TheVentureCity

TheVentureCity Research

Investment Thesis

TheVentureCity is a global, early-stage venture capital fund that explicitly refuses to follow conventional venture capital playbooks. Founded by former Facebook, WhatsApp, and eBay product and engineering leaders, the firm is committed to backing exceptional founders who think differently and look beyond industry norms to build transformative companies. TheVentureCity's core belief is that "great talent has no zip code" and that the venture capital industry itself can be transformed from within through the right perspective and approach.

The firm invests primarily in Series A companies but maintains a presence across stages, with a particular focus on data-driven, AI-defensible products. They explicitly champion founders who are product-led, data-centric builders willing to take unconventional approaches. The firm's philosophy of "See Beyond Borders" is reflected both in their thesis (backing global founders everywhere) and in their operational model (offices in Madrid, Miami, San Francisco, and São Paulo).

Stage and Check Size Focus

TheVentureCity's primary investment stage is Series A, with a typical ticket size of $1M-$4M. However, the fund maintains selective involvement in earlier stages:

• Series A: $1M-$4M (primary focus)
• Seed: Selective investments, particularly through dedicated seed-focused partners like Elena de Lara and Ricardo Sangion
• Pre-Seed: Occasional investments in exceptional technical founders

The fund currently has 120+ portfolio companies and manages $150M+ in assets under management. Their investment timeline for Series A decisions appears relatively efficient, leveraging their proprietary Growth Scanner tool to validate product-market fit and growth signals before commitment.

Sector and Model Focus

TheVentureCity explicitly positions itself as generalist investors but with high conviction in specific verticals:

Primary Sectors (High Index):

• Deeptech: AI/ML-driven products, advanced technologies
• Fintech & Payments: Digital financial services, payment infrastructure
• Healthtech & Life Sciences: Digital health, medical technologies, biotech
• Logistics & Supply Chain: Optimization, fulfillment, distribution
• Cybersecurity: Security and compliance solutions

Secondary Sectors:

• Enterprise Software and B2B SaaS
• Developer Tools & Infrastructure
• Consumer tech (selective, product-led growth focus)

Model Preference: Primarily B2B with strong preference for companies exhibiting:

• Product-led growth (PLG) dynamics
• Data-defensible competitive advantages
• Recurring revenue models
• International expansion potential

The fund explicitly avoids traditional hardware and consumer gambling applications.

Geographic Focus

TheVentureCity operates globally with a strategic footprint across three major regions:

• Europe: Strong presence with offices in Madrid and international team (Spanish founders well-represented)
• United States: Growing presence with Miami and San Francisco offices, focus on US-based startups
• Latin America: Significant concentration of investments, particularly Brazil, Colombia, and Argentina

Geographic diversity is foundational to their thesis: they actively seek founders from emerging markets, believing that great talent exists everywhere. Their portfolio reflects this with companies from Canada, UK, Austria, Germany, Ukraine, Angola, Sweden, Colombia, Chile, and numerous other countries.

Investment Decision Process

TheVentureCity employs a partnership-based investment model:

• Decision Structure: Multi-partner review process with specialized roles (Series A partners, Seed partners, data analysts)
• Data-Driven: Heavy use of their proprietary Growth Scanner tool to identify and validate growth signals
• Founder-Centric: Direct engagement with founders on product, growth, and data strategy
• Network Leverage: Extensive operating partner network providing hands-on support across product, growth, data science, marketing, M&A, and engineering

The decision timeline for Series A appears to be 1-2 months based on their "healthy growth" and "evidence of product/market fit" criteria.

Lead vs. Follow Tendency

TheVentureCity demonstrates a mixed lead/follow tendency, leaning toward co-lead and participation:

• For Series A: Often leads or co-leads rounds, particularly when they've built conviction through their data tools
• For Seed/earlier: More likely to follow or co-invest with lead investors
• Notable recent activity shows participation across deal structures

They appear to have strong co-investor relationships with top-tier VCs including Sequoia, a16z, and founder-friendly funds.

