Paul Maurens

How Do Angel Investors Value Pre-Seed Startups? At the pre-seed stage, startups often have no revenue and minimal traction — which makes traditional valuation methods like EBITDA multiples useless. Instead, angel investors rely on a mix of early-stage valuation methodologies such as: 📊 Berkus Method – assigns value to elements like the team, prototype, market size, and strategic relationships. ⚖️ Scorecard Method – compares the startup against averages from similar deals in the region, adjusting for strengths and weaknesses. 💰 Venture Capital Method – estimates the exit value and works backward, applying expected ROI multiples. 🔮 Risk Factor Summation – starts from a baseline valuation and adjusts up or down based on 12 common risk factors (management, competition, legislation, etc.). The truth is, at this stage, investors look beyond numbers. While valuation methodologies help frame the deal, more than the money, investors also evaluate factors such as: 👥 The founding team – their skills, resilience, and ability to execute 💡 The problem being solved – is it significant, urgent, and scalable? 🚀 The proposed solution – how unique, innovative, and defensible is it? 📈 Market potential – is there room for exponential growth? 🛠️ Early validation signals – customer interviews, letters of intent, prototypes, or pilot interest. Pre-seed investing is often described as “betting on the jockey, not just the horse.” Angels know that the business will pivot, but the right team can adapt, learn, and grow. At this stage, valuations are more art than science, but structured approaches ensure fairness for both founders and investors. At CYBAN, we guide investors and founders through these methods to align expectations and build trust from day one. #AngelInvesting #StartupValuation #PreSeed #CYBAN

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🎉 Thrilled to share the first closing of our new fund Omnes Real Tech 2 at €112 million. 💡 We believe Europe’s deeptech moment is now. A new generation of world-class founders with European roots is building with speed, depth, and ambition, and more and more investors are aligning behind the conviction that Europe can lead in deeptech. We're proud to help power this movement and support the scale-up journey of the continent’s most promising technologies. 🔧 Omnes Real Tech 2 is built for the critical inflection point when breakthrough technologies must scale industrially and commercially. It builds on the journey we’ve taken alongside standout deeptech companies like Quantum Systems, The Exploration Company, Quandela, Sekoia.io, Unseenlabs and Proxima Fusion, now all widely recognised in their fields. 🛰️ We’ll continue backing ambitious companies in defense & security, quantum, new space, AI, semiconductors, and advanced materials, across Europe, with a conviction-led strategy and deep reserves to follow on over time. 🇩🇪 We’re kicking things off with a first investment in ARX Robotics, the German startup shaping the future of autonomous ground systems for defense. 📬 If you're building something bold, with pan-European ambition and industrial scale, we’d love to hear from you. Michel de Lempdes Renaud POULARD Fabien Collangettes François-Xavier Dedde Maia Falkå Paul Maurens #Deeptech #ScaleUp #EuropeTech #DefenseTech #Quantum #NewSpace

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Why I Don't Sign NDAs for Early-Stage Founders — And Why Founders Shouldn't Ask Your idea is your baby. I get it. But for VC, asking for an NDA before sharing that idea isn't protecting your future - it's limiting it. In my latest article, I break down why NDAs create more problems than they solve for founders seeking early-stage funding. I explain why VCs structurally cannot sign them (reviewing 1,500+ decks annually makes this impossible), why they signal inexperience rather than caution, and most importantly - why your execution matters infinitely more than your idea. If you're a founder worried about idea theft, this perspective might change how you approach investor conversations forever. I explain why trust is the real compounding currency in venture capital - not legal protection.

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