# Xaver Lehmann | Founder Community & Startup Scaling (xaverlehmann.com) > Choose your path Community 60+ vetted founders. $200m raised. $50m ARR created. Apply to join carefully selected founders who want honest conversations, meaningful relationships and practical advice. Sponsorships Reach 30,000 founders and CEOs through newsletter sponsorships or LinkedIn post placements. 40 - 50% open rates vs 21% industry average. 1:1 Coaching I scaled e-bot7 to $60M and burned out doing it. Now I help founders raise faster, scale smarter, and avoid the mistakes that cost me years. One conversation can change everything. Built. Scaled. Burned out. Now I share what I wish I'd known. I've raised millions, scaled to 130+ employees, and exited for $60M. Today I help founders build great companies without losing themselves in the process. Thank you for contacting us In the current version, we have added support for Lottie files. To use them, visit lottiefiles.com, choose your favorites, and upload them into an 'Image' element in your project. Featured in Latest Articles The next chapter of The Honest Founder. About a year ago, I started this newsletter with a simple idea. Nobody showed up. In 2021, a few months after we were acquired by a NASDAQ company in the US, a C-level executive from that company called me up. I didn’t feel like working this week. It happens to me more often than you’d probably expect. Some days I wake up and just don’t feel like working. ## Sitemap: - [Privacy Policy](https://xaverlehmann.com/privacy-policy) Privacy Policy. Server Log Files We use Google Analytics, a web analytics service provided by Google Ireland Limited. Google Analytics uses cookies that allow us to analyse how visitors use our website. The information generated by these cookies (including your truncated IP address) is transmitted to Google servers and stored there. 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Controller The controller responsible for data processing on this website is: LX Investment GmbH, Seeleitn 107, 82541 Muensing, Germany E-Mail: xaver@xaverlehmann.com Website: www.xaverlehmann.com Local Court Munich, register number: HRB269672 Managing Director: Xaver Valentin Lehmann No VAT ID. The controller determines, alone or jointly with others, the purposes and means of processing personal data (e.g., names, contact details, etc.). Withdrawal of Your Consent to Data Processing Some data processing operations are only possible with your explicit consent. You may withdraw your consent at any time. An informal email is sufficient. The legitimacy of data processing carried out before the withdrawal remains unaffected. Right to File Complaints with Supervisory Authorities If you believe that your personal data has been processed unlawfully, you have the right to lodge a complaint with the relevant data protection authority. The competent authority is the state data protection officer of the German federal state in which our company is headquartered. A list of supervisory authorities and contact details can be found here: https://www.bfdi.bund.de/DE/Infothek/Anschriften_Links/anschriften_links-node.html Right to Data Portability You have the right to receive data we process automatically based on your consent or in fulfilment of a contract in a machine-readable format. You may also request direct transfer of this data to another controller, where technically feasible. Right of Access, Rectification, Blocking, Deletion Within the scope of applicable legal provisions, you have the right at any time to access your stored personal data free of charge, including its origin, recipients, and purpose of processing. You also have the right to request correcti... - [Fundraising Course: Get Investor-Ready with Xaver Lehmann](https://xaverlehmann.com/fundraising-course) The Ultimate Fundraising Course. The exact playbook I used to raise $40M+ from top-tier VCs like EQT and helped other founders raise $100m+ without burning out. What took me 10 years (and millions in mistakes) you’ll get in a few hours. This course is worth €800+ if I priced it like a private workshop. But you get it for only 119€. What you’ll get inside​. 7 Modules, 3h+ of video material, 55+ Slides and Bonus Material. It's everything you need to successfully fundraise. 