Decelera Ventures Research
Investment Thesis
Decelera Ventures bills itself as "the world's first startup Decelerator" — a venture capital fund built around a founder-centric, wellbeing-driven investment methodology rather than a conventional accelerator sprint. The firm invests first in people, believing that mission-driven founders who are given the right tools, support, and space to reflect are best positioned to build transformative, sustainable companies. Its signature offering is a week-long retreat-style program in Menorca, Spain, structured around three phases: Breathe (slow down and reflect), Focus (identify and tackle key challenges with experts and peers), and Grow (turn insights into actionable growth plans). The program is free to attend for selected startups (no equity taken, only an investment right), and blends design-thinking workshops, mentoring, sports, and mental-health sessions with capital.
Sector Focus
Decelera is not a single-sector specialist. Its portfolio spans AI-enabled B2B SaaS and data infrastructure (Vixiees, Valerdat, AnyFormat), healthtech and diagnostics (Ailin, Flomics, TRAK), proptech (Nester), climate and energy transition (Nido), cybersecurity (Kymatio), fintech (Uelz), sustainability/circular economy (Cocoli, Gloop, Dcycle), foodtech (Haddock, Syra Coffee), and consumer/marketplace services (Webel, Honei). The throughline is "mission-driven tech companies" with market-ready solutions addressing environmental and social challenges, rather than a narrow vertical thesis.
Stage Focus
Decelera focuses squarely on pre-seed and seed stage, describing this as "an attractive competitive niche" where its hands-on program and capital can maximize both impact and returns.
Check Size
The firm structures its investment in phases: an initial ticket of up to €300K pre-program, up to €1M cumulative post-program, and follow-on investment of up to €2M for top-performing companies that show strong alignment and growth potential after the program.
Lead Tendency
Unclear from public materials; the firm frequently appears in syndicates alongside other funds (e.g., alongside Trind Ventures and Tiburon in Webel's 2026 pre-Series A) rather than always leading. Treated as "unknown" pending direct confirmation.
Recent Activity
Decelera has been actively deploying capital through 2025 and into 2026. It backed Webel (Madrid-based home-services marketplace) in an initial round around January 2025, and again participated in Webel's €4.3M pre-Series A round in March 2026 alongside Trind Ventures and Tiburon. Other 2025 investments include Vixiees (July 2025), Valerdat and AnyFormat (June 2025), Honei (April 2025), Cocoli (March 2025), Nester (February 2025), Nido (February 2025), Kymatio (February 2025), Dcycle (February 2025), and a cluster of January 2025 investments spanning Healz, Syra Coffee, Uelz, TRAK, Ailin, Flomics, and Gloop.
Portfolio Highlights
Since its founding partners began investing in early-stage companies in 2016, Decelera has invested in 24+ companies. Notable names include Flomics (Barcelona liquid-biopsy cancer detection biotech), Kymatio (human cyber-risk management SaaS), AnyFormat (Madrid-based agentic document/OCR AI, which separately closed a €3.3M round led by Kibo Ventures), Webel (Madrid home-services marketplace, €4.3M pre-Series A in 2026), and Nido (aerothermal heat-pump platform that raised a €5M seed with Iberdrola participating).
Team
- Marcos Martín — Founder & Partner (also CEO; raised a ~€40M round for Decelera Ventures I in 2023 and is expanding into Mexico)
- Borja Escalada — Founder & Partner
- Jaime Pérez — Founder & Partner
- Jordi Vallejo — Founder & Partner
- Diego Laresgoiti — Founder & Partner
- Lidia Pineda — Administrative Director
Decision Process
Structured multi-phase process: application (deck + form) → up to one month of thesis verification and a business call assessing strategic fit and founder mindset → technical and human due diligence → initial investment decision → the 7-day Menorca program → extended investment decision for top performers. This points to a partnership/committee-style process rather than a solo GP.
Founder Preferences
Decelera explicitly targets "mission-driven tech companies," "serial founders," and teams that are "exceptionally bold, experienced, and driven," with alignment to sustainability and impact framed as a selection criterion alongside traditional growth potential.
Geographic Focus
Primarily Southern Europe (Spain is the clear center of gravity, with Barcelona and Madrid both heavily represented among portfolio companies and team members), which the firm describes as a region with a rapidly growing concentration of unicorn-potential startups. The fund is managed by Sancus Capital Group, a Barcelona-headquartered manager overseeing a $2.5B portfolio across Europe and LATAM spanning sustainable energy, hospitality, private equity, real estate, and venture capital — and Decelera itself is expanding its founder-sourcing efforts into Mexico.
Fund Details
Decelera has secured €38 million in committed capital for its current fund and is actively deploying. Advisors supporting the portfolio include Tim Varner (Roost), Carlos Lavilla (Chairman, Corpfin Capital), Jason Eckenroth (Founder, Shipcompliant), Gennaro Bifulco (former GM, Apple Iberia), and Óscar Macia (Founder, ForceManager).