The challenge for Meisterwerk

Secure funding to extend runway in a difficult ecosystem

So far, Meisterwerk has successfully secured venture capital and public funding in seed rounds. However, with the next growth phase approaching, they are now seeking Series A funding. "Although we show good revenue growth, financing options are limited in the current ecosystem," says Bertram Wildenauer, founder of Meisterwerk. 

The founder explains that fundraising with venture capital is challenging: "You have to demonstrate excellent KPIs to avoid dilution and a downround." On the other hand, banks and public funding are rarely viable options for startups due to lengthy and time-consuming.

Meisterwerk needs a different approach: a simple and fast funding model. 

With the new funding, the Berlin-based startup aims to achieve the following goals:

• Building a sufficient cash buffer to maintain a healthy cash balance 
• Extending their runway to gain more time till the Series A funding
• Gaining more time to improve financial KPIs, enabling them to approach VCs in a stronger position

"The question for us was how to extend our runway with little effort to secure the next equity round in a more convenient environment," Bertram explains. 

The solution 

Extend runway to postpone equity round to a better time

The Berlin-based startup explored various non-dilutive financing solutions and discovered re:cap, the founder says.

Several reasons influenced their decision: "re:cap has developed a clear and user-friendly platform. The team understood our case precisely and addressed our needs. Additionally, personal touch and trust-building were crucial to make a decision." 

Meisterwerk mainly utilizes re:cap Guidance, where re:cap’s experts transform provided data, such as the business plan, into tailored funding strategies. "We developed various funding scenarios together and considered different questions," Bertram stated. 

These questions included:

• What might the worst-case and best-case funding scenarios look like?
• What is our revenue projection for the upcoming months?
• What are my total financing needs, and what steps do I need to take to access them?
• How much cash do we need, and at what time?

Based on this analysis, a financing scenario was created "that helps us obtain capital at the time we need it – without risking unnecessary capital costs or overfunding," explains the Meisterwerk founder. 

One important aspect for Bertram was maintaining a lean process: "The effort should be kept to a minimum to secure the runway extension quickly."

After all, the last two quarters of the year are traditionally the strongest for Meisterwerk, as the craft industry becomes particularly active during this time, positively impacting Meisterwerk's performance. 

To leverage this momentum, Meisterwerk secured re:cap financing, receiving multiple times of funding totaling more than 350,000 EUR in recent months – with more to follow until their Series A funding.

For Bertram, the benefits are clear: "This has given us a balanced cash position and postpones our equity round." By improving key metrics, the company avoids a down round and excessive dilution in the current environment.

But the extended runway has more than a positive impact on the company's performance. It influences the founder himself: "It boosts our confidence when talking to investors. We appear more confident because I know that we can present solid figures.”