Angel cheque
Up to $25K of my own capital, and a monthly check-in.
4 to 6 a year
Home / How I help
How I help
Three models. One rule: I show up.
Pick the model that fits the company. Whichever it is, you get the same weekly cadence for the first 90 days.
Miro Ventures is Joaquim Miro’s personal pre-seed practice. He works with a few companies a year in one of three ways: an angel cheque of up to $25K on a SAFE or convertible note, advisory shares for a few hours a week, or, by exception, co-founder equity for co-founder time. Every company gets a weekly session for 90 days.
The models
What I put in, and what I get.
Advisor for equity
A few hours a week inside your team, scaling up or down as you need.
3 to 5 a year
Sweat-equity co-founder
Co-founder time on growth, go-to-market and operations. This one takes co-founder equity.
One at most, by exception
| Model | I put in | I get | Instrument | Per year |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Angel cheque | Up to $25K of my own capital, plus a monthly check-in | Equity | SAFE or convertible note, through the vehicle that fits the deal | 4 to 6 a year |
| Advisor for equity | A few hours a week as an extension of your team, scaling up and down as needed, plus intros and the distribution playbook | Advisory shares, case by case, usually 0.5% to 5% | Advisor agreement, with vesting agreed per company | 3 to 5 a year |
| Sweat-equity co-founder | Co-founder time on growth, go-to-market and operations, as I did with Gatewayz.ai and Stroby AI | Co-founder equity | Shareholder agreement | One at most, by exception |
The investing vehicle varies per deal: me personally, an operating company or a holding company, depending on the situation, the industry and where you are based. Capacity per year is a target, not a promise.
Whatever the model
What every company gets.
- A weekly working session for the first 90 days, then a cadence we agree on.
- The distribution engine: search, AI answers (GEO), community and partnerships, run with you rather than handed over as a deck.
- Intros into the bench: GDA Group, Holt Xchange, Form Fintech, and the accelerators I mentor at (Techstars, Founder Institute, Outlier Ventures, FounderFuel).
- A path to Regenerate: the investment practice and the Regenerate Syndicate when you build your seed round.
The first 90 days
What the cadence looks like.
01
Weeks 1 and 2 · the trial
We work on one concrete problem before anything is signed: first customers, positioning or a hiring plan. You see how I work; I see how you work.
02
Week 3 · terms
If we both want to go on, we sign the model we picked, and your company is listed here.
03
Every week · the session
One working session a week, on the real problem of that week. Not a status meeting.
04
Every month · one goal
One written goal a month, agreed at the start and reviewed at the end. Numbers where there can be numbers.
05
Day 90 · the review
Continue, pause, or hand off to Regenerate for the seed round. Then quarterly, on the same three options.
Terms in plain words
No surprises later.
Who invests
Me, personally, or a company I control. Never studio or syndicate money. That is Regenerate’s, and it goes through Regenerate.
How much
Up to $25K on an angel cheque. Advisory and co-founder models usually carry no cheque, though they can be combined with one.
The paper
A SAFE or convertible note for a cheque, an advisor agreement for advisory shares, a shareholder agreement for a co-founder role. Standard documents, shared before you sign.
Vesting
Advisory shares vest over time. The schedule and cliff are agreed per company, in writing, before the work starts.
Leaving
Either of us can pause at a quarterly review. No one is locked into weekly hours that are not working.
Conflicts
If a company I back overlaps with one I am already in, I tell both of you before we start.
By role
The seat you need most.
Fractional CMO
Marketing for a pre-seed company is not a brand campaign. It is finding the first hundred customers, then the channel that brings the next thousand.
Fractional COO
The product works and customers are coming. Now hiring, finance, tools and process all land on the founder at once. That is the COO seat.
Fractional Chief of Staff
Every week you decide between the urgent and the important. A Chief of Staff makes sure the important gets done, and that nothing falls through between people.
Pre-seed in Québec
Montréal, Québec City, Sherbrooke or a village in Estrie: if you are building at pre-seed in Québec, I can bring a first cheque and real hours, in French or in English.
Questions
Plain answers.
Do you really invest this early?
Yes. Pre-seed is the point: an idea with a prototype, or an early product, before a priced seed round. If you are already raising your seed, Regenerate Capital is the better door.
Can you be our fractional CMO, COO or Chief of Staff?
Yes. That is the advisor model: a few hours a week inside your team, in the seat you need most (marketing, operations, growth, strategy or chief of staff), paid in advisory shares instead of a monthly retainer. I have held those seats in fintech and AI companies, as a co-founder and as a hire.
How is this different from hiring a fractional executive?
A fractional executive bills by the month. I take equity, so I win only if you do, and I can add a cheque, intros and a path to a venture studio when you are ready to raise.
Do you work with founders outside Québec?
Yes. I am based in the Eastern Townships of Québec and work with founders anywhere, in English or French. The weekly sessions are remote.
How much do you invest?
Up to $25K of my own capital on an angel cheque, on a SAFE or a convertible note. Some companies get hours instead of a cheque, or both.
How involved are you, really?
A working session every week for the first 90 days, then a cadence we agree on. Advisors also work a few hours a week inside the team. If you want a passive cheque, I am the wrong person.
What do you take in return?
Equity for a cheque. Advisory shares for advisory, usually 0.5% to 5%, case by case. Co-founder equity for a co-founder role, which I take on at most once a year.
What is the two-week trial?
Before any paper, we work together on one concrete problem for two weeks. It costs you nothing, and it is the best way for both of us to know if this works.
What happens when we raise our seed?
At a quarterly review we can hand off to Regenerate Capital, which invests from pre-seed to Series A and has a syndicate behind it. I stay involved.
I am a founder in Estrie. Is there something for me?
Yes. Apply here if you want me personally at pre-seed, and look at the Estrie Launch Program at Regenerate Capital, built for founders in the Eastern Townships.
Will you sign an NDA?
Not at the application stage, as is normal in early-stage investing. Share what you are comfortable sharing; I keep applications to myself.
I only want advice. Can I pay you instead?
Yes, but not here. Paid advisory, coaching and speaking are on joaquimmiro.ca.
Apply
Pre-seed, and want someone in it with you?
Tell me what you are building. Every founder gets a written answer within 7 days.