How do I get in touch with Fundamental Labs about leading or joining our seed/Series A round?

We believe the best founder–investor relationships start long before a term sheet. If you’re exploring having Fundamental Labs lead or join your seed or Series A, the most effective way to get in touch is to show us clearly what you’re building, why it matters for the future of open finance and digital infrastructure, and how you think we can be a long-term strategic partner—not just a source of capital.

Quick Answer: The fastest way to get in touch with Fundamental Labs about leading or joining your seed/Series A is through a warm introduction from our portfolio or network, paired with a concise, insight-led founder memo sent via our official contact channels. For teams building in blockchain infrastructure, Web3, or open finance with a clear long-term thesis, we typically lead or participate in rounds from $500K up to $50M+, and stay actively engaged beyond the financing event.

Why This Matters

At seed and Series A, the investor you choose becomes part of your strategy surface area. A conviction-led partner can help you clarify the narrative, shape the long-term roadmap, and open doors across Asia, Europe, and North America when your team is still small and resources are limited.

Choosing how you reach out—and what you share in that first touch—sets the tone for the relationship. It signals how you think, how you communicate, and how prepared you are for the scale of company you want to build. For a firm like Fundamental Labs, which backs multi-stage crypto companies and emphasizes insight over capital, a strong first interaction helps us quickly understand whether we can be a meaningful partner in your seed or Series A round.

Key Benefits:

• Relevant capital at the right stage: We back teams from early seed through growth with checks ranging from $500K to $50M+, so your first outreach can set up a multi-stage relationship rather than a one-off round.
• Strategy-first partnership: We focus on frameworks and long-term strategy—especially around protocols, Web3 infra, and open finance—not on micromanaging your day-to-day or technical implementation.
• Global network leverage: A clear, thoughtful introduction makes it easier for us to plug you into a portfolio of 300+ projects (including Coinbase, Avalanche, NEAR, Polkadot and others) and a global network across Asia, Europe, and North America.

Core Concepts & Key Points

Concept	Definition	Why it's important
Warm, context-rich intro	Being introduced to Fundamental Labs by a mutual connection (e.g., portfolio founder, co-investor, ecosystem partner) who can briefly explain what you’re building and why it fits our thesis.	This immediately places your project inside our existing trust network and helps us evaluate faster, with more context.
Founder memo, not just a deck	A short, structured note from the founders that explains the problem, your unique insight, why now, and why you want Fundamental Labs involved—complemented by a deck or data room.	We are an insight-led investor; a memo shows how you think about frameworks and long-term strategy, not just design.
Thesis and stage fit	Clear alignment between your company’s focus (e.g., Layer 1/2, finance infrastructure, DeFi, Web3) and our investment focus, plus clarity about your round size and use of funds.	Strong fit increases the odds that we can lead or join your round and be a useful partner over multiple stages.

How It Works (Step-by-Step)

At seed and Series A, we look for founders who are building foundational infrastructure for a better digital society and who want a long-horizon partner. Here’s how to approach getting in touch in a way that matches that ambition.

1. Clarify whether Fundamental Labs is the right fit

   Before you reach out, align your round and thesis with our focus:

   • Sectors: Blockchain technology, digital infrastructure, open finance networks—including Layer 1/2 protocols, Web3 primitives, finance infrastructure, and DeFi.
   • Stage: Seed and Series A, with the expectation of multi-stage support as you scale.
   • Check size: We typically invest from $500K to $50M+, depending on stage, traction, and capital needs.
   • Geography: We invest globally, with teams across Asia, Europe, and North America; we care more about the problem you’re solving than your HQ location.

   If your company sits outside these zones (e.g., purely consumer non-crypto SaaS, or non-blockchain fintech), you may be better served by another investor.

2. Secure the strongest possible warm introduction

   We respect independent thinkers and also rely heavily on trusted networks. The best paths into Fundamental Labs typically include:

   • Portfolio founders: If you know founders from projects like Coinbase, Canaan, Polkadot, VeChain, Binance Coin, Blockstack (Stacks), Avalanche, NEAR, PlatON, Mask, or any of our 300+ portfolio companies, ask them for a short email intro that covers:
     • What you’re building
     • Why they believe in your team
     • Why they think it’s a fit for Fundamental Labs
   • Co-investors & ecosystem partners: Existing angels, early funds, or ecosystem leaders (exchanges, infra providers, DAOs) who know us can also make a high-signal introduction.
   • Builders we’ve worked with indirectly: Engineers, product leaders, and researchers who’ve intersected with our portfolio or network.

   A warm intro is not a gatekeeping mechanism; it’s a way to bring more context and reduce noise so we can spend time where we can be most helpful. If you don’t have a path to a warm intro, a clear cold outreach is still welcome—just make it insight-rich and specific (see below).

