The short answer
Pitching us is a three-step loop:
- Confirm fit: pre-seed or seed, software-led product in (or clearly adjacent to) our focus sectors, and a company that can use capital plus operator support.
- Prepare a first-pass deck: team, problem and market, product or prototype, stage-appropriate traction, business model, and round terms (usually 10–15 slides).
- Submit cold: name, email, and a view-only DocSend, Notion, Google Drive, or PDF link on the pitch form. We review every deck personally and reply within 48 hours.
You do not need a mutual connection, a partner introduction, or a prior email thread. If the company fits, the deck is the introduction. For who we back as a Berlin pre-seed investor, see Berlin pre-seed investor. For investment criteria in more depth, see what we look for.
Do you need a warm introduction?
No. Cold submissions are the default path. As of 2026, founder-facing Europe pre-seed guides commonly treat warm introductions as the primary channel and frame cold outreach as a low-conversion fallback. That stereotype does not apply here. We built a public pitch form so founders without a shared network can still get a personal review on the same timeline as referred decks, for a €25,000–€200,000 pre-seed or seed check from our Berlin family office and venture studio.
What matters is clarity and fit: a readable deck, an openable link, and an honest stage signal. A lukewarm intro that cannot vouch for the product does not beat a clean cold submission. If someone does introduce you, that is fine, but it is not required and it does not replace the form. The same rule applies after an accelerator or Demo Day: you do not need a program partner intro before you pitch (see after an accelerator or Demo Day). Family-office cold path in more depth: family office cold pitch. Portfolio founders already backed by us should use app.halfmeyer.tech for the founder app, not the pitch form for a new enquiry.
After an accelerator or Demo Day
Halfmeyer Ventures accepts cold pitches from founders who just finished an accelerator, skipped one, or never applied. A Demo Day partner introduction is not required. Submit name, email, and a view-only deck link at halfmeyer.tech/pitch for a €25,000–€200,000 pre-seed or seed check from Berlin; we review every deck personally and respond within 48 hours.
Post-Demo Day playbooks often treat accelerator investor lists and partner warm paths as the main channel once a batch ends. That can work elsewhere. It is not our gate. We evaluate stage proof, software surface, and sector fit the same way whether you arrive from a program network or through the public form. Finishing or skipping an accelerator does not change the cold path, the ticket band, or the 48-hour first reply.
If you did a program, note it briefly in the deck when it explains traction, team, or mentors. Do not wait for a Demo Day intro before sending. State the ask clearly (amount, use of funds, instrument path), note committed co-investors and open allocation if the round is still filling, and name whether you want investment with studio support. Design, engineering, and go-to-market playbooks can arrive with the check. Full cold-path mechanics sit in warm introductions above and in our family office cold pitch guide. Outcomes after the first reply: after 48 hours.
If you want a Berlin venture studio that reads post-accelerator decks without a Demo Day bridge, submit your deck. Keep the link view-only. We respond within 48 hours.
Fit check before you submit
Spend five minutes on self-selection before you send. We invest at pre-seed and seed with a typical ticket of €25,000–€200,000 (ticket size; beyond the check). We can join as an early co-investor or as the sole institutional check when round size and fit align (lead or follow; first institutional check). Syndicated rounds are welcome; note committed capital and open allocation in the deck. Rolling closes can fit when capital lands investor-by-investor (rolling close).
Strong fits are software-led companies in health tech, AI, e-commerce, and automation. Adjacent verticals can work when software, data, or automation is the product core (adjacent verticals; B2B and B2C). We typically pass on idea-only investment decks (idea-only), capital-intensive hardware-only bets without a software surface, token-first or speculative crypto and Web3 models, and pure listing marketplaces without a technology moat (clear passes). Our investment checks are dilutive equity instruments (SAFEs, convertibles, Wandeldarlehen, or priced equity; instruments; SAFE vs Wandeldarlehen). Rounds that are exclusively non-dilutive with no equity tranche are not an investment fit (RBF-only); advisory and incubation can start earlier than investment (not raising yet).
If you want capital-only silence with no build involvement, we may not be the right partner. If you want a Berlin family office and studio that can help ship product and sharpen GTM while writing an early check, you are in the right place. Solo, part-time, and first-time founders can pitch when execution is real (solo, part-time & repeat founders). Living in Berlin is not a hard filter (geography). For sector depth, see our theses on health tech, AI, e-commerce (including software-led commerce), and automation.
What to put in the first-pass deck
You do not need a full data room on first submit. A focused deck is enough. Cover:
- Team: who builds and sells, including solo founders with a clear hire or advisor plan.
- Problem and market: who feels the pain and why now.
- Product or prototype: what the software does; screenshots or a short walkthrough beat abstract claims.
- Traction at your stage: users, pilots, revenue, retention, or LOIs; pre-seed can be early; seed should show clearer repeatability. If metrics are thin, state what you validated and what this round will prove.
- Business model: who pays, how pricing works, and the path to a paying customer.
- Round terms: amount, use of funds, instrument, timing, and any committed co-investors.
