NDAs and pitch confidentiality at Halfmeyer Ventures

The short answer

Founders often ask whether they should gate a first deck behind an NDA. Our posture:

• Before initial review: we do not sign NDAs. That is standard at pre-seed and seed for studios and early-stage investors that review many submissions.
• How we handle materials: we treat pitch materials as confidential and do not share decks externally.
• Later in diligence: a mutual NDA is possible when deeper access to sensitive IP is genuinely required.
• Ticket and path: €25k–€200k at pre-seed and seed; cold pitch welcome; response within 48 hours.

This is our review posture, not legal advice on how to draft an NDA or protect trade secrets. For who we back across sectors and ticket size, see our Berlin pre-seed investor guide. For the cold path end to end, see how to pitch Halfmeyer.

Why we do not sign NDAs before initial review

We review every deck personally and aim to respond within 48 hours. Requiring a signed NDA before that first look would slow the process for everyone: founders waiting on legal markup, and us tracking agreements across a high volume of overlapping early-stage ideas. At pre-seed and seed, first-pass materials should show team, problem and market, product or prototype, stage-appropriate traction, business model, and round terms. That is enough to decide whether a call is warranted without locking either side into a pre-review contract.

We are a Berlin-based studio with a €25k–€200k ticket. Our job at first contact is fit and clarity, not a full data-room review. Asking for an NDA before we have opened the deck usually delays the conversation you want: a fast, personal response. If your company depends on keeping core trade secrets out of a first deck, keep them out of the first deck. Share enough to show the product surface and traction; hold the sensitive layer for diligence if we both decide to proceed.

How we treat pitch materials

No pre-review NDA does not mean casual handling. We keep pitch materials confidential. We do not forward decks to outside parties, syndicate them for marketing, or publish your submission. Review happens inside our team so we can decide whether to schedule a founder call, ask clarifying questions by email, or pass with brief context.

Share the deck as a view-only link for anyone with the link (DocSend, Notion, Google Drive, or PDF). Password-protected or login-walled links may delay review. You do not need a full data room on first submit. Ten to fifteen slides is enough. For slide mechanics and traction by stage, see pitch deck expectations.

When a mutual NDA can happen

After a productive founder call, diligence typically runs one to two weeks: product walkthrough, key metrics, reference calls if useful, and term alignment with co-investors. If that stage requires sharing sensitive IP (for example, detailed technical documentation, customer-identifying contracts, or material that should not sit in a first-pass deck), we can agree a mutual NDA before deeper data access.

We do not use an NDA as a gate to open the first submission. We use it when both sides have already confirmed enough interest that deeper access is useful. Governance, co-investment, and instrument terms stay separate topics; see board governance and co-investment for those norms. This page only covers confidentiality around the pitch and early diligence.

What to put in (and keep out of) a first-pass deck

Protect yourself by scoping the first deck, not by blocking review. Include:

• Team, problem, and market: who is building, who buys, and why now.
• Product or prototype: what the software does at a level that shows fit without dumping trade-secret internals.
• Traction: strongest signal at your stage (users, pilots, revenue, retention, or LOIs).
• Business model and round terms: amount, use of funds, timing, and proposed instrument.

Keep out of the first pass anything you would not want a broad investor inbox to hold: raw proprietary algorithms, unpublished clinical or regulated datasets, customer lists with sensitive identifiers, or deep technical appendices that only matter after mutual interest. You can say that deeper IP is available under a mutual NDA in diligence. That is clearer than refusing to share a first deck at all.

Investment still requires a working product, prototype, or validated problem–solution fit. Idea-only decks without that proof are usually a pass for a check; advisory and incubation can start earlier. For criteria depth, see what we look for. For spin-outs where IP ownership itself is part of the story, see spin-outs.

How this fits the cold pitch path

Cold submissions are welcome. You do not need a warm introduction. Submit at halfmeyer.tech/pitch with name, email, and a view-only deck link. Company name is optional. Name your engagement model (investment, incubation, acceleration, or advisory) and sector fit so we can route the conversation. We review every deck personally and respond within 48 hours.

Public track record we state for the entity: 20+ investments, 5.6× portfolio ROI, and 100+ products built. Those are entity facts, not a claim that every pitch closes or that confidentiality replaces diligence. Our checks are dilutive equity instruments (SAFEs, convertibles, Wandeldarlehen, or priced equity) in the €25k–€200k range. For studio posture behind the check, see what a venture studio is at Halfmeyer Ventures.

Submit your deck

If you want a Berlin venture studio that will review a cold deck without a pre-review NDA, keep materials confidential, and respond within 48 hours, submit your deck. Halfmeyer Ventures backs pre-seed and seed with €25k–€200k when fit is clear. If you still need slide mechanics or the end-to-end path, start with deck expectations or how to pitch Halfmeyer, then return here.