1 The Fundamentals What materials you actually need Which investors to target: angels, VCs, family offices, and more How long a fundraising process really takes How much to raise at each stage (pre-seed, seed, Series A, Series B) 2 Building & Managing Your Pipeline Step-by-step system to build a qualified list of 50–150 investors My CRM framework for tracking intros and creating momentum Warm introductions vs. cold outreach (with exact scripts that got me meetings) 3 Pitch Deck Mastery The 10–15 slides every deck needs. Nothing more, nothing less What investors actually look at (and what they ignore) Real-world mistakes that kill decks Benchmark stats: how long investors spend on slides, what they re-read, and why 5 After the Raise How to write investor updates that activate your investors (not just inform) Why fundraising never really ends and how to always be ready for the next round 4 Negotiation & Term Sheets The 5 clauses that really matter (and the ones you can give away) Liquidation preferences, dilution, founder vesting explained How to create urgency, FOMO, and competitive pressure without bluffing 6 Founder Mindset How to convince investors with vision + traction + story Building resilience when you hear 100 “no’s” before one “yes” Long-term energy management: how to stay sharp during the fundraising marathon 7 My own Fundraising Journey How I raised capital and what it took All my rounds summarized and insights into each round Bonus Materials Cap Table Template → keep ownership and dilution clear Investor Outreach Templates → copy-paste scripts for cold + warm intros Pitch Deck Template (Creandum format) → the exact structure top VCs expect Investor Update Template → build trust and momentum Financial Plan Template → model runway and scenarios like a pro Investor Long List → 110 EU + 128 US investors (with emails) List of 1000+ Angels including where they invest and their Linkedin 30 Legendary Pitch Decks → learn directly from the best My Fundraising Tool Stack → All my tools I used What founders say about the course. "Honestly, hands down the best fundraising content I’ve come across. Xaver makes it feel like a normal conversation. Before the course I felt lost in investor talks. After going through it, I knew exactly how to explain my round, where to push back, and how the math actually worked. I ended up closing my pre-seed way faster than I expected, and I’m sure I walked away with better terms too. If you’re raising right now, this stuff is gold!" "I am an Inves... - [Launch & Scale with AI: Zero to 1M Revenue Roadmap](https://xaverlehmann.com/0-1m-in-the-age-of-ai) The old founder playbooks are dead. AI changed everything. How you validate ideas. How you build products. How you acquire customers. If you're still building like it's 2022, you're already behind. Here's what's different now: → Validate ideas in 48 hours (not 6 months) → Build MVPs for €5K (not €50K) → Acquire customers at 1/10th the cost → Scale with a team of 5 (not 50) I built e-bot7 from €0 to €5M ARR and exited for €60M. Now I'm building the course I wish existed: From Zero to $1M ARR in the Age of AI. Everything I learned. Adapted for AI. Join the waitlist and get: → 50% OFF when it launches (€97 instead of €195) → Early access (2 weeks before everyone else) → Bonus: 60-min group Q&A with me Only for first 200 people. 🔥 Join 147 founders already on the waitlist. 53 spots left. From Zero to $1M ARR in the Age of AI By joining the waitlist, you agree to receive emails related to this course. You can unsubscribe anytime. Go from "no idea" to $1m Revenue fast. The old founder playbooks are dead. AI changed how you validate, build, and scale. This course shows you how to reach $1M in 12-18 months using AI to validate 10x faster, build 10x cheaper, and acquire customers at 1/10th the cost. Everything from Idea to $1M ARR 8 complete modules covering validation, building, pricing, sales, hiring, and scaling. Real frameworks I used to reach €1M ARR. Real-Life Examples adapted for the AI era Every lesson updated for 2024-2026. How to use AI for customer research, MVP building, content creation, and customer acquisition. Templates & Tools to Move Fast Pitch decks, email scripts, pricing calculators, hiring frameworks, financial models. Everything you need to execute immediately. Featured in Real Stories. Real Results. Trusted by 200+ Founders. What founders say after working together - unfiltered and honest. Xaver gets it. Real operator who's built and scaled AI companies, dealt with the dark side (burnout), and came out with actual wisdom instead of just war stories. Our convo felt like talking to a founder who's been in the trenches. He gave me a helpful framework for thinking about automation timing with AI. If you're scaling a company (especially B2B/AI) and want honest feedback from someone who won't blow smoke, book this. I reached out to Xaver as I was searching for