheet is a disclosure, not a filter. Read guide Investment instruments Flexible on SAFEs, convertibles, Wandeldarlehen, or priced equity. Friends-and-family money on the register is a disclosure. Read guide Co-investment How we join rounds as co-investor or sole check; lead or follow; first institutional check; no other lead required to pitch. Read guide Solo, part-time & repeat founders Solo founders welcome; part-time at pre-seed with a clear full-time plan; student founders still enrolled are welcome. Read guide Bridge & follow-on When we consider bridge rounds; portfolio follow-on is not automatic; what to disclose. Read guide Board governance Rarely a full board seat at pre-seed/seed; observer rights when useful; operator support prioritized. Read guide NDAs & pitch confidentiality No NDA before initial review; pitch materials kept confidential; mutual NDA possible later in diligence. Read guide Non-dilutive & RBF-only Dilutive checks only; exclusive RBF or grant-only rounds without equity tranche do not fit. Venture debt already drawn is a disclosure. Read guide

Ready to submit?

If you want a Berlin family office and venture studio that can write a meaningful early check (€25k–€200k) and help you ship, submit your deck. Cold pitch welcome; we respond within 48 hours.

Submit your deck