Benjamin Joffe
Partner at SOSV
Benjamin Joffe
Partner at SOSV
Lisbon, Lisbon
Overview
Work Experience
Partner
2013 - Current
SOSV is a global deep tech fund with $1.5B AUM focused on planetary and human health. First checks are at pre-seed via the startup programs HAX (hard tech) and IndieBio (biology). I started in an investing role in the HAX program in Shenzhen (invested in Opentrons, now a unicorn), and evolved into a platform role for our portfolio. Skills: - Marketing - Network building - Thought leadership - Media - Custom tools programming (python) Results: - Thousands of VC contacts - Speaking/moderating/interviews (300+ events), writing (dozens of articles including 10+ long form in TechCrunch, trends reports and presentations totalling 100k+ views), creation of end-to-end podcasts all increasing the visibility and reputation of SOSV and its programs - Events curation and organization including our virtual Climate Tech Summit (10k RSVPs, 100 speakers in 2023), virtual VC/Startup Matchups (typically 500+ investors and 500+ founders, thousands of meetings), in-person events on deep tech, startup exits and more. - Built internal tools for media monitoring, automated podcasts production (python code with APIs from deepgram + chatGPT + ElevenLabs), personalized startup recommendations by email for our matching events, startup semantic search engine (NLP-based)
Keynote Speaker, Moderator, Panelist
2003
I keynoted / moderated / interviewed / judged at over 300 events across 35 countries on digital ecosystems, startups, innovation, Asia and a few other topics of personal interest. The only one missing is probably the big TED. - TECH: TechCrunch Disrupt, WebSummit, Pioneers, Slush, Hello Tomorrow, SXSW, LeWeb, GMIC, Ad:Tech, PICNIC... - NON-TECH: TEDx (twice), Ignite, PechaKucha - EDU: Stanford, Berkeley, EPFL, INSEAD, Dauphine, Centrale-Supelec... - CORP: Fidelity, Bernstein, Honeywell, P&G, Dell, etc. Recent presentations: http://www.slideshare.com/sosv http://www.slideshare.com/haxco http://www.slideshare.net/plus8star
Angel Investor
2007
20 startups. I generally invested in the first angel or seed round. Active - Robotics startup (US, undisclosed) - Seed => Unicorn (currently about 30x) - Robotics startup (US, undisclosed) - Late stage secondaries - Health tech startup (China, undisclosed) - Seed => Series A - Magnotherm (Germany, cooling technology) - Seed - Cyberdontics (US, dental robotics) - Series A - Fintech platform (US, undisclosed) - Series A - Cook-e (France, food robotics) - Seed - Cala (France, food robotics) - Seed => Series A - Kubomatic (France, data containers management) - Seed Exits - Gengo (Japan - translation platform - VC: Atomico) - Seed. Acquired by Lionbridge Technologies. - OKPanda (US - language apps) - Seed. Acquired by ALC Press. - TokyoOtakuMode (Japan - otaku e-commerce) - Seed => Secondaries. Acquired. - Undisclosed (learning games). Seed => partial exit at series B. Closed - Cmune (China - web/mobile games). Seed. - CuriousHat (US - iPad digital toys). Seed. - StoryPanda (US - iPad publisher for kids books). Seed. - TenderTree (US - marketplace for caregivers). Seed. - PayrollHero (SE Asia - payroll / attendance for SMEs) - TwitMusic (Philippines - twitter service for musicians). Seed. - Elysium Space (US - celestial services) - Seed
Guest Lecturer
2008
Lectures on topics ranging from entrepreneurship, venture capital, Asia, innovation and deep tech. - University of California at Berkeley – Haas School of Business - EPFL, Lausanne - Ecole Polytechnique, Paris - Centrale Supelec, Paris - Paris Dauphine University - Zhejiang University
Guest Writer
2012 - 2022
I wrote long-form guest articles in various publications, covering Climate Tech, Deep Tech, Venture Capital, Hardware, Crowdfunding, Ecosystems and Asia. About Climate Tech 19. https://techcrunch.com/2021/11/09/key-takeaways-from-the-sosv-climate-tech-summit/ 18. https://techcrunch.com/2021/06/10/what-sosvs-climate-tech-100-tells-founders-about-investors-in-the-space/ About Startup Exits 17. https://techcrunch.com/2018/12/23/twelve-key-lessons-about-tech-mergers-and-acquisitions-from-ciscos-john-chambers/ 16. https://techcrunch.com/2018/07/31/what-every-startup-founder-should-know-about-exits/ About Investment 15. https://techcrunch.com/2017/11/09/70-years-of-vc-innovation/ About Hardware Startups 14. https://techcrunch.com/2017/02/05/the-rise-of-generation-health/ 13. https://techcrunch.com/2016/06/26/a-quick-look-at-the-state-of-hardware-technologies-in-china-and-beyond/ 12. https://techcrunch.com/2016/04/20/1310236/ (product/retail fit) 11. https://techcrunch.com/2016/03/28/the-six-people-you-meet-in-shenzhen/ 10. https://techcrunch.com/2016/02/15/eight-lessons-from-the-hoverboard-craze/ 9. https://techcrunch.com/2015/12/13/the-state-of-robotics-for-2015/ 8. https://techcrunch.com/2015/11/22/the-state-of-hardware-for-2015/ 7. https://techcrunch.com/2014/11/17/lean-hardware-breeding-hardware-unicorns/ 6. https://techcrunch.com/2014/04/06/the-lean-hardware-startup-investing-in-hardware-startups/ 5. https://techcrunch.com/2014/02/03/why-makers-fail-at-retail/ 4. https://techcrunch.com/2013/11/28/financing-lean-hardware/ 3. https://techcrunch.com/2013/11/16/the-lean-hardware-startup-from-prototype-to-production/ About Ecosystems 2. https://techcrunch.com/2012/09/01/ecosystem-101-the-six-necessary-categories-to-build-the-next-silicon-valley/ 1. https://techcrunch.com/2012/05/17/facebooks-prospects-in-asia/
Adjunct Professor, Deeptech Ventures Course
2021 - 2022
I designed and delivered twice a highly-rated 15 hours course on Deeptech Ventures for Masters students. It included an overview of the deep tech ventures landscape, methods for ideation, team formation, market analysis and demand validation, views on Ecosystems, Milestones settings, Pivots and Scaling. The course included group exercises and presentations, and welcomed guest speakers from the startup and investment world.
Producer and Host
2020 - 2020
17 episodes published in its first season https://linktr.ee/labtomarket
Founder in Residence - Entrepreneur First
2020 - 2020
Founder in Residence at Entrepreneur First - global accelerator supported by Peter Thiel and Reid Hoffman, specialized in deep technology start-ups. Since 2011, Entrepreneur First has supported the creation of over 300 start-ups with a combined portfolio valuations of over $2Bn. EF funds individuals and help build co-founding teams, develop ideas, and accelerate through fundraising from the world's best investors. - Met 60 amazing people to explore startup opportunities - Looked into education, future of work and advanced optics - Didn't find the right project/cofounder - Wrote an article on startup ideation methods: https://benjaminjoffe.medium.com/how-to-find-startup-ideas-f713e7d00a5a
Partner
2013 - 2019
HAX is the world's most active investor in hardware startups. We help hardware startups succeed. I focus on deal flow generation, market intelligence, and building networks, as well as thought leadership with media, speaking at and organizing events.
French Foreign Trade Advisor
2017 - 2019
Appointment by French Ministry of Foreign Trade to advise on HK/China tech topics.