advice from experienced founders. He openly shared his experience and gave me really actionable advice. I am grateful for the change to have these conversations with Xaver, they were extremely helpful, insightful and helped me navigate a quite tough situation with confidence. Would totally recommend! Thank you, Xaver We were struggling to get revenue off the ground. After working with Xaver, our growth rate jumped from 68% to 122%. His input made a huge difference. Jonas Schoebel. Working with Xaver was honestly one of the best decisions we made this year. I came in expecting some high-level advice, but he immediately got hands-on and helped us cut through the chaos. He... - [About The Honest Founder: My Journey & Mission](https://xaverlehmann.com/about-me) Book me as a Keynote Speaker If you want a speaker who brings honesty, real founder experience, and zero fluff - I’m your guy. I’ve built and scaled companies from a student apartment to a $60M exit. I’ve led teams across Europe, raised millions, burned out, rebuilt myself, and now help founders do the same with more clarity and less chaos. My talks are not theoretical. They’re lived experience, distilled into simple frameworks your audience can apply immediately. Past audiences: Forbes, Web Summit, UN, Microsoft, Deutsche Bank What Your Audience Will Walk Away With: Featured in Previous Speaking Gigs AI Startups, a $60m Exit and Burnouts. Over the past decade, I’ve built two AI startups. The first, e-bot7, scaled to 130 employees across five European offices and was acquired by LivePerson Inc. (NASDAQ) for $60M. It was an incredible ride but also the one that led to my first burnout. After taking time to recover, I jumped into my next venture: Vidlab7, an AI avatar company backed by EQT Ventures. It grew fast, but by the end of 2024, I had to step away again. This time, to protect my health. I spent four months in South Africa, working on social projects, helping local families, and rediscovering what really matters. That’s where The Honest Founder was born. A desire to help ambitious founders build great companies without losing themselves in the process. Xaver Lehmann The Honest Founder Thank you for contacting us In the current version, we have added support for Lottie files. To use them, visit lottiefiles.com, choose your favorites, and upload them into an 'Image' element in your project. Podcast Features - [Xaver Lehmann: AI & Tech Investments - Experience Over Capital](https://xaverlehmann.com/investments) Investing in the next generation of founders. I don’t just write checks. I help founders build and scale without making some of the mistakes that nearly broke me. I have been there myself Having built 2 startups my self, I understand the tactical challenges of hyper-growth that traditional VCs often miss. AI & SaaS Focus Deep expertise in SaaS and AI. I help founders navigate the complexity of product-market fit in crowded markets. Radical Honesty I provide the unfiltered feedback you need to hear, even when it's uncomfortable, to ensure long-term health. AI search analytics for marketing teams. Company value: $100M+ All-in-one solution for solar technologies. Company value: $1BN+ AI assistant for phone calls in the SMB space. Company value: $100M+ Fastest-growing restaurant discovery app in Europe. Company value: $100M+ Clean Spend Data for Agentic Procurement. Company value: $20M+ Process Automation for the SMB Sector. Company value: $20M+ Micro robotics for open surgery precision. Company value: $1BN+ Selected Angel Portfolio Selected investments in high-growth AI, SaaS, and scaling technology companies. Looking for someone who has been through it? If you're building something significant in the technology / AI space and value experience over just capital, let's talk about how I can help you scale. - [Legal Notice & Disclaimer - The Honest Founder](https://xaverlehmann.com/legal-notice) Legal Notice. Disclaimer Liability for contents The contents of this website are subject to copyright, unless otherwise indicated, and may not be distributed, modified or copied as a whole or in part without the prior written consent of LX Investment GmbH. The images integrated into this website may not be used without the prior written consent of LX Investment GmbH. Images contained on the websites are partially subject to copyright of third parties. Insofar as the content on this website was not created by the operator, the copyrights of third parties are respected. In particular, any contents of third parties are marked as such. Should you nevertheless become aware of a copyright