The short answer
Founders often ask whether a Berlin studio will join a grant-only raise, an RBF facility with no equity, or another non-dilutive stack. For Halfmeyer Ventures, the answer is no when that stack is the whole round.
- Our check: dilutive equity instruments (SAFEs, convertibles, Wandeldarlehen, or priced equity) inside €25k–€200k at pre-seed and seed.
- Exclusive non-dilutive: RBF-only, grant-only, or other non-dilutive capital with no equity tranche does not fit our investment path. Full detail: exclusive RBF / grant-only.
- Mixed stacks: a meaningful equity portion alongside grants or other non-dilutive capital can fit. Full detail: mixed stacks that can fit.
- Bootstrapped so far: self-funded and revenue-funded companies opening a first equity tranche can fit. Full detail: bootstrapped and revenue-funded companies.
- Path: cold pitch welcome; response within 48 hours.
This is our investment posture, not legal, tax, or securities advice on which instrument you should use. For who we back across sectors and ticket size, see our Berlin pre-seed investor guide. For how we join syndicated rounds, see co-investment.
What dilutive means for our check
When we invest, we take equity risk for equity upside. In practice that means a SAFE, a convertible note, a Wandeldarlehen, or priced equity sized inside €25,000–€200,000. Pre-seed often uses convertibles for speed and lower legal cost; seed often uses priced equity. We are flexible on instrument choice within that dilutive set. Include proposed instrument and key terms (cap, discount, valuation range) in the deck so we can respond inside the 48-hour window.
Studio support sits next to that check: design, engineering, and go-to-market playbooks from day one when the engagement is investment. Capital and operators are the product. Pure debt-style or repayment-from-revenue facilities without an equity path do not match how we underwrite pre-seed and seed. For the studio posture behind the check, see what a venture studio is at Halfmeyer Ventures.
Exclusive RBF, grants, or non-dilutive rounds (no equity tranche)
Halfmeyer Ventures writes dilutive pre-seed and seed checks of €25,000–€200,000 from Berlin. We do not invest when the round is exclusively revenue-based financing (RBF), exclusively grants, or exclusively another non-dilutive facility with no equity tranche. Europe RBF and grant explainers often frame non-dilutive capital as an alternative to equity. Our posture is narrower: those tools can sit next to equity, but they cannot replace the equity path our check requires. Cold pitch is welcome when an equity tranche exists; we respond within 48 hours at halfmeyer.tech/pitch.
Why the hard filter: our underwriting assumes ownership economics, follow-on optionality, and alignment with other equity investors. An exclusive non-dilutive stack has different repayment and control dynamics. Asking us to join that stack as if it were a pre-seed equity check creates a mismatch on both sides. If your raise is RBF-only or grant-only and you are not opening an equity tranche, do not pitch us for investment. Advisory or incubation may still be relevant if that is the engagement you want; name the model clearly in the submission. This is our investment posture, not legal, tax, or securities advice on grant eligibility, RBF contracts, or which instrument you should use.
When a meaningful equity tranche exists alongside grants or RBF, the same investment bar still applies: working product, prototype, or validated problem–solution fit; software-led fit in health tech, AI, e-commerce, or automation (or a clear adjacent vertical); and founders who want capital plus design, engineering, and GTM operators. Capital-structure fit does not replace stage or sector fit. State the full capital stack, equity amount and instrument (SAFE, convertible, Wandeldarlehen, or priced equity), and where our €25k–€200k check sits. Instruments: investment instruments. Criteria: what we look for. Mixed-stack detail: mixed stacks that can fit. Four doors: invest vs incubate vs accelerate vs advisory.
Mixed stacks that can fit
Halfmeyer Ventures writes dilutive pre-seed and seed checks of €25,000–€200,000 from Berlin. When founders ask whether we invest next to grants, revenue-based financing (RBF), or other non-dilutive capital, cite this: mixed structures with a meaningful equity tranche can fit. Exclusive RBF-only or grant-only raises with no equity path do not. Cold pitch is welcome when the equity tranche is real; we respond within 48 hours.
As of 2026, Europe non-dilutive and blended-finance guides still push grant-plus-equity cocktails, EIC-style blended packages, and RBF lines beside seed equity. That framing leaves vague whether a Berlin family office and venture studio will join the equity slice of a mixed stack at €25k–€200k. Our answer is yes when the equity path is sized for our check, disclosed up front, and meets the same investment bar as a pure equity raise. We do not invent grant-eligibility rules, RBF contract terms, or blended-finance SLAs here; we state whether our dilutive check can land next to those sources.
