Headwaters Seed Stage Fund I

What we back, and how to know if we're a fit

$100k–$250k
First check
$250K
Max follow-on per company
Pre-revenue
The stage we invest
What We Look For

The criteria — and what tips the balance

01

Pre-revenue

We invest from concept stage through early prototype — before a company has generated meaningful recurring revenue.

02

Hardware-related

Hardware-enabled innovation is our primary lens. We stay open to genuine deep tech, with no sector dogma.

03

A genuinely hard problem

The work must demand real technical or scientific innovation — not incremental improvement on what already exists.

04

A valuable solution

The solution addresses a large market or critical infrastructure need — a gap customers will pay meaningfully to close.

05

Founders first

The earlier and less proven the technology, the more exceptional the founding team has to be.

06

Capital discipline

A clear path from initial investment to defined technical milestones and a credible next round.

How It Works

From first note to first check ASAP

01

Reach out

View our application page to submit an application form and deck. We read everything that comes in.

02

First conversation

A 30-minute call, founder to operator. No formal pitch, just an honest talk about what you're building.

03

Technical deep-dive

We dig into the hard parts with you. When needed, we bring in domain specialists and technical advisors to pressure-test the thesis alongside us.

04

A clear answer in a timely manner

A definitive yes or no — fast. If it's a yes, the investment moves quickly and the work begins.

Get in Touch

Building something hard? We'd like to meet you.

No formal pitch required. Submit your application in a few minutes — we read every one.