infringement, we kindly ask for appropriate reference. As soon as we become aware of any legal violations, we will remove such content immediately. The Honest Founder Blog Information according to § 5 Digital Services Act (DDG) LX Investment GmbH, Leopoldstraße 31, 80802 Munich Germany E-Mail: xaver@xaverlehmann.com Website: www.xaverlehmann.com Local Court Munich, register number: HRB269672 Managing Director: Xaver Valentin Lehmann No VAT ID. Note: This imprint applies to all websites operated by LX Investment GmbH, in particular the above mentioned website as well as the blog and other related websites. Imprint. The contents of our pages were created with greatest care. However, we cannot assume any guarantee for the correctness, completeness and topicality of the contents. According to § 7 para. 1 DDG as a service provider we are responsible for our own contents on these pages in accordance with the general laws. According to §§ 8 to 10 DDG, as a service provider we are not obliged to monitor transmitted or stored third-party information or to investigate circumstances that indicate illegal activity. Obligations to remove or block the use of information in accordance with general laws remain unaffected by this. However, liability in this respect is only possible from the moment of knowledge of a concrete legal violation. As soon as we become aware of such infringements, we will remove these contents immediately. Liability for links Our offer contains links to external websites of third parties, on whose contents we have no influence. Therefore, we cannot assume any liability for these external contents. The respective provider or operator of the websites is always responsible for the contents of the linked websites. The linked websites were checked for possible legal infringements at the time of linking. Illegal contents were not recognizable at the time of linking. However, a permanent content-related control of the linked websites is not reasonable without concrete evidence of a legal violation. We will remove such links immediately upon becoming aware of any legal violations. Copyright Responsible according to Sec. 18 para. 2 German State Media Treaty (Medienstaatsvertrag) Xaver Valentin Lehmann, Leopoldstraße 31, 80802 Munich Germany, E-Mail: xaver@xaverlehm... - [Founder Coaching & Strategy Sessions | The Honest Founder](https://xaverlehmann.com/coaching) One conversation can change everything. Get clarity from someone who's raised millions, scaled to 130+ employees, and sold for $60M. 200+ trusted founders I’ve supported more than 200 founders on their journey from early idea to fast-scaling teams. 10+ years of scaling expertise I built and scaled two AI companies from zero to multi-million ARR over the last decade - featured on the cover of Forbes 30 Under 30 and recognized with 30+ awards. 2 AI Startups built, one $60m Exit I founded e-bot7, one of Europe’s leading AI startups, scaling it to 130+ employees before selling the company for $60M to a NASDAQ-listed US company. Frequently asked questions. Just let me know if you have any more questions. Don't hesitate to reach out to me. One-Time Session A 30-minute focused session to solve your biggest challenge right now. Maybe your fundraising deck isn't landing. Or you can't decide whether to hire or wait. Or your GTM strategy feels like guesswork. This quick session gives you the clarity and confidence to move forward immediately. Monthly Coaching Program When one call isn't enough. Some challenges can't be solved in 45 minutes. Fundraising takes months of iteration. GTM strategies need constant refinement. Building a leadership team requires dozens of high-stakes decisions. That's what the Coaching program is for: structured, ongoing support while you're in the thick of it. Ready to make a difference? Hi! I am Xaver. Xaver is a serial entrepreneur, speaker and investor from Munich. He co-founded e-bot7, one of Europe’s leading AI startups, scaling it to 130+ employees before selling the company for $60M to a NASDAQ-listed US company. He later launched VidLab7, backed by top-tier investors like EQT which he left due to Burnout. Today he runs The Honest Founder, a community with 30,000+ Founders & CEOs. Drawing on a decade of building and scaling companies, Xaver shares raw founder stories, frameworks, and lessons to help entrepreneurs grow with clarity, resilience, and authenticity. Xaver Lehmann The Honest Founder Featured in Week 1: Understand the business, the founder, and tackle what’s urgent Understand your business, challenges, and what's actually blocking progress. Walk