Backbone Ventures

Backbone Ventures is an early-stage venture capital firm with offices in Zurich, Switzerland, and Frankfurt am Main, Germany. Established in 2018, the firm is dedicated to empowering underrepresented founders, specifically targeting those who have historically outperformed their peers despite structural disadvantages based on gender, origin, or socioeconomic background. They aim to back entrepreneurs as early as possible in their journey, often with just a pitch deck or an idea, provided the venture addresses a significant market and the founders possess the requisite skills.

Initially, Backbone Ventures operated on a deal-by-deal basis, investing in 26 teams across Switzerland, Germany, the US, and Israel over four years. Since September 2022, the firm has primarily invested through its Backbone Ventures 5502 Fund, a EUR 20 million pre-seed fund. This fund has a strong geographical focus on Germany and Switzerland, though the firm remains open to opportunities across Europe. Their investment strategy is largely generalist, seeking exciting founders rather than adhering strictly to specific industries, while also focusing on sectors like HealthTech, ClimateTech, and direct-to-consumer (D2C) industries.

Notable companies in their portfolio include Adon Health, a digital care platform for hormone health in Europe; Faircado, which replaces e-commerce with sustainable re-commerce through a browser extension; and Aerosense, an ETH Zurich deep tech spin-off developing ultra-thin, wireless sensor patches for wind turbine blades. They also support a D2C company specializing in premium sleep and recovery supplements. The firm typically invests in pre-seed stage companies, with individual investments often ranging from EUR 300,000 to EUR 400,000 in rounds below EUR 1 million.

The partnership at Backbone Ventures comprises Philippe Bernet, Miklos Stanek, Dr. Jan Claudio Muñoz, and Louis-Paul Zuppinger, each bringing diverse backgrounds in entrepreneurship, law, finance, and operations. The firm's Board of Directors includes experienced professionals like Mark Hoffmann, Dr. Heinrich Baumann, and Josef Ming, contributing expertise from digital business models, banking, and global consulting. Advisors such as Andreas Guggenbühl and Joel Roos further strengthen the team with their backgrounds in engineering, robotics, and successful startup ventures, providing strategic guidance and support to portfolio companies.