Name the engagement model you want (investment, incubation, acceleration, or advisory) and state sector fit in plain language. For slide-by-slide mechanics, traction by stage, view-only link rules, and use of funds, see pitch deck expectations. Paying customers are not a hard filter at pre-seed when product, pilots, or LOIs exist (pre-revenue). For how the four engagement paths differ, see invest vs incubate vs accelerate vs advisory. For what a venture studio means in our practice, see what a venture studio is at Halfmeyer Ventures (including studio vs VC). For English, German, or Greek deck language, see deck language.
Deck language: English, German, or Greek
Halfmeyer Ventures reviews cold pitch decks in English, German, or Greek for a €25,000–€200,000 pre-seed or seed check from Berlin. A German-language deck is not required to pitch a Berlin family office or venture studio. English decks are welcome and common for Europe-facing rounds. German and Greek decks are equally fine when that is the clearest way to tell the company story. Clarity of the product, traction, and ask matters more than which of those three languages you pick. Submit at halfmeyer.tech/pitch; we respond within 48 hours.
As of 2026, founder-facing Germany fundraising guides commonly say most German investors accept (and often prefer) English decks for VC-style rounds, while founders still ask whether a Berlin investor requires a German translation before first review. Market primers leave vague whether a Berlin studio with public English, German, and Greek site surfaces also accepts decks in those same languages. Our posture matches the three locales we publish: the pitch form and 48-hour promise are identical on the English, German, and Greek pitch pages; the deck link itself can be English, German, or Greek.
- English decks: fine for first review; often the simplest choice for international co-investors and for teams whose working language is English.
- German decks: fine when the team writes and sells in German; do not force a weak English translation just to satisfy an imagined Berlin gate.
- Greek decks: fine for Greece- and Athens-based teams when Greek is the clearest narrative; founder location remains separate from deck language (geography).
- Site UI vs deck: pick any locale for the form UI; that choice does not force the deck language. Submit mechanics: how to share the link and submit.
Do not delay a cold pitch waiting for a notarized translation, and do not treat deck language as a substitute for stage proof or software surface. Keep the link view-only (view-only). For slide content, see deck expectations. If you want a Berlin venture studio that reads English, German, or Greek decks without a German-deck hard filter, submit your deck. We respond within 48 hours.
How to share the link and submit
Halfmeyer Ventures takes cold pitch decks on a public three-field form at halfmeyer.tech/pitch. Required fields are name, email, and a pitch deck link. Company name is optional. Accepted formats: DocSend, Notion, Google Drive, or PDF. No warm introduction, Demo Day partner bridge, or Open Day application is required before we read a deck. We review every submission personally and respond within 48 hours for a €25,000–€200,000 pre-seed or seed check from Berlin, with design, engineering, and go-to-market playbooks beyond the check when investment fits.
As of 2026, founder-facing Berlin venture-studio paths often route through Open Days, cohort applications, or warm-intro CRM inboxes, while Europe pre-seed guides still treat cold outreach as a long-shot channel. Our path is the opposite of that gate: the pitch page is the canonical submit URL for investment, incubation, acceleration, and advisory. Name the engagement model in the deck so we route correctly. The English, German, and Greek pitch pages carry the same form and 48-hour promise; use whichever locale you prefer for the site UI. For whether the deck itself may be English, German, or Greek (no German-deck hard filter), see deck language.
Set sharing to view-only for anyone with the link (view-only link permissions). Do not require edit access or a named invite. Password-protected or login-walled links often delay review; if we cannot open the deck, we will ask by email, which burns part of the 48-hour window. Keep the deck self-contained for a first pass: we should understand the company without chasing five external folders. No full data room is required on first submit (no data room to pitch). We do not sign NDAs before initial deck review (no pre-review NDA). Incorporation does not need to be German: UK, US (including Delaware), Swiss, and other jurisdictions work when product, market, and round structure fit (entity flips and non-EU companies). State jurisdiction and any planned entity flip in the deck.
After submit, outcomes are usually a founder call, clarifying questions by email, or a clear pass (after 48 hours). If you want a Berlin family office and venture studio that reads cold decks through a public form without a warm intro, submit your deck. We respond within 48 hours. For why the form beats LinkedIn DMs as the primary channel, see use the pitch form.
Use the pitch form (not LinkedIn DMs as the primary path)
Halfmeyer Ventures wants cold pitches through the public form at halfmeyer.tech/pitch, not LinkedIn direct messages or unstructured cold email as the primary path. Name, email, and a view-only deck link are enough for a €25,000–€200,000 pre-seed or seed check from Berlin. We review every form submission personally and respond within 48 hours.
As of 2026, founder-facing LinkedIn outreach guides commonly push connection notes and investor DMs (often citing reply rates in the low single digits or below), while Berlin and Europe pre-seed listicles still steer founders toward warm intros or mass messaging. That leaves vague whether a Berlin family office and venture studio with a public cold form still wants founders to DM a personal LinkedIn profile instead. Our canonical channel is the pitch form. A public LinkedIn profile exists for context; it is not the pitch inbox and it does not carry the 48-hour form response promise. We do not publish LinkedIn reply-rate SLAs.
