WHO
WE ARE
We are a VC firm that invests checks of up to USD 100K in early-stage startups in Brazil.
We believe that the business world should be dominated by good people doing good in the world.
We are experienced investors who have invested in great startups, but we are also entrepreneurs who know first-hand how tough it is to build something from nothing.
We are three friends who trust each other and have a lot of fun working together. We want to work with entrepreneurs that we can trust and with whom we can have fun working together.
We are international. With a Brazilian partner in New York and an American partner in São Paulo, we help bridge the capital and experience gap between the startup ecosystems in North and South America.
WHO
WE ARE
HOW WE
CAN HELP
1. We will leave you alone.
You need to focus on building your business.
That being said, if you do want help, there are a lot
of ways we can plug in...
2. Fundraising
We put the fun in fundraising. Just kidding… fundraising sucks, but we will make it suck less.
We are not afraid to be your first commitment. Once we are committed, we will help you navigate the daunting fundraising process, introducing you to our extensive network of angels and early-stage VCs in Brazil and the U.S. and helping you make your case to them.
3. Refining your pitch
Come to us first. Test your pitch with us. We care way more about your team than we do about how pretty your deck is. We will help you refine your pitch.
4. Ideation
We want to meet great entrepreneurs as soon as possible, even before they have an idea. Chat with us to test different ideas.
5. MVP Design
You probably do not need to start coding yet. Let us help you design a no-code MVP.
6. HR
We have an extensive network of talented professionals to introduce to you.
7. Founder 'therapy'
Being an entrepreneur is really hard. We know from first-hand experience. Sometimes you just need someone to talk to. Call us, maybe?
VERY TRANSPARENT
OUR INVESTMENT
PROCESS
Send your deck and/or other materials to pitches@1616ventures.com. We want you to test your pitch with us, so feel free to send a work-in-progress version.
1
We will most likely spend a maximum of 2 minutes scanning through your pitch the first time, mainly focusing on the team. If we are still interested, we will read it again in greater depth.
2
If we do not want to move forward, we will let you know. Unfortunately we will not be able to offer personalized feedback at this stage.
3
If we do want to move forward, we will reach out to schedule an introductory call with one of our partners. Most of this call will be to ask you specific questions.
4
We will then discuss your case at our Investment Committee meeting and decide whether we want to continue. If so, we will schedule a call with all 1616 partners and your team.
5
If we are inclined to invest, we will run a quick diligence process over the next few days, conducting reference checks and researching the market.
If we want to invest in you, we will let you know how much and under what general terms. We will then work with you to finish putting together the round.
If we decide not to invest in you at this stage, we will offer you transparent feedback that you can hopefully use to understand what you are up against as you speak to other investors.
6
7
Alex is a seasoned investor with over a decade of experience investing across the world. Originally from Minas Gerais in Brazil, he began his career at Goldman Sachs in Switzerland and Brazil and has experience in real estate investing at TRX in Miami. Alex also worked as Head of International Investments at J. Mendes Investment Office, launching their U.S. operation in New York. There, he built a strong network of American VCs, investing in several U.S.-based VC funds and start-ups. He is also a prolific angel investor, with investments in startups across Brazil, the United States, and France. Alex holds a BS in Industrial Engineering from UFMG, a Masters in Finance from HEC Paris, an MBA from The Wharton School, and a Masters of International Studies from the Lauder Institute at the University of Pennsylvania.
Jay is an experienced entrepreneur and venture investor with global experience focused especially on Latin America. Born and raised in Georgia in the U.S., Jay began his career as a consultant at Bain & Company in Atlanta before moving to Buenos Aires where he did Corporate Development, Strategy, and Investor Relations at Mercado Libre. He later joined the investment team of Amadeus Capital Partners, a global venture firm based out of the UK, opening their LATAM office in São Paulo and helping lead the firm’s Series C investment in Creditas. Jay left Amadeus to found Ânimo, a venture-backed wellness startup in São Paulo. Jay holds a BA in Economics from Davidson College, an MBA from The Wharton School, and a Masters of International Studies from the Lauder Institute at the University of Pennsylvania.
Jay Lanners
Partner - São Paulo
Pedro is a career operator with entrepreneurial experience and expertise in marketing and operations. A São Paulo native, Pedro has held positions across a number of industries in companies such as AMBEV, BRG Capital, and Probiotica, a consumer product division of Valeant Pharmaceuticals in Brazil, where he worked for several years across diverse marketing roles and also helped prepare the business unit for an M&A. He later transitioned into tech, working in Sales & Marketing at Gympass and Product Marketing at DocuSign before joining Jay as COO at Ânimo, a venture-backed wellness startup in São Paulo. A Fundação Estudar scholarship recipient, Pedro holds a BA in Economics and International Studies from Yale University and an MBA from Duke University’s Fuqua School of Business.
THE
TEAM
Alexandre Nogueira
Partner - New York
Jay Lanners
Venture Partner - São Paulo
Pedro Mendonça
Venture Partner - São Paulo
PORTFOLIO
We focus on B2B SaaS and Marketplace models in Fintech, Healthtech, and eCommerce Enablement. Most importantly, we invest in the best entrepreneurs in Brazil and we will consider any tech startup that can scale quickly in an enormous market.
OYA CARE
femtech
FLOKI
B2B Marketplace
GENIAL CARE
healthtech
KURI SAÚDE
healthtech
COMP
HR tech
ASSIS
fintech
COVALENTY
healthtech
FINTECH
to be announced
B2B SaaS
to be announced
FREQUENTLY
ASKED QUESTIONS
Why the name 1616 Ventures (Sixteen Sixteen Ventures)?
1616 Walnut St. was the address of the founding partners in Philadelphia, where they first met and became roommates while completing their MBAs at Wharton. They chose the name 1616 Ventures in honor of this home, where they built a friendship based on trust, respect, intellectual and cultural curiosity, and joie de vivre, values which they hope to instill in 1616 Ventures as they construct a new “home,” this time for the best early-stage startups in Brazil.
What are the basic requirements to qualify for investment from 1616?
-
Pre-seed or Seed round
-
Offshore structure (Delaware or Cayman)
-
Tech DNA
-
Brazil is the primary (or only) market
What else do you look for in an investment?
Talented entrepreneurs who are also really good people, an enormous market (in Brazil), and a scalable model. We are especially interested in founders who have been founders before, even if they “failed.”
We invest in companies that we believe can be HUGE. We may pass on an excellent company if we do not think it can grow fast enough or attract many future rounds of capital.
Do you focus on specific sectors or business models?
We have a strong bias toward B2B businesses in Fintech, Healthtech, and eCommerce Enablement, the sectors we know best. We are open to consider a potential investment in any extraordinary team building a highly-scalable tech company in a huge market.
Do you lead rounds?
We can, but we do not expect to.
