Preparing for a fundraise and wondering which VCs to send your deck to? Spray-and-pray (sending to 200 random VCs) doesn't work anymore in 2025. This guide will show you how to match intelligently with investors who truly fit your startup.
📌 What you'll learn:
- ✅ The 6 VC matching criteria (and their weighting)
- ✅ Why 95% of emails to VCs end up in trash
- ✅ How to score 4,000+ European VCs automatically
- ✅ The outreach strategy that triples your response rate
- ✅ BONUS: List of 100 European Seed/Pre-Seed VCs (downloadable)
The Problem: 95% of Founders Do Spray-and-Pray
Here's what most founders do:
- 1️⃣ They find a list of 200 VCs on Google
- 2️⃣ They send the same generic email to everyone
- 3️⃣ They wait... and get zero responses
- 4️⃣ They conclude that "VCs are inaccessible"
The problem? Those VCs weren't the right ones.
- ❌ A Series B VC will never look at your Pre-Seed
- ❌ A HealthTech VC won't invest in your FinTech
- ❌ A UK-only VC won't take your French company
- ❌ A VC that writes €2M minimum won't do your €300K
"I receive 3,000 decks per year. I look at 100. I fund 5. Founders who stand out are those who did their homework."
— Partner at a European Seed fund
The 6 VC Matching Criteria (and Their Weighting)
To match effectively with a VC, you need to check 6 essential criteria. Here's their relative importance:
| Criterion | Weight | Why It's Crucial |
|---|---|---|
| 🎯 Stage | 25% | A Series A VC won't do your Pre-Seed. Period. |
| 🌍 Geography | 20% | Many VCs are geographically limited (France-only, EU-only, etc.) |
| 📊 Vertical | 20% | A generalist VC vs specialized HealthTech = different conversation |
| 💰 Ticket size | 15% | If you're raising €500K, a VC that writes €5-10M isn't right |
| 📝 Thesis match | 10% | Some VCs have very specific theses (e.g., "B2B SaaS automation") |
| ⭐ Smart Money | 10% | VC's sector expertise can accelerate your growth |
✅ The Golden Rule
A VC with 80%+ score on these 6 criteria is 10x more likely to respond positively than a VC at 40%.
The 4,000+ European VC Database
At CharliA, we built the largest European VC database accessible to founders:
European VCs
Direct emails
Partner LinkedIns
Smart Money
Geographic Coverage
🇫🇷 France: 2,040+ VCs
The most complete coverage of the French market
🇬🇧 UK: 570+ VCs
London, Manchester, Edinburgh...
🇩🇪 Germany: 430+ VCs
Berlin, Munich, Hamburg...
🇪🇺 Other countries: 900+ VCs
Spain, Netherlands, Switzerland, Sweden, Italy...
How Automated VC Matching Works
The process is simple:
Describe your startup
Current stage, amount sought, sector, target geography
AI scores all 4,000+ VCs
Each VC receives a 0-100% score based on the 6 criteria
Get your Top 20 matches
Most relevant VCs with their direct contact details
Personalized emails generated
For each VC, an email adapted to their thesis and portfolio
The Outreach Strategy That Triples Your Response Rate
Once your VCs are identified, here's how to contact them effectively:
❌ What NOT to Do
Typical generic email (0.1% response rate)
Subject: Seeking Investment for Our Startup
Dear Sir/Madam,
We are a revolutionary AI startup looking for €500k...
[3 paragraphs about why you're amazing]
Please find attached our pitch deck.
✅ What Works
Personalized email (15-25% response rate)
Subject: [Startup name] - B2B SaaS / Pre-Seed / like [portfolio company]
Hi [First name],
Saw your investment in [Company X] - our approach is similar for [market Y].
In 30 sec: we do [value prop]. 50 customers, €30K MRR, 20% MoM.
10-slide deck: [link]
15 min call next week?
3 Key Elements of a Converting Email
-
1. Portfolio connection
Show you know their investments and why you fit their thesis
-
2. Metrics in one line
Customers, MRR, growth. No fluff, just numbers.
-
3. Clear ask
"15 min call" beats "I'd love to chat if you have a moment"
VC Research Tools Comparison
| Tool | EU VCs | Emails | Scoring | Price |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| CharliA | 4,000+ | ✅ 1,300+ | ✅ AI 6 criteria | €99/mo |
| Dealroom | ~3,000 | ❌ No | ❌ Manual | €400+/mo |
| Crunchbase Pro | ~2,500 | ⚠️ Partial | ❌ Manual | $49/mo |
| Manual research | ? | ⚠️ LinkedIn | ❌ None | Your time |
🎁 BONUS: List of 100 European Seed/Pre-Seed VCs
To give you a taste of our database, here's a downloadable list of 100 VCs in Europe that invest in Seed and Pre-Seed:
Top 100 Seed/Pre-Seed VCs Europe
CSV with: Name, Website, Country, Ticket, Sectors, Email, Partner LinkedIn
Free, no email required
What the List Contains:
- ✅ Fund name and website
- ✅ Countries covered (FR, DE, UK, ES...)
- ✅ Ticket size (e.g., "€100K - €2M")
- ✅ Sectors invested (SaaS, FinTech, HealthTech...)
- ✅ Rounds (Pre-Seed, Seed, Series A...)
- ✅ Direct email of the fund
- ✅ LinkedIn of a partner
- ✅ Smart Money (sector expertise)
Next Steps
You now have all the keys to match intelligently with the right VCs:
- 1. Download the 100 VCs list above
- 2. Filter those who match your criteria (stage, vertical, geo)
- 3. Personalize your emails with the formula above
- 4. For automated matching across 4,000+ VCs → use CharliA
🚀 Ready to Match with the Right VCs?
CharliA generates your financial model, pitch deck AND matches your startup with the most relevant VCs.
Discover VC Matching →PS: Want the complete investor package? Financial Model + Pitch Deck + VC Matching. Start with CharliA.