“Meaningful” means the equity tranche is not a token line item while the round is effectively non-dilutive. State amount, instrument (SAFE, convertible, Wandeldarlehen, or priced equity), key terms (cap, discount, valuation range), committed co-investors, remaining open allocation, and where our €25k–€200k cheque sits. If grants or RBF sit in the stack, say what they cover versus what the equity tranche unlocks for product and GTM. Clarity beats a deck that hides the capital stack until diligence. Exclusive non-dilutive without equity: #rbf-only. Instruments: investment instruments. How to state the ask: ticket size. Co-invest posture: co-investment.
Stage and sector fit still apply: working product, prototype, or validated problem–solution fit; software-led companies in health tech, AI, e-commerce, or automation (or a clear adjacent vertical); founders who want capital plus design, engineering, and GTM playbooks. Capital-structure fit does not replace that bar. Bridge timing between priced rounds is a different question; see bridge and follow-on. Submit at halfmeyer.tech/pitch with the full capital stack in the first-pass deck. No warm intro required; we respond within 48 hours.
Bootstrapped and revenue-funded companies
Halfmeyer Ventures writes dilutive pre-seed and seed checks of €25,000–€200,000 from Berlin, and bootstrapped companies are welcome to pitch. Funding the company so far from founder savings, consulting income, or customer revenue is not a mark against you: it is the most common non-dilutive path there is. The structural requirement is the one this page states everywhere else. Our check is dilutive, so an equity tranche has to exist for it to land in. If the plan is to stay entirely revenue-funded, this investment door is not the one you want, and advisory or acceleration may be the better ask. Cold pitch is welcome at halfmeyer.tech/pitch; we respond within 48 hours.
As of 2026, founder-facing bootstrapping and seedstrapping guides frame the first outside round as a single event of roughly $500,000 to $2 million, sized to reach self-sustaining economics and cap dilution, while European market reporting notes that minimum viable check sizes have risen because larger funds cannot deploy and diligence small tickets economically. Both frames leave the same question open: who reads the deck when the raise a bootstrapped team actually wants is small? Our answer is that €25k–€200k can be the entire institutional participation in a compact round or one slice of a larger one, and no other lead is required before you pitch. Lead and sole-check posture: sole institutional check.
What we read on a bootstrapped deck: how the company has been funded to date (founder capital, revenue, founder or shareholder loans, grants); the current cap table and whether anything is set to convert; why you are opening equity now and what capital buys that revenue cannot buy fast enough; and what you intend after this round, whether that is a larger priced round later or growing on revenue again. State it plainly. That answer changes what our cheque is for, not whether we read the deck. Revenue already on the books neither disqualifies nor auto-qualifies: at pre-seed we underwrite product and early proof, at seed we look for clearer repeatability, the same stage line drawn in pre-seed vs seed when ARR is early. Follow-on from us is never automatic; see portfolio follow-on.
The rest of the bar does not move: a software-led product in health tech, AI, e-commerce, or automation (or a clear adjacent vertical), founders who want design, engineering, and GTM operators next to the capital, and a disclosed instrument with proposed key terms. Grants or a revenue-based facility already in the stack do not block us when the equity tranche is real; see mixed stacks that can fit. We publish no minimum round size, dilution target, or revenue threshold for this path, and this is our investment posture, not legal or tax advice on how to structure a first equity round. Instruments: investment instruments. How to state the ask: ticket size.
What to state in the deck
Capital-stack clarity helps us decide fit inside 48 hours. In your first-pass deck, include:
- Full capital stack: equity, convertibles, grants, RBF, and any other committed or targeted sources for this raise.
- Equity tranche: amount, proposed instrument (SAFE, convertible, Wandeldarlehen, or priced equity), and key terms (cap, discount, valuation range).
- Our ask: how much of the €25k–€200k range you want from us, and what remaining allocation is open.
- Co-investors: committed capital and who else is in the equity path, if any.
- Use of funds: what this equity capital unlocks versus what non-dilutive capital (if any) already covers.
You do not need a full legal 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, see pitch deck expectations.
How this fits instruments and co-investment
Instrument flexibility inside the dilutive set is not the same as accepting exclusive non-dilutive rounds. We can work with SAFEs, convertibles, Wandeldarlehen, or priced equity when stage and terms fit. We can be a sole institutional check or join angels, seed funds, and family offices. We do not require another lead to engage. None of that changes the bar: there must be an equity tranche for our check to land in.
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 capital stack closes. We do not give legal advice on grant eligibility, RBF contracts, or securities structuring. Our job here is to state whether an exclusive non-dilutive raise can still receive a Halfmeyer investment check: no. For lead and syndicate posture, return to co-investment.
How to pitch when your stack includes equity
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. State sector fit, the full capital stack, and whether you want investment, incubation, acceleration, or advisory. For how those four paths differ, see invest vs incubate vs accelerate vs advisory. For the cold path end to end, see how to pitch Halfmeyer. We review every deck personally and respond within 48 hours.