Munich Startup: What motivated you to start the company?
Marie-Elisabeth Makohl: The motivation behind Seal Robotics is remarkably concrete: to solve real problems that I've experienced firsthand. I spent several weeks on a container ship – in the European Arctic and the North Atlantic – and witnessed firsthand the working conditions: extreme time pressure, adverse weather conditions, and exceptionally demanding physical tasks. This experience profoundly shaped me. Afterwards, it was clear to me: there is an urgent need for action here, and technology can make a real difference. Seal is arose from this motivation – not from a theoretical market analysis, but from lived experience.
Financing, lessons learned and requirements in the VC environment
Munich Startup: What would you have liked to have known before starting your first business?
Marie-Elisabeth Makohl: Above all, one thing is crucial: when is a certain level of effort truly justified, and when is it simply premature? Do I need perfectly crafted articles of association before my first VC round? How long can bureaucratic processes in Germany actually take, and how can I realistically plan for that? And what specific preparations are necessary before entering a funding round—for example, what constitutes a truly convincing data room? These seemingly pragmatic questions can determine success or failure.
Munich Startup: How has your company been financed so far?
Marie-Elisabeth Makohl: Seal is venture capital-funded. Our lead investor is a British deep tech VC, supplemented by two German and one American investor, as well as a German business angel. In total, we have raised approximately €1.8 million so far.
Munich Startup: When and where do you get the best ideas?
Marie-Elisabeth Makohl: Whenever I can truly switch off and let new impressions wash over me – and especially when I get into conversation with people who aren't normally part of my daily life – leaving my echo chamber is crucial for me. Sailing, hiking, diving – these aren't leisure activities in the traditional sense, but rather mental spaces where the best ideas are born. It's no coincidence that our company has maritime roots.
Munich Startup: What are your three favorite work tools?
Marie-Elisabeth Makohl: My most important tool is focus, and that's shockingly rare. Besides that: Notion for structure, Claude as a thought partner, and consistent email batching, because constant availability is the biggest productivity killer that nobody talks about.
Munich Startup: Your top tip on pitching?
Marie-Elisabeth Makohl: Learn to be both CEO and investor simultaneously – at least in your mind. What I mean by that is: A good pitch isn't a monologue; it's a dialogue you've already conducted in your head before the meeting. Understand why an investor asks a particular question and what's really behind it. Recognize what's important to them, what's secondary, and what questions they should be asking to truly grasp your product and business case, but aren't. Those who master this no longer pitch; they have a conversation on equal footing.
Deeptech, maritime innovation and location factors in Munich
Munich Startup: Does this seem like a good time to start a business? Why?
Marie-Elisabeth Makohl: Better than during the pandemic – that much is certain. Seriously though: the question is complex. On the one hand, enormous opportunities exist today, especially in the deep tech sector. On the other hand, the general conditions have changed noticeably. Geopolitical uncertainties – the numerous conflicts worldwide – are leading to increased caution among some investors.
At the same time, the understanding of pre-seed funding rounds has fundamentally changed: A compelling idea and a strong team are no longer enough for many VCs – they now expect initial traction, something that was unthinkable just a few years ago. And those of us who don't just build software, but combine hardware and software, operate in an even more demanding environment.
Munich Startup: Which technology or industry would you focus on for your next startup?
Marie-Elisabeth Makohl: Clearly: maritime again. This industry is enormous, systemically important, and yet technologically far behind its potential in many areas. What we at Seal have begun to understand only scratches the surface of what's possible. There are still enormous opportunities here for courageous entrepreneurs.
Munich Startup: In your opinion, what could be improved at the Munich startup location?
Marie-Elisabeth Makohl: We are at Gate Garching I'm very happy here – it's a truly supportive environment. But what Munich and Bavaria as a whole need even more is more space like this. Especially for startups that not only develop software but also build physical products, sufficient space for hardware development is often a real challenge. The infrastructure should be specifically expanded here, because deep tech isn't created in a home office.
Munich Startup: Which founder would you like to meet in person? And what would you ask them?
Marie-Elisabeth Makohl: I would choose Demis Hassabis, the co-founder of DeepMind. What fascinates me about him is not just what DeepMind has built—AlphaFold, AlphaGo, Gemini—but how he thinks. He is simultaneously a neuroscientist, a chess pro, and a game developer, and it is precisely this interdisciplinary approach that has led to truly fundamental breakthroughs. I would ask him a very specific question: "At what point did you realize that games are not just a research playground, but the actual key to general intelligence?"
