Backtrace Capital Fund I is live, infrastructure founders time to raise 🚀

Read our newly published case study about how Backtrace Capital used Papermark Data Rooms for fundraising and learn more about their venture firm.

So if you are looking to fundraise: 🌱 Stage: pre-seed & seed 🌍 Location: Europe 💻 Focus Areas: Technical infrastructure, below-Application Layer technologies

Backtrace Capital is a thesis-driven venture capital firm founded by Dominik Tobschall and Michael Münnix, focusing on the building blocks of tech infrastructure. Their investment thesis centers on the picks and shovels required to build, run, deploy, observe, maintain, and secure modern products.

Key Focus Areas

• Focus on innovative infrastructure, not European copycats
• Pre-seed & seed investments in tech infrastructure
• Supporting founders who leverage Europe's potential to build global companies
• Specialization in below-Application Layer technologies
• Technical infrastructure sector focus

Investment Philosophy

Backtrace was founded on the belief that there is a misconception of sovereign digital tech infrastructure in Europe. They identify two key issues:

1. Many companies build "EU versions of XYZ" which addresses short-term demand but keeps Europe lagging behind rather than innovating ahead of the curve.

2. European venture capital is concentrated primarily on B2B SaaS or Deep Tech, creating a deficit in sovereign tech infrastructure compared to markets like the United States.

Rather than backing European copycats, Backtrace supports daring founders building truly innovative and unique infrastructure solutions. They invest in founders who leverage Europe's potential to build global companies - born in Europe but built for the world.

Fundraising Success with Papermark

Backtrace Capital successfully raised €30M using Papermark's document sharing and analytics platform. They leveraged several key features:

• Document Versions: Maintained a single link for their pitch deck, updating it as their fundraise progressed
• Custom Domains: Used their own branded domain for sharing documents
• Smart Links: Created individual trackable links for each LP
• Real-time Notifications: Received instant notifications when investors viewed their documents
• Security Controls: Controlled access to confidential fund information with granular permissions

Data Room Structure

Backtrace implemented an effective data room structure using Papermark:

1. Introduction - Presentations
2. Team - CVs & References
3. Track Record - Granular track record & portfolio references
4. Fund Model - Detailed fund model via Google Sheet or xlsx
5. Legal - Executed LPA, bylaws
6. Portfolio - Information regarding portfolio companies

Three Core Tips for Fundraising

1. Time is your rarest resource: Invest the time to do an SDR-style qualification of your LP leads to avoid allocating a lot of time to calls that lead to nowhere.

2. Focus on quality: Better invest the time for preparation and good follow-ups with one meaningful LP, rather than having 5 unprepared calls with non-qualified LPs.

3. Don't do cold outreach: Invest the time to identify the warmest possible intro to a prospective LP. It takes a lot of time but it's worth it.

Ready to Start Your Fundraise?

If you're building innovative infrastructure solutions in Europe and looking for pre-seed or seed funding, Backtrace Capital might be the right partner for you. Their €30M+ fund is already oversubscribed, showing strong investor confidence in their thesis.

Read the full case study to learn more about how Backtrace used Papermark for their successful fundraise.

Get started with Papermark to streamline your fundraising process today.