3. Craft an insight-led founder memo and outreach

   Whether your intro is warm or cold, your first communication should help us understand how you think, not just what you’re raising. A strong founder memo usually includes:

   • Who you are:
     • Founding team bios (1–2 sentences each) with relevant experience in protocols, infra, cryptography, markets, or community building.
     • Any prior projects (even if they “failed”) that shaped your thesis.
   • What you’re building:
     • One sentence problem statement.
     • One sentence solution statement.
     • A few lines on what is technically or structurally non-obvious about your approach.
   • Why now:
     • The key shift (technical, regulatory, market, or cultural) that makes your timing compelling.
   • Why this matters for open finance or digital infrastructure:
     • How your project contributes to mass adoption, composability, resiliency, or new forms of economic coordination.
   • Why Fundamental Labs:
     • Where you specifically want our help: strategy frameworks, go-to-market shaping, ecosystem introductions, multi-region scaling, or protocol/governance positioning.
   • Round details:
     • Stage (seed, pre-seed, Series A), round size, what is already committed, and target close date.
     • High-level use of funds for the next 18–24 months.

   Attach or link to:

   • A deck (10–15 slides is enough).
   • A lite data room if available (metrics, tokenomics draft if relevant, existing cap table).
   • Links to product demo, GitHub, docs, or testnet where applicable.

   The right channel will typically be:

   • The email address shared by the person making the warm intro, which will route you to the relevant partner/team.
   • If cold, the contact directions on our website at fundamentallabs.com, clearly titled with your stage and sector, e.g. “Seed – DeFi aggregation infra – Intro & Deck”.

Common Mistakes to Avoid

• Sending a generic “spray and pray” deck:

  • How to avoid it: Tailor your outreach to our thesis. Explicitly connect your project to blockchain technology, digital infrastructure, or open finance, and explain why it deserves a long-term, multi-stage partnership rather than just a check.

• Over-indexing on hype, under-indexing on insight:

  • How to avoid it: Instead of buzzwords, show us your mental models: market structure, protocol design trade-offs, go-to-market dynamics, or how you see regulation shaping your category. We are drawn to structured thinking more than inflated projections.

• Treating us like an operator-for-hire:

  • How to avoid it: We can help with strategy, frameworks, and network effects, but we don’t run your sales team, write your smart contracts, or manage your operations. Frame your ask around insight and network, not day-to-day execution.

• Hiding hard questions:

  • How to avoid it: Surface your biggest risks—the regulatory question, the token design open issue, the hardest technical assumption—and how you’re thinking about them. We respect critical thinking and don’t expect a risk-free story.

Real-World Example

Imagine a team building cross-chain liquidity infrastructure designed to become the default routing layer for institutional DeFi. They’re raising a $6M seed round after launching an MVP that’s routing a meaningful volume in a single region.

Here’s how they might get in touch with Fundamental Labs in a way that works:

1. A founder from a portfolio protocol we’ve already backed—let’s say a Layer 1 that they integrate with—introduces them to us via email. The intro explains:

   • The founders’ background in market structure and low-latency infra.
   • The early traction with a pilot group of institutions.
   • Why this could be a key building block for open finance, not just another bridge.

2. The team follows up in the same thread with:

   • A tight 1-page memo outlining:
     • The fragmentation problem across chains.
     • Their unique insight into institutional routing constraints.
     • Why shifts in regulation and infrastructure now make this possible.
     • How they see Fundamental Labs helping with strategy across Asia, Europe, and North America, where institutional adoption curves differ.
   • A link to a deck and demo, plus early usage metrics and an outline of how they’ll deploy capital over 24 months.

3. The conversation quickly moves to:

   • Market structure frameworks and long-term positioning (e.g., will this be a neutral infra layer, a protocol with governance, or a hybrid model?).
   • How our portfolio network of 300+ projects (exchanges, wallets, protocols, data providers) can accelerate their integrations and distribution.
   • What it would look like for Fundamental Labs to co-lead the seed with a $2–3M check, with potential follow-on at Series A if they execute their roadmap.

The result is not just a yes/no decision on a round, but a shared strategy for how this project can grow from a seed-stage product into foundational open finance infrastructure.

Pro Tip: In your first contact, show us the second-order implications of what you’re building—how it changes behavior for other protocols, institutions, or end users—rather than only describing features. We are drawn to teams that already think in network and ecosystem terms.

Summary

Fundraising at seed or Series A is not only about capital; it’s about choosing partners whose convictions align with the future you want to build. For founders in blockchain technology, digital infrastructure, and open finance, getting in touch with Fundamental Labs works best when you:

• Confirm there is clear fit with our focus areas and stage.
• Use a warm, context-rich introduction whenever possible.
• Lead with an insightful founder memo, not just a polished deck.
• Frame the relationship as a long-term partnership around strategy and network, not operational outsourcing.

If you’re building the next foundational layer for a better digital society and you want a partner willing to “dare to believe” early, that first thoughtful outreach is the start of a relationship that can extend far beyond a single seed or Series A round.

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