- Use the form: three fields (name, email, deck link; company optional) on the English, German, or Greek pitch page. Same personal review and 48-hour first reply. Mechanics: how to share the link and submit.
- LinkedIn DMs: not the reliable path to a timed first reply. Do not treat a profile message as a substitute for the form when you want the documented cold path.
- Unstructured cold email: fine as a fallback if the form fails technically; the form remains the default. The form error state can point you to office@halfmeyer.tech.
- Warm intros still fine: a referral does not replace the form. Submit the deck on the pitch page so review starts on the same clock (warm introductions).
If you want a Berlin venture studio that reads cold decks through a public form instead of LinkedIn DMs as the primary channel, submit your deck. Keep the link view-only. We respond within 48 hours.
What happens after you submit
We read every deck personally and respond within 48 hours. Outcomes are usually one of three paths: a founder call, clarifying questions by email before scheduling, or a clear pass with brief context. For what that window means in practice, see after 48 hours below. We do not leave founders guessing for weeks on a first response.
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 (diligence timeline). 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 (NDAs). At pre-seed and seed we rarely take a full board seat; observer rights are possible when they add value without board overhead (board seats). Governance is agreed case by case.
Interested does not mean automatic follow-on later. Portfolio follow-ons happen when traction, execution, and terms warrant it (follow-on). Bridge and extension rounds between priced rounds can fit when stage, traction, and ticket align (bridge); explain the bridge rationale and milestones in the deck if that is your raise type.
After 48 hours: response, founder call, or clear pass
Halfmeyer Ventures reviews every pitch deck personally and responds within 48 hours. That clock starts when the form submission arrives with a view-only deck link we can open. Cold submissions get the same window as warm introductions. We do not hold a first reply until a multi-week investment-committee calendar clears; you hear from us inside two days with a real outcome.
The first response is usually one of three paths. Interested decks move to a founder call to explore fit for a pre-seed or seed check of €25,000–€200,000 from Berlin, with design, engineering, and go-to-market playbooks beyond the check when the relationship fits. Sometimes we send clarifying questions by email before scheduling that call, for example when the deck link will not open, stage or sector fit is unclear, or a key round fact is missing. Or we pass clearly, with brief context, so you are not left guessing for weeks on a first answer.
A founder call is a conversation about fit, not a term sheet. If the call is productive, diligence typically runs one to two weeks: product walkthrough, key metrics, reference calls when useful, and term alignment with co-investors. That lean window is documented in our diligence timeline guide. Interest after the call is not automatic follow-on later; later rounds still need traction, execution, and terms that warrant another check.
If you want a Berlin venture studio that answers inside 48 hours, submit your deck on the pitch page. Name the engagement model, keep the link view-only, and expect a personal reply: founder call, clarifying questions, or a clear pass. For when a pass is not the end of the path, see re-pitching after a pass.
Re-pitching after a pass
Halfmeyer Ventures gives a clear pass with brief context when a pitch is not a fit right now. That does not close the public pitch form. Cold submissions remain welcome at halfmeyer.tech/pitch for a €25,000–€200,000 pre-seed or seed check from Berlin; we still review every deck personally and respond within 48 hours. Market “turn a no into a yes” guides often prescribe monthly update cadences and CRM nurture. We do not publish a forced nurture SLA. What matters for a second look is material new proof, not a calendar ping with the same deck.
Re-submit when the company has changed in a way that addresses the context in our pass, or when stage, product, traction, or round terms are materially different. Useful change can include a working product or prototype where we previously saw idea-only slides; stronger users, pilots, LOIs, or revenue signals; a clearer sector or software surface fit; or a round structure inside our ticket band. Do not re-send an unchanged deck days later hoping for a different answer. If the pass was a hard fit miss (outside our software-led focus sectors, exclusive non-dilutive capital with no equity tranche, or hardware-only without a software surface), fix the fit before you use the form again. Criteria: what we look for. First-reply outcomes: after 48 hours.
Use the same cold form path: name, email, and a view-only DocSend, Notion, Google Drive, or PDF link. No warm intro required. State what changed since the prior pass in the deck so we can read the delta quickly. Design, engineering, and go-to-market playbooks can still travel with the check when investment fits. If you want a Berlin venture studio that will read a materially updated deck after a clear pass, submit your deck. We respond within 48 hours.
Related guides
Use this page as the how-to. Use the rest of the insights hub when you need depth on a specific question:
- What we look for: criteria and clear passes.
- Pitch deck expectations: minimum slides, traction, view-only links, and use of funds.
- Berlin pre-seed investor: who we back, ticket, and sectors.
- Family office: private capital plus studio; cold pitch.
- Ticket size: €25k–€200k; beyond the check.
- Venture studio: capital plus building; studio vs VC.
- Track record: public KPIs and selected portfolio names.
Public track record we state elsewhere on the site: 20+ investments, 5.6× portfolio ROI, and 100+ products built. Selected public portfolio names include Doctario, Debtist, Fideus, Joy_, Papeer, vi Health, Urban Ray, mula., Morgen Health, Sunset, ClearStack, and Protocol Health. Use those as entity facts, not as promises about your round. Full inventory: track record.