away with immediate relief on your most urgent problem. Weeks 2-4: Build Momentum Deep dive into core challenges, turn insights into action, and refine based on what actually happens (not what you hoped would happen). Between sessions, you get regular check-ins, quick feedback when you're stuck, and someone who won't let you avoid the hard decisions. Ongoing: Stay Accountable Example of a Coaching Program Journey. What working together actually looks like session by session. Common founder painpoints. These are the topics I typically work on with founders from fundraising to helping them stop being the bottleneck and set up systems that actually scale. Getting ghosted by investors? I've closed 5 rounds from top-tier investors like EQT. I'll help you craft t... - [The Honest Founder Newsletter: Get one insight every Tuesday](https://xaverlehmann.com/community) One actionable insight every Tuesday to help you grow. Join Founders & CEOs getting the playbook I used to scale to a $60M exit and the mistakes I made along the way. 10,000+ Founders & CEOs My newsletters have reached 8,000 subscribers across Substack and Linkedin and the audience keeps growing daily. 70+ Countries reading My newsletter is now read in over 70 countries and continues to grow every day. Founder Content From hiring to fundraising to burnout, identity shift and what happens after the exit. Previous Issues of The Honest Founder Everything you need to build the life you always wanted. Lessons, frameworks and stories - all in one place. If you’re comfortable, you’re not growing. Lesson about discomfort and how you should use it to your advantage. The darkest days of being a founder. COVID, M&A and a tragic loss that changed my life. The exact framework to help you find the next billion dollar startup idea. My repeatable success framework "SOE" and how you can use it to find great ideas. 3-min energy audit for a better life. Unlocking your zone of genius. Forget luck – these 5 factors decide Startup success. What really matters when you’re building from zero. Recovering from Burnout. The slow and messy process nobody prepares you for. - [Sponsorships - The Honest Founder](https://xaverlehmann.com/sponsorships) Flexible Sponsorship Options. Either choose to sponsor a Linkedin post or feature a Substack Newsletter article - or both. Single Sponsorship Direct access to 30,000+ decision makers LinkedIn: 30,000+ founders, CEOs & operators Newsletter: 10,000 subscribers with above-average open rates Avg. 200+ likes and 50+ comments per sponsorship Ideal for brand awareness, product launches and high-quality leads Annual Committment 4x combined placements per year (LinkedIn post + newsletter feature) 20% off all placements vs. one-off bookings Stay top-of-mind with 30,000+ founders and CEOs, quarter after quarter Stays online forever. Your sponsorships will remain live forever as they are published on my Substack or Linkedin. Highly Engaged Audience. Founders & CEOs who actually open emails (40-50% open rate vs industry standard of 21%). Website Visitors and Leads. Sponsors average 100-500 qualified website visits, with best performers seeing 50 demo bookings from a single campaign. What you get as a sponsor. Previous Sponsors You fill out the sponsorship request form. It takes you less than 3 min to fill it out. Sponsorship Review. We’ll review your request within 24–36 hours and email you once it’s approved. After that, we’ll share the offer for you to accept. A few days before launch. We will send you the proposal for the sponsorship. You can review and edit it with comments. Go-Live and Analytics. We’re going live on a Tuesday morning. I’ll keep you updated throughout the rollout and share the full analytics around one week after launch. Go-Live and Analytics. We’re going live on a Tuesday morning. I’ll keep you updated throughout the rollout and share the full analytics around one week after launch. Next steps. 40-50% Open Rates vs. 21% industry average. Your message actually gets read, not ignored. Get up to 500 Website Visitors Sponsors see up to 500 website visits from a single campaign. Real leads, not vanity metrics. Decision-makers with budgets Pre-seed to Series B+ CEOs, ex-founders who exited, and operators at $1-10M+ ARR companies. People who can actually buy. Why sponsors choose The Honest Founder Promote your brand to 30,000+ engaged Founders & CEOs. Sponsor a newsletter feature or LinkedIn post and watch qualified leads hit your site. - [Community Founders: Build & Scale with Vetted CEOs & Experts](https://xaverlehmann.com/communityfounders) A vetted community of founders who build without losing themselves. Join incredible founders & CEOs who are building, scaling and sharing the real lessons behind their journey. 