Is my CEE pre-seed valuation cap normal?
A typical cap is around €4.2 million. CEE founders raising pre-seed on a SAFE or convertible who applied to BADideas in 2025 and 2026 so far and stated a cap asked for a median of €4.2 million, with half between €2.3 million and €6 million. 65% asked for €5 million or less.
The figures
| Valuation cap asked, pre-seed, 2025 to 2026 (to date) | Bottom quarter up to | Median | Top quarter from |
|---|---|---|---|
| CEE | €2.3 million | €4.2 million | €6 million |
| All regions | €2.6 million | €4.3 million | €7 million |
In BADideas application data, the discount that comes with a cap is almost always 20%.
What is changing
Few founders state a cap, so the figures pool 2025 and 2026 and are not shown by quarter or country.
What it means for you
- Set the cap from your next round. The cap should leave room for the seed investor to pay more; work back from where you expect to raise next.
- Negotiate the cap, not the discount. The discount is standard; the cap decides your dilution.
- Keep caps consistent across angels. Different caps in one round cause friction at conversion.
- Model the conversion. Work out what share each angel ends up with at a range of seed prices before you agree a cap.
Related questions
Is a €5M cap normal for a pre-seed convertible in CEE?
Yes, it sits in the normal range: 65% of CEE founders who stated a pre-seed cap asked for €5 million or less.
What discount comes with a valuation cap?
Almost always 20%. Founders rarely negotiate it; the cap is where the terms differ.
How we measured it
- On this page: The cap is the valuation cap the founder asked for on a SAFE or convertible loan. Few founders state a cap, so the figures pool two years.
- Updated: 27 September 2026.
BADideas.fund, "Is my CEE pre-seed valuation cap normal?", updated 27 September 2026. https://badideas.fund/answers/valuation-cap-pre-seed-cee
Read next
- Equity, SAFE or convertible at CEE pre-seed?
- What valuation do CEE founders ask for?
- How much equity do CEE founders sell?
Who we are
We are a pre-seed and seed fund for founders in Central and Eastern Europe. We have built and sold companies ourselves, and since 2022 we have backed more than 40.
We back founders who see something about their market that others do not see yet. They want to change how a whole industry works, and they start small.
Good founders rarely fail on the idea or the product. They fail on selling it. We give your company hands-on help from go-to-market operators who grew Zendesk, Square and Scale AI.