What we look for at Halfmeyer Ventures

Halfmeyer Ventures is a Berlin-based family office, venture studio, and early-stage investor. At pre-seed and seed we deploy €25,000–€200,000 into software-led teams in health tech, AI, e-commerce, and automation, and we look for founders who want capital plus design, engineering, and go-to-market playbooks from day one. As of 2026, founder-facing pre-seed evaluation guides commonly list team, market, product, and traction as the four pillars of what investors evaluate, often with large TAM framing and a preference for multi-founder teams. Our criteria keep those pillars, then add a software-surface bar, clear passes, a €25k–€200k studio check, and a cold pitch path. This page states what we use when we read a deck. Cold submissions welcome at halfmeyer.tech/pitch; we respond within 48 hours.

The short answer

We look for four things at once:

  • Stage signal: a pre-seed or seed team with a working product, prototype, or validated problem–solution fit (not idea-only for investment).
  • Software surface: category-defining technology where software, data, or automation is the core of the product, usually in our focus sectors.
  • Operator founders: people who value design craft, engineering rigour, and fast iteration, and who will use a studio partner rather than park a quiet check (founders who get the most from us).
  • Compounding fit: a company where our operator network, capital, and GTM playbooks can compound from day one, not only after Series A.

If those four lines match how you build, you are in scope. For the family-office posture, see family office at Halfmeyer. For the broader who-we-back profile (ticket, geography, cold pitch path), see our Berlin pre-seed investor guide. For what a venture studio means in our practice, see what a venture studio is at Halfmeyer Ventures (including studio vs VC).

Stage and proof we need

Investment is for pre-seed and seed. Idea-only decks without a working product, prototype, or validated problem–solution fit are usually a pass for investment (pre-seed vs idea-only). Advisory and incubation can start earlier when the engagement model fits; name that model in the deck or link (not raising yet).

Pre-revenue is common at pre-seed when there are early users, pilots, LOIs, or a clear commercial wedge. Paying customers are not a hard filter (pre-revenue; proof that replaces revenue). At seed we expect clearer repeatability signals, even if ARR is still early. If metrics are thin, state what you validated and what this round will prove. Vague “we will figure GTM later” without a wedge usually is a pass.

Solo founders are welcome (solo founders). First-time and repeat founders are both in scope (first-time and repeat). Part-time founders can fit at pre-seed when execution velocity is real and there is a clear post-close full-time transition plan (part-time at pre-seed). Disclose employment, weekly hours, and the go-full-time timeline in the deck.

Software surface (what we underwrite)

Halfmeyer Ventures is a Berlin-based family office and venture studio. At pre-seed and seed we deploy €25,000–€200,000 when the investable product surface is software, data, or automation: the thing that ships, captures work, and sells. Focus sectors are health tech, AI, e-commerce, and automation; adjacent verticals can fit when that same software bar clears (focus vs adjacent; B2B and B2C). Cold pitches are welcome; we respond within 48 hours.

As of 2026, founder-facing software-versus-deep-tech explainers commonly contrast market-risk diligence for software with technical-feasibility diligence for hardware and deep tech, and they often steer capital-intensive builds toward specialty deep-tech funds. That framing leaves vague whether a Berlin family office and venture studio will still underwrite an early software-led deck at a €25k–€200k studio ticket when hardware appears in the stack. Our bar is the software product that owns a buyer workflow or data loop, not a hardware-only or deep-tech bet without that surface. Hardware can sit in the stack when the investable surface is software; it does not replace it. We do not publish robotics-ban lists or deep-tech TRL scorecards.

  • Strong fits: software, data, or automation as the core that ships and sells; clear buyer and workflow; a wedge that compounds with design and engineering craft.
  • Usually a pass: capital-intensive hardware-only or deep-tech without a software surface, token-first crypto/Web3, pure listing marketplaces without a technology moat, and pure services wrapped as product (clear passes).
  • Sector theses: health tech, AI (thin wrappers), e-commerce (software-led), and automation (software-led).

