#StartupsEverywhere: Charlotte Ketelaar, Co-Founder, Capwave AI
This profile is part of #StartupsEverywhere, an ongoing series highlighting startup leaders in ecosystems across the country. This interview has been edited for length, content, and clarity.
Revolutionizing raising capital with AI
Charlotte Ketelaar is passionate about using her background in investment to help startups raise capital. While mentoring a variety of startups, she found a wide gap between the founders and investors, which led her to co-found Capwave AI. Recently, we had the opportunity to sit down and discuss her product, the role of open source, and more.
Tell us about your background. What led you to Capwave AI?
I started Capwave in the summer. We built our platform, did a beta from September through December, and now we're launching the full product, which is super cool.
Before founding Capwave, I was an investment banker and often had friends asking me to help with their capital raises. Most of my experience was doing larger deals for big investment companies, not startups, but I welcomed the challenge. Eventually, I opened a boutique investment bank, ZWANET, based in New York that helps raise series A and B for startup founders. I love the work because the impact we make on startups is incredible and tangible. Capital raising is one of the most painful parts of the startup process for founders because it often requires them to be a part of the investment crowd and know the investment language, which can be challenging given the vast amount of information available. It was easier for me because I came from a background in the investing world and can now apply those skills to help founders.
Around this time, I began mentoring early-stage startups at the pre-seed, seed, and Series A levels. I quickly noticed a common challenge: many founders lacked the skills to effectively raise capital, and there was no single platform to teach them this outside of an accelerator. While I loved helping founders navigate fundraising, I realized that one-on-one mentorship wasn’t scalable. I wanted to give them the tools to succeed on their own.
As I explored existing platforms, I found a different problem. It wasn’t a lack of information, but an overwhelming amount of scattered, complex, and often conflicting advice. There was no streamlined, digestible process that walked founders through investor readiness step by step. Everything felt fragmented, forcing founders to piece things together from countless sources. That’s when I saw the need for a platform that simplifies and structures the capital-raising journey, making it accessible and actionable for every founder.
I’m passionate about ensuring that capital raising is accessible to everyone, not just the “in crowd” and ivy league graduates. My mission in life is to make early-stage investing much more data-driven, encouraging more investment across the startup ecosystem and fostering innovation.
What is the work you all are doing at Capwave AI? Who are your users/customers?
Capwave AI consists of AI agents helping founders through the capital-raising process. One provides founders with insight into their pitch deck, making sure that it’s investor-ready. After hitting an 80 percent rating on their deck, they can access another agent that matches them with investors.
We have over 60,000 investors on our platform and can estimate what they are willing to invest in a specific company based on AI analysis of their portfolios, blog posts, social media, and more. Finally, an agent helps founders find warm intros by mapping out what events investors might be at and helping founders prioritize what events they are going to.
How are you building with AI and what would you like policymakers to know?
We have a few different AI agents. The first is a pitch deck checker that uses our own private model built on top of an Open AI large language model (LLM) and brings together all the data we have. Essentially, we use our private model for the overall check and can use Open AI for specific queries on anonymized data.
For example, a founder would upload their pitch deck and our model would give them feedback. This includes business viability, where they stand out, and how to improve. We then anonymize the data and may ask Open AI to check an exact number for market data to alert the founder of an incorrect data point.
It’s important for policymakers to understand how LLMs are used before they decide to regulate. In our case, we use LLMs to leverage public data sources. Our model sits on top of the LLM and we dip into the LLM when we need to.
Are there any local, state, or federal startup issues that you think should receive more attention from policymakers?
I recently bought a house in North Carolina and have been splitting my time between there and New York. I noticed in New York there are a lot of opportunities to get to know investors and access funding. In North Carolina, it’s a bit of a different story.
The startup community and ecosystem are pretty small — I already know everybody within six months of moving. Alongside this, there is more risk aversion, especially in the angel community. Implementing policies such as tax write-offs for angel investments or expanding the accredited investor definition would increase funding access for startups not located in a capital hub by taking away some of the risk aversion. There are amazing tech startups located in North Carolina, and other places outside of the capital hubs, that are unable to get off the ground due to limited funding.
What are your goals for Capwave AI moving forward?
My goal is for Capwave to become the go-to brand for early-stage investing, helping both founders and investors. AI allows us to cut through inefficiencies, reducing flooded investor inboxes while streamlining fundraising for founders.
We are not here to change how investors do deals but to make their process more data-driven, helping them find high-potential startups beyond their networks. For founders, we provide the tools to master investor relations, speak the right language, and pitch effectively, making fundraising more efficient and rewarding.
Every ecosystem wants more data on early-stage startups, but founders rarely update their info. Capital raising is one of the few moments they engage, and Capwave captures that data through pitch decks, automated investor updates, and AI-driven insights. This helps founders attract inbound VC interest while giving accelerators and ecosystems the metrics they need to secure more sponsor dollars based on real results.
All of the information in this profile was accurate at the date and time of publication.
Engine works to ensure that policymakers look for insight from the startup ecosystem when they are considering programs and legislation that affect entrepreneurs. Together, our voice is louder and more effective. Many of our lawmakers do not have first-hand experience with the country's thriving startup ecosystem, so it’s our job to amplify that perspective. To nominate a person, company, or organization to be featured in our #StartupsEverywhere series, email advocacy@engine.is.