Portfolio & Exit Highlights

TheVentureCity has built a substantial portfolio of 120+ companies across sectors:

Notable Companies & Exits:

• Returnly (Returns infrastructure) - Recent acquisition by Affirm
• Cabify (Latin American ridesharing) - Scaled to significant valuation
• Spotahome (Rental marketplace) - 120K+ users, acquired 2021
• Recargapay (Brazilian fintech) - Growing African-diaspora financial services
• Tiny Health (Microbiome health) - Bringing consumer genomics to mainstream

Active Portfolio Highlights:

• Multiple unicorn-track companies in fintech (Fuell, Tonder, Snab)
• Growing AI/ML portfolio (Wisecut - AI video editing, Softcube - AI ad generation, Tucuvi - AI medical automation)
• Infrastructure plays (Nalej - edge computing, USYNCRO - customs automation)

Team & Operating Partners

TheVentureCity has built a world-class investment team combining venture capital expertise with deep operator and founder experience:

Core Leadership:

• Laura González-Estéfani: Founder & CEO, former Facebook (2008) early employee, led Europe/LatAm growth
• Clara Bullrich: Co-Founder, General Partner, experienced multi-family office executive
• Santiago Canalejo: General Partner & COO, former food industry CEO and international operator
• Andrés Dancausa: General Partner, former fintech founder (iAhorro), active angel investor

Investment Team:

• Ricardo Sangion: Partner, Seed - Led Facebook and Pinterest launches in LatAm
• Elena de Lara: Investment Manager, Seed - Background in investment banking and quick-commerce operations
• Álvaro Sanz: Partner, Series A - Former VC investor (Faraday), founder, and operator (Cabify)

Operating Partners:

• Garoe González: VP of Data & Analytics (PhD Physics, 10+ years data analytics)
• David Smith: Operating Partner - Data (Wharton MBA, data science background)
• Marie Berry: Operating Partner - Marketing (2x founder, SaaS exits)
• Katya Skorobogatova: Operating Partner - Growth (Led Instagram/WhatsApp international growth at Facebook)
• Roberto Carlos Navas: Operating Partner - Engineering (18+ years mobile/emerging markets)

This deep operator bench provides founders with genuine hands-on support beyond capital.

Founder Preferences & Investor Profile

TheVentureCity explicitly attracts and backs founders who:

1. Think Differently: Resourceful, willing to question industry norms, see beyond conventions
2. Are Product-Centric: Deep understanding of their users, obsessive about product-market fit
3. Embrace Data: Willing to take a data-centric approach to decision-making
4. Are Resilient: Comfortable with ambiguity and willing to take smart risks
5. Come from Anywhere: No geographic bias; they actively seek talent globally

Warm introductions are preferred but not strictly required, particularly for exceptional founders with strong signals.

Fund Status & Recent Activity

Based on website content and portfolio company updates:

• Fund Status: Actively deploying (Fund II + additional capital)
• Recent Activity: Continuous deal flow across Series A and Seed stages through 2025-2026
• Portfolio Growth: Adding companies quarterly
• Last Known Activity: 2025 (multiple portfolio updates)

Proprietary Tools & Value-Add

TheVentureCity differentiates through proprietary tooling:

1. Growth Scanner: Proprietary analytics tool providing meaningful insights on product-led growth, helping founders and investors identify crucial signals early
2. VC Benchmark Reports: Industry reports and benchmarks shared with portfolio and network
3. Operating Partner Network: Direct access to hands-on support from world-class operators
4. Strategic Fundraising Insights: Tailored guidance on fundraising strategy and timing

Their value proposition is "Invest More than Capital" - providing founder insights, data science, strategic guidance, and global connections alongside capital.

Decision Timeline & Involvement

• Decision Process: Partnership model with multi-level review
• Decision Timeline: 1-2 months for Series A (inferred from "healthy growth" standard)
• Board Involvement: Typically board seat for Series A investments
• Ongoing Support: Active engagement with portfolio companies on product, growth, and data strategy

Geographic Expansion Philosophy

TheVentureCity explicitly embraces cross-border investment with offices in four major hubs:

• Madrid (Europe/EMEA headquarters)
• Miami (Americas headquarters)
• San Francisco (US tech hub)
• São Paulo (LatAm headquarters)

This structure enables them to serve founders across time zones and provide on-the-ground support for scaling internationally.

Conclusion

TheVentureCity represents a new wave of venture capital: founder-friendly, data-driven, geographically diverse, and genuinely global in mindset. Their refusal to follow conventional playbooks, combined with deep operator expertise and proprietary tooling, positions them uniquely to identify and scale exceptional companies building in unconventional markets and with unconventional approaches. The firm's $150M+ AUM, 120+ portfolio companies, and diverse geographic presence make them a consequential force in Series A and early-stage venture capital.