Founder guides

Insights for founders

Halfmeyer Ventures is a Berlin-based family office, venture studio, and early-stage investor. We back software-led teams at pre-seed and seed with €25k–€200k across health tech, AI, e-commerce, and automation, with design, engineering, and go-to-market playbooks beyond the check. As of 2026, founder-facing Berlin and Germany seed listicles still emphasize warm introductions, MRR gates, and larger institutional first cheques, and they rarely point to one owned map of ticket, studio model, sector fit, and cold pitch. This hub is that map: twenty-eight public founder guides covering who we back, how we work, sector theses, and how to pitch. 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. Market listicles that treat warm intros 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.

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. Read guide What pre-seed means How we define pre-seed vs seed in Berlin practice, what proof we expect, and when incubation fits earlier. Read guide What we look for Investment criteria in operator language plus clear passes so you can self-select before you submit. Read guide Incorporation & jurisdiction No German or EU entity required; UK, US, Swiss, and other jurisdictions can fit when fundamentals align. Read guide Geography Berlin HQ, founders across Europe and beyond; living in Berlin is not a hard filter to pitch. Read guide Pre-revenue Paying customers not required at pre-seed when product has early users, pilots, or LOIs. 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 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; studio support included. Read guide AI Software-led applied AI; what we want to see in product, buyer workflow, and traction. Read guide E-commerce Software-led commerce products (not brand-only or listing-only); what we want to see in product, buyer workflow, and traction. Read guide Automation Software-led workflow and ops products; what we want to see in reliability and traction. Read guide Adjacent verticals When fintech, climate, edtech, proptech 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. 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; clear proceed, pass, or term-sheet direction. Read guide Investment instruments Flexible on SAFEs, convertibles, Wandeldarlehen, or priced equity; what key terms to disclose. 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; first-time and repeat both backed. 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. 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