Joao Duarte
Senior Manager at eBay Ventures
Zürich Metropolitan Area
Overview
Work Experience
Senior Manager, Venture Investments @ eBay Ventures
2022 - Current
eBay Ventures is the Corporate Venture Capital unit of eBay. We invest in startups building the future of eCommerce. My focus is on innovation in AI and marketplaces.
EBay Ventures invests in disruptive companies that are revolutionizing the commerce landscape.
Senior Manager
2022
Board Observer
2023
SidelineSwap is an online marketplace for athletes, spectators, and sports families to purchase and trade athletic products.
Raised $12,549,322.00 from FJ Labs, DSG Ventures, eBay Ventures, DSG Ventures, FJ Labs, PEAK6 Sports, RiverPark Ventures, Global Founders Capital, FJ Labs and Admiral Capital Group.
Board Observer
2023
Investment Manager - Lead for Nordics / CEE
2020 - 2022
Led full investment process for European Series A/B investments in SaaS, Marketplaces, and AI. Executed seven new investments with top-tier co-investors, resulting in a high follow-on funding rate (90%) for portfolio companies in 2023-24. Actively involved in portfolio management, including serving as a board observer at several companies. Select Investments: Druid AI – Enterprise focused Generative AI platform Minut – Rental property protection using edge computing and ML / AI Soter Analytics – Workplace injury prevention using wearables, ML / AI and computer vision Threatray – Enterprise Malware Analysis and Detection using AI Bob W – Tech-enabled short-term rentals company Fractory – B2B marketplace for industrial manufacturing
Expert
2020 - 2022
Expert monitor for Point.IOT project, a program designed to empower innovation using Galileo and IoT technologies
Venture Partner
2019 - 2020
Managed full investment process for pre-seed/seed investments in B2B SaaS, AI, and marketplaces across Central and Eastern Europe. Led five investments, including pre-seed investment in Investown, the leading Czech Republic crowd investing platform, and AhoyConnect (exit to Commsor)
CEO & Co-Founder
2015 - 2019
Built and scaled Techloop, leading CEE marketplace for hiring tech professionals, to over 20,000 users and a 60-person team. Secured over €5M in funding from prominent CEE VC/PE firms. Acquired by Alma Media in 2020.