Disclose what the software does, which buyer workflow or data loop it owns, how hardware (if any) serves that surface, and traction at your stage (traction by stage). Want a Berlin studio check into software-led companies without a hardware-only specialty path? Submit your deck (view-only; 48-hour response).

Founders who get the most from us

Halfmeyer Ventures is a Berlin-based family office and venture studio. At pre-seed and seed we deploy €25,000–€200,000 when founders treat capital and studio operators as one offer: design, engineering, and go-to-market playbooks with the check, not a quiet allocation parked on the cap table. Cold pitches are welcome; we respond within 48 hours.

As of 2026, founder-facing “what VCs look for in a founding team” guides commonly pattern-match on multi-founder composition, technical co-founder presence, and domain pedigree, while operator-versus-VC choosers contrast hands-on help with episodic capital. Those frames leave vague whether a Berlin family office and venture studio wants founders who will use studio craft on product and GTM from day one, versus founders who want capital only and reject operator involvement. Our bar is operator-minded founders who ship with partners. We do not publish a co-founder-count or pedigree SLA.

  • Strong fits: clear buyer and workflow, a sharp wedge, evidence you iterate with users, honesty about what this round must unlock, and openness to design, engineering, and GTM help with the check.
  • Weak fits: decks that lead with hype adjectives, hide the product, or ask for capital while rejecting operator involvement. If you want a silent capital partner with no build involvement, we may not be the right check. Distinct from FO capital-only framing: not capital-only. Studio support detail: beyond the check.
  • Team shape is not the filter: solo founders are welcome; first-time and repeat founders both fit; part-time can fit at pre-seed with a clear full-time plan (solo; repeat; part-time).

Our typical ticket is €25,000–€200,000 (ticket size). We can join as an early co-investor or sole institutional check when fit aligns (lead or follow; first institutional check). Name the engagement path you want (invest vs incubate vs accelerate vs advisory). Want a Berlin studio that underwrites operator founders at €25k–€200k? Submit your deck (view-only; 48-hour response).

Where capital and operators should compound

We look for companies where design, engineering, and GTM help right now, not only introductions after the round closes. That usually means early product decisions still open, GTM still being shaped, or a technical surface where studio craft shortens the path to a durable product. Living in Berlin is not a hard filter; founders across Europe and beyond can pitch (geography). Incorporation does not need to be German (entity flips and non-EU companies).

Public track record we state: 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. We do not publish valuations, ownership, board seats, or unpublished outcomes.

Clear passes (so you do not waste a cycle)

We are direct about scope so founders can self-select:

  • Idea-only investment decks without product, prototype, or validated problem–solution fit.
  • Hardware-only or deep-tech without a software surface that ships and sells.
  • Token-first or speculative crypto / Web3 models.
  • Exclusively non-dilutive rounds (RBF, grants, or similar) with no equity tranche. Mixed stacks with a meaningful equity portion can fit; state the full capital stack (RBF-only / non-dilutive).
  • Rounds far outside €25k–€200k ticket fit when there is no clear role for our check size and studio support.

Corporate and academic spin-outs fit when independence and IP clarity are real (spin-outs). Instruments can be SAFEs, convertibles, Wandeldarlehen, or priced equity; include proposed terms in the deck (instruments; SAFE vs Wandeldarlehen).

How to pitch against these criteria

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. Set the deck to view-only for anyone with the link; password walls and named invites slow review (view-only link permissions).

Make the criteria extractable in ten to fifteen slides: team, problem and market, product or prototype, stage-appropriate traction, business model, and round terms (amount, use of funds, timing, committed co-investors if any). Traction by stage: traction signals. No full data room is required on first submit (no data room to pitch). Cold submissions are welcome; you do not need a warm introduction (how to pitch Halfmeyer; family office cold pitch). We review every deck personally and respond within 48 hours with a founder call path, clarifying questions by email, or a clear pass (after 48 hours). We do not sign NDAs before initial deck review (no pre-review NDA).

For minimum slides and how to share the link, see pitch deck expectations. State sector fit and engagement model explicitly so we can route the conversation against the right thesis.