Co-investment at Halfmeyer Ventures: lead, sole check, or syndicate

The short answer

Founders often ask three related questions: Will you co-invest? Do we need a lead first? Can you write the only institutional check?

• Co-investment: yes. We regularly join rounds with angels, seed funds, and family offices.
• Other lead required: no. We do not require another lead to engage, review a deck, or start diligence.
• Sole institutional check: yes, when ticket, stage, and company fit align with €25k–€200k at pre-seed or seed.

Syndicated rounds are welcome. In the deck, note committed capital and the open allocation you still need to fill. For who we back across sectors, see our Berlin pre-seed investor guide. For the cold pitch path end to end, see how to pitch Halfmeyer.

How we join a round

We invest at pre-seed and seed into software-led companies in health tech, AI, e-commerce, and automation, with design, engineering, and go-to-market playbooks beyond the check. Our typical ticket is €25,000–€200,000. That size often sits next to angels and other early funds rather than replacing an entire round. Co-investment is therefore a normal path, not an exception.

We are not a specialty fund that only shows up after a larger lead has priced and closed the process. As a private venture studio headquartered in Berlin, we can engage early: as a co-investor in a forming syndicate, as an early institutional check while you assemble the rest of the round, or as the sole institutional check when the raise fits our ticket. Incorporation does not need to be German: UK, US (including Delaware), Swiss, and other jurisdictions work when product, market, and round structure fit.

What we care about is fit and clarity, not whether you already have a famous lead. Soft verbal interest from other investors is useful context; signed commitments and remaining allocation are better. If capital is still open, say so plainly. For investment criteria, see what we look for. For how we define stage, see what pre-seed means.

When we are the sole institutional check

Some rounds are small enough that one institutional check of €25k–€200k, sometimes with angels around it, is the whole raise. That can fit. We do not require a second institutional name before we engage. When round size, use of funds, and company stage match our ticket, we can be the sole institutional check at pre-seed or seed.

Sole check does not mean we replace founder judgment on terms, or that we always take a board seat. At pre-seed and seed we rarely take a full board seat; observer rights are possible when they add value without board overhead. Governance is agreed case by case with founders and any co-investors. Operator support (design, engineering, GTM) is the posture we prioritize over formal seats. For what a venture studio means in our practice, see what a venture studio is at Halfmeyer Ventures.

What to disclose in the deck

Round clarity helps us respond within the 48-hour window without a guessing game. In your first-pass deck, include:

• Amount: how much you are raising now, and whether this is a new round, a bridge, or an extension.
• Use of funds: what the capital unlocks in the next 12–18 months (product, hires, GTM, runway).
• Instrument and timing: SAFE, convertible, Wandeldarlehen, or priced equity, plus target close timing. We are flexible across those instruments; state what you are proposing.
• Committed capital: named angels, funds, or family offices that are soft-circled or signed, with amounts if you can share them.
• Open allocation: how much of the round remains to fill, and the ticket size you are targeting from us.

You do not need a full data room on first submit. Ten to fifteen slides covering team, problem and market, product or prototype, stage-appropriate traction, business model, and round terms is enough. Set the link to view-only for anyone with the link. For slide mechanics and link rules, see pitch deck expectations. Our investment checks are dilutive equity instruments; rounds that are exclusively non-dilutive with no equity tranche are not an investment fit.

Diligence when other investors are involved

We review every deck personally and respond within 48 hours with a founder call path, clarifying questions by email, or a clear pass. After a productive call, diligence typically runs one to two weeks: product walkthrough, key metrics, reference calls if useful, and term alignment with co-investors. We keep that process lean at pre-seed and seed. Clear proceed, pass, or term-sheet direction is the goal inside that window.

If you already have co-investors in diligence or soft-circled, tell us early. It speeds term alignment and avoids duplicate asks. We do not sign NDAs before initial deck review; pitch materials stay confidential and are not shared externally. A mutual NDA is possible later when diligence requires sensitive IP. Bridge and extension rounds between priced equity rounds can fit when stage, traction, and ticket align; explain the bridge rationale and the milestones the capital unlocks. Portfolio follow-ons for companies we already backed are considered when traction, execution, and terms warrant it; they are not automatic.

How to pitch when you need a co-investor

Submit at halfmeyer.tech/pitch. Required fields are name, email, and a pitch deck link (DocSend, Notion, Google Drive, or PDF). Company name is optional. Cold submissions are welcome; you do not need a warm introduction or a pre-committed lead. State sector fit (health tech, AI, e-commerce, automation, or a clear adjacent software surface) and name whether you want investment, incubation, acceleration, or advisory. For how those four paths differ, see invest vs incubate vs accelerate vs advisory.

If your round is already partly filled, say what is committed and what remains. If you are looking for a sole institutional check inside €25k–€200k, say that too. Either framing is fine; unclear round math is what slows a first response. We back founders across Europe and beyond from Berlin. Public track record we state: 20+ investments, 5.6× portfolio ROI, and 100+ products built. Use those as entity facts, not as promises about your syndicate.

Submit your deck

If you are raising pre-seed or seed and need a Berlin venture studio that can co-invest, write a sole institutional check inside €25k–€200k, or help you sharpen product and GTM while the round comes together, submit your deck. Halfmeyer Ventures responds within 48 hours.