Cohort 01 · applications open

Invest in European startups with the people who cover them.

The Sesamers Investment Club gives business angels - and first-time investors - access to the deals we see before they're news. Curated flow, honest diligence notes, one decision per month, tickets from €1,000.

Apply to join How it works Free to apply · 40 seats in cohort 01

1,408Rounds tracked / year

€1,000Minimum ticket

12–18Deals shown / year

€500Per year, flat

Cohort 01 closes 30 September 2026 · applications open

Community application

Apply in two minutes

We read every application. If it's not a fit yet, we'll say so - and tell you what would change that.

The problem

Angel investing in Europe is gated by geography and gossip.

The best rounds are quietly circulated between people who already know each other. If you're not in that group chat, you see the deal after it's oversubscribed - or you see the ones nobody else wanted.

Problem 01

You hear about it too late

By the time a round is announced, allocation closed weeks ago. The angels who got in were on a list you weren't on.

What the club does: we bring deals to members while allocation is still open - 5 to 15 days before announcement, on average.

Problem 02

You can't diligence alone

One person cannot check a technical claim, a cap table, a market and three references in the two weeks a round stays open.

What the club does: every deal ships with our written notes - what we verified, what we couldn't, and the case against.

Problem 03

€1k doesn't buy a seat alone

No founder takes a €1,000 cheque from a stranger. Forty of them pooled into one line on the cap table is a different conversation entirely.

What the club does: members invest together through one SPV per deal, so a small ticket still gets in.

How it works

One deal a month. 14 days to decide. Never an obligation.

You are not committing capital when you join - you commit per deal, or not at all. Members who pass on twelve straight deals stay members.

Apply & get verified

Two minutes to apply, one call if we have questions. We check investor eligibility for your jurisdiction before you see a single deal.

Week 0

Deals land in your account

One curated round per month with our diligence memo, the founder's own materials, and the terms we negotiated for the club.

Monthly

Ask the founder yourself

Every deal comes with moderated Q&A for members - ask the founder directly, then decide.

Within 7 days

Commit, or pass

Watch privately, signal interest, or pledge from €1,000 within 14 days. Pass and nothing happens - no explanation needed.

Within 14 days

The flow

What the last six months looked like

Deals shown to a pilot group of 18 angels. This is the real cadence - not a highlight reel.

CompanyShownClub ticketStatus

GridWerkSubstation software · Berlin · seedAug 2026€310kOpen

TheStorageLong-duration storage · Tampere · seedJul 2026€180kClosed

Fjord FreightNordic short-haul · Oslo · seedJun 2026€225kClosed

QutwoAI × quantum · Helsinki · angel roundMay 2026€400kClosed

ProfitGoAI financial planning · Vilnius · seedApr 2026€95kClosed

Undisclosed · climate hardwareRotterdam · pre-seed · under NDAMar 2026€120kOpen

Community

How we make money - stated plainly

€500 a year flat, a 1% fee on money you actually deploy, and 20% carry on profit. Nothing on capital you never invest - and legal fees per deal are passed through at cost, not marked up.

Observer

Freeinvitation only

For people who want to learn the mechanics before writing a cheque.

Monthly deal memo, redacted
Sample diligence notes
Quarterly market briefing
No investing rights

Start here

Cohort 01 Member

€500per year · 1% on deployed + 20% carry

The full club. One deal a month, tickets from €1,000, all diligence included.

Full deal access & allocation
Written diligence memo per deal
Founder Q&A for members
Watch · interest · pledge ladder
Legal fees per deal at cost, never marked up
No carry on your first deal

Apply to join

Lead

€1,500per year · 1% on deployed + 15% carry

For experienced angels who want to co-lead and shape what the club sees.

Everything in Member
Bring your own deals to the club
Sit on the selection call
Reduced carry, priority allocation
LP corner access at the Summit

Request a Lead seat

Fit

Who this is for - and who it isn't

✓A good fit if you

Can commit €1k–€50k a year to early-stage risk you'd survive losing entirely

Want to learn by doing, alongside people who do this professionally

Are an operator, founder or specialist whose judgement adds to the room

Prefer one considered decision a month to a firehose of pitch decks

Understand this is a 7–10 year horizon with no liquidity in between

✕Not a fit if you

Need this capital back within five years, or at all

Are looking for guaranteed, predictable or short-term returns

Want to pick from a marketplace of hundreds of listings

Expect us to make the investment decision for you

Aren't eligible to invest in unlisted securities in your jurisdiction

Pilot members

From the first eighteen

"I'd done two angel deals in six years, both through friends. I've done three in six months here, and for the first time I understood what I was signing."

Marta R.

Operator · Barcelona · first-time investor

"The memo said out loud what the founder couldn't prove. I passed on that one. That's when I decided the membership was worth it."

Thomas K.

Ex-CTO · Munich · 12 angel deals

"Being on the selection call changed how I read my own deals. I now say no faster, to better-looking things."

Anne L.

Lead member · Paris · 30+ deals

Questions

What people ask before joining

Do I need to be a professional investor?

No - about half of cohort 01 is investing for the first time. You do need to be eligible to invest in unlisted securities where you live, which we verify during onboarding. If your jurisdiction requires certification (self-certified sophisticated investor in the UK, for example), we walk you through it.

What's the minimum, really?

€1,000 per deal - deliberately low, so you can build a portfolio of ten small positions rather than betting on two. There's no annual minimum either: joining doesn't commit you to invest at all. The median pilot ticket was €4,200, across two to three deals over six months.

How do you choose what to show us?

Everything starts in the same tracker that powers our published coverage - 1,408 rounds a year. We shortlist on team, evidence and terms, then run diligence; roughly 4% of what we source reaches members. We never show a deal where Sesamers has an undisclosed interest, and sponsorship of our media never buys deal access.

What exactly do I get for the annual fee?

The €500 covers sourcing, written diligence, negotiated terms, portfolio reporting and the member community - whether you invest or not. On top of that there's a 1% fee on capital you actually deploy and 20% carry on profit. Legal costs for each SPV are passed through at cost and disclosed before you commit.

Is there any conflict with Sesamers' journalism?

Yes, structurally, and we manage it in the open. The editorial desk doesn't see the deal pipeline before publication, club investments are disclosed on any article about a portfolio company, and no company can buy coverage or a club slot.

Can I get my money out?

Not on demand. Early-stage equity is illiquid: returns, if any, come from an acquisition or IPO, typically seven to ten years out. Most startups fail. Only invest what you can lose completely.

What happens after I apply?

You hear from us within five working days. If there's a fit we book a short call, verify eligibility and send a set-password link - you're in the next deal cycle. If not, we tell you why. Email is handed over manually while the club is invite-only; all membership state shows in your account.

Cohort 01 closes 30 September.

Forty seats. Applying is free and takes two minutes - the worst outcome is an honest no.

Apply to join the club Get the deal memo sample

Risk warning

Investing in early-stage startups puts your capital at risk. These investments are illiquid, cannot easily be sold, and most early-stage companies fail - you should be prepared to lose the entire amount you invest. Past deal flow and past performance are not indicators of future results, and nothing on this page is investment advice or a personal recommendation. Fees reduce your returns. Tax treatment depends on your individual circumstances and may change. The Sesamers Investment Club is open only to investors who meet the eligibility requirements of their jurisdiction; eligibility is verified before any deal is shown. If you are unsure whether this is suitable for you, take independent financial advice.