60+ Vetted founders & CEOs. $200M Raised by members from investors including Accel, EQT and Y Combinator. $50M Combined ARR. Monthly Founder Live Sessions. What happens inside? Honest conversations, actionable advice and meaningful relationships. Get Advice Share Challenges Celebrate Wins Exclusive Live Sessions Save over $35,000. Every paid member gets access to exclusive startup offers from companies like Notion, HubSpot, Linear and more. If you’re building a startup and haven’t implemented a CRM yet, this is the perfect time to get started with HubSpot at a significant discount. Up to 90% off. 6 months Notion AI for free. Enjoy 6 months of Notion Business and Notion AI at no cost, with savings of up to €12,000. Access 3 months of Linear for free and build faster with the modern product development platform trusted by the world’s best startups. 3 months for free. 75% off + 3 months for free. Access an exclusive startup offer: 75% off NordVPN plus 3 months free on industry-leading online security. 75% off + 3 months for free. Access an exclusive startup offer: 75% off NordVPN plus 3 months free on industry-leading online security. Thank you for contacting us In the current version, we have added support for Lottie files. To use them, visit lottiefiles.com, choose your favorites, and upload them into an 'Image' element in your project. Questions founders ask before joining. - [Thought Leadership Framework: Build Trust & Revenue](https://xaverlehmann.com/resources) The same frameworks I used to raise millions and exit for $60M. Get the exact step-by-step systems I used to build, fundraise, and scale two startups including the frameworks that got me funded by Europe's top VCs. Bundle - 5 Frameworks ✅ SOE Framework: Find your billion-dollar idea. ✅ Thought Leadership: Turn authority into revenue. ✅ 0 - 1,000 Subscribers: Build a loyal audience from scratch. ✅ Hiring Framework: Build a team that actually executes. ✅ B2B SaaS Pricing: Stop leaving money on the table. €89 (€445) Find your next billion-dollar startup idea. Stop wasting months on ideas nobody wants. Use the same system top VCs use to spot opportunities. Inside, you’ll discover: ✅ How to identify startup ideas where the world's best VCs are investing right now ✅ How to align those ideas with your passion and unique strengths ✅ How to validate quickly in weeks, not months ✅ A practical workbook to put everything into action immediately €25 (€89) B2B SaaS Pricing: Stop leaving money on the table. I left €200,000 on the table in Year 1. Not because the product was bad because I was too scared to charge what it was worth. This is everything I learned going from €500/month to €10,000/month. Inside, you’ll learn: ✅ The €200K pricing mistake and the exact math that fixed it ✅ The 5 pricing models I tested: what worked, what bombed, and why ✅ How to price when you have zero reference points (the value formula) ✅ When and how to raise prices without losing customers (we raised 25%, only 10% churned) ✅ How to handle 'you're too expensive' without dropping your price €25 (€89) Build thought leadership that converts into revenue. The exact system I used to land million-dollar customers before we had a product. Inside, you’ll discover: ✅ How to define your positioning so people know instantly why they should trust you ✅ How to create content that stops the scroll and actually gets read ✅ How to build a top funnel that drives massive reach ✅ How to convert trust into opportunities at the bottom of your funnel €25 (€89) Grow your newsletter from 0 to 1,000 subscribers (without paid ads). The exact strategies I used to hit 1,000+ Substack subscribers including the one post that brought hundreds of subscribers and coaching clients overnight. Inside, you’ll learn: ✅ How to find and attract your first 100 subscribers using your existing network ✅ The exact strategies to go from 100 → 500 → 1,000 subscribers in months ✅ How one viral post brought in hundreds of subscribers, clients, and podcast invitations ✅ How a newsletter can turn into multiple income streams €25 (€89) Hiring: What I learned scaling to 130 employees. The exact framework I used to build a 130+ person team without the €500K mistakes most founders make. I've hired 130+ people, conducted 500+ interviews, and learned what separates great hires from expensive disasters. Inside, you’ll learn: ✅ The 7 deadly hiring mistakes that cost me €500K+ (and how to avoid them) ✅ The ex...