Steps to investment
Most successful business concepts, including the ideas behind them, are unique. At GLSV, we evaluate each proposal on a stand-alone basis and its individual merits. Recognizing that time is one of your most valuable resources, we strive to make the investment process as efficient as possible. Our evaluation and investment process are typically conducted in the following five steps:
Submission 
Initial contact Evaluation Negotiation Closing
1. Submission: Your business concept is submitted via email, fax or regular mail to one of our offices in Germany or Switzerland. Should you be domiciled in one of these countries, we encourage you to first approach the office in your country of residence. The ideal format for the initial proposal is a brief, 2–5-page executive summary or business plan. We will review this document and respond within 2–4 weeks. A template for the Executive Summary can be downloaded from this website (see Documentation Centre).
2. Initial contact: If your proposal is a potential match for our fund, one of our investment professionals will contact you directly to either request some additional information, for example a complete business plan, or to set up an initial meeting.
3. Evaluation: After the first meeting, we usually decide if your proposal is a likely fit to our portfolio. If so, we will perform some initial due diligence, such as speaking to referees and other experts from industry or academia. If this evaluation is positive, we will with your assistance start a more in-depth analysis of your company. This due diligence will include a more detailed assessment of the management, science, and intellectual property of your company and the market in which your enterprise is active.
4. Negotiation: Assuming our research results are positive and we commit to a role as lead investor, we will move into negotiations of a term sheet. The term sheet establishes agreement upon valuation, terms and conditions of the investment. After signing, we will move into full due diligence, which will involve all partners of GLSV, and complete any outstanding issues. Depending on the financial requirements, we may with your consent invite other venture capital firms to look at your proposal. The results of that due diligence will be summarised in an internal Investment Recommendation. This recommendation needs to find consensus among all partners of GLSV to ensure your proposal will have our firm’s full support.
5. Closing: Subsequently, a law firm will be mandated to draft the final legal documents based on our agreed term sheet. If negotiations were to be successfully completed, we would then organize the closing and funding.
GLSV approaches every investment as a personal commitment. Our goal is to provide the best possible support to investment proposals with the highest potential. In the best interests of all parties, we are therefore very selective in our investment process.