Start-up BW
Pre-Seed

The financing instrument for innovative startups by the state of Baden-Württemberg.

You are a founder and need funding at an early stage? Your capital requirement is between €50.000 and €200.000? Are you looking for a support partner for your startup? Then Start-up BW Pre-Seed financing could be your solution.

Target Group

Young startups seeking their first investment.
Setup
- Initial application
- examination
- application
- decision-making committee
Goal

Get Start-up BW Pre-seed funding
Duration

Ongoing with 5-6 decision-making committees each year.

How does Start-up BW Pre-Seed work?

Start-up BW Pre-Seed is a financing instrument for innovative startups connected to Baden-Württemberg.

As a founder, you can apply for Start-up BW Pre-Seed through Campus Founders. Since applications are exclusively accepted through official accelerators like us, we are here to assist and support you throughout the application process.

The financing amount ranges from €50,000 to €200,000, with the possibility of increasing the total to up to €400,000 in exceptional cases.

Funding comes from two sources: L-Bank covers up to 80% of the total amount, while the startup secures a co-investor for the remaining balance.

Example

Consider a startup seeking financing of €200,000. To reach this amount, the startup must find an investor willing to contribute at least €40,000 (20% of the total investment). L-Bank covers the remaining 80%, equivalent to €160,000 — effectively quadrupling the co-investor’s contribution.

The investor can be a business angel, a company, or another investment entity. In some cases, the investor may increase their share to up to 50% of the total investment amount. Since L-Bank’s contribution is capped at €160,000, the investor’s share can only be raised up to that same amount.

Application requirements for Start-up BW Pre-Seed

1

The headquarters of your startup is located in Baden-Württemberg.
2

At least 50% of the founding team lives in Baden-Württemberg.
3

Your startup has the legal form of a GmbH, UG, or AG.
4

Your startup is growth-focused and is characterized by above-average innovation capabilities.
5

Thus far, your startup has not received more than 200K€ of equity financing from external parties.
6

Your startup is classified as a micro or small enterprise according to the criteria of the General Block Exemption Regulation (GBER).
7

Your startup was founded within the last five years.
8

We back both software and hardware teams. We bring expertise and a strong track record of successful applications in both domains.

Terms & Conditions

This is what Start-up BW Pre-Seed offers

1

Interest-free financial support, granted with a reservation for repayment or conversion during the base term. The base term is 2 years and can typically be extended multiple times, each for 12 months, up to a maximum total duration of 5 years.
2

Instead of repayment, L-Bank may request an equity stake in the company.
3

If the startup succeeds, there's an obligation to repay the financial support provided.