Luis Martin Cabiedes

Who they are

Luis Martin Cabiedes is Founding Partner at Cabiedes & Partners — co-founded the Madrid-based seed fund in 2009, which has backed BlaBlaCar and Privalia and produced 1 unicorn across 56 investments.

Person

Possibly — Luis Martin Cabiedes is a Founding Partner (and likely Managing Partner) at Cabiedes & Partners, the Madrid-based seed fund he co-founded in 2009. The firm has been his primary vehicle for over 15 years, putting him among the earliest dedicated seed investors in Spain's ICT and internet startup scene. His investment identity is built around backing companies early — seed and early-stage across Spain, Europe, and South America — and the portfolio record (56 companies, 1 unicorn, 1 IPO, 12 acquisitions) reflects a long-hold, conviction-at-entry approach. Notable bets include BlaBlaCar and Privalia, both of which became well-known European consumer brands. The through-line is a consistent focus on Spanish-language and European internet markets before either was fashionable with global capital. Possibly — he operates with a lean team of 2 partners, which suggests a generalist, high-judgment style rather than a sector-specialist one.

Company

The most recent move at Cabiedes & Partners is the acquisition of We Are Knitters, completed in 2025 — a notable step for a seed fund, suggesting the firm is willing to take direct ownership positions, not just minority stakes. On the deployment side, the firm led a $548K Seed round for Tutrocito in April 2023, alongside 4Founders Capital and Eoniq, consistent with its small-check, early-entry model. Founded in 2009 and still operating with a 2-person team, Cabiedes & Partners has now backed 56 companies over 15 years, producing 1 unicorn, 1 IPO, and 12 acquisitions. The firm invests across a wide sector range — fintech, edtech, healthtech, food, media, travel, and more — with geographic focus on Europe and South America.

Market

Cabiedes & Partners competes in the Spanish and broader European early-stage VC market, where peers include Big Sur Ventures, which has co-invested in its portfolio. The firm carved its niche as one of Spain's earliest dedicated seed investors in internet and ICT, with portfolio anchors like BlaBlaCar and Privalia demonstrating its ability to back consumer internet at the right moment. The broader context for European seed investing in 2026 includes geopolitical fragmentation and US-China tech bloc dynamics, which are pushing founders and funds to emphasise stable jurisdictions and diversified geographic exposure — a dynamic that may favour Madrid-based generalists with South American reach.

Network

The claims surface one named colleague at the firm: José Martín Cabiedes, who acts as investment manager at Cabiedes & Partners SCR, focused on seed investments in the Spanish ICT space. The firm is noted as a 2-person partnership, so José Martín is likely Luis's primary working partner. No broader network edges are available from the claims.

How they likely show up

  • Multi-decade tenure as founding partner of the same fund (2009–present) → thinks in fund cycles and long portfolio arcs, not quarterly metrics.
  • 2-person team managing 56 investments → almost certainly a generalist who makes high-conviction calls with minimal process overhead.
  • Seed-stage focus across 15+ sectors and two continents → comfortable with ambiguity and early-signal pattern recognition rather than deep sector diligence.
  • Acquisition of We Are Knitters alongside seed deployments → willing to be flexible on instrument and ownership structure when conviction is high.
  • Possibly — low public writing signal → likely prefers direct conversation and relationship-driven deal flow over broadcast thought leadership.

Conversation tips

  • → Reference a specific portfolio company — BlaBlaCar or Privalia — and ask about the thesis at entry; he'll have a specific answer and it signals you know the track record.
  • → The We Are Knitters acquisition is an unusual move for a seed fund — ask about it directly rather than dancing around it; it's a deliberate strategic choice worth unpacking.
  • → Don't expect a lengthy warm-up; a 2-person shop that has done 56 deals values directness and a crisp point of view over process.
  • → If you're pitching or discussing a deal, come with a South American or Southern European angle — it's a deliberate geographic focus, not a default.

Toolbox

Openers

  • Open on the We Are Knitters acquisition in 2025 — unusual for a seed fund to take direct ownership of a portfolio company, and it signals a deliberate evolution in how they deploy capital.
  • Reference the BlaBlaCar bet — backing a French rideshare company from a Madrid seed fund in the early 2010s was contrarian; asking about the original thesis is a genuine conversation starter.
  • Note the 2-person team, 56-investment track record — running a fund at that ratio for 15 years is a specific operational choice worth asking about directly.

Discovery questions

  1. The We Are Knitters acquisition is a different move from a seed cheque — what's the logic behind taking direct ownership versus staying on the cap table as a minority investor?
  2. With 56 investments across that many sectors and two continents, how do you actually decide where to concentrate attention in a given year — is it geography, sector, or something else?
  3. The Spanish seed market in 2009 was very different from today — what's changed most about how founders in Spain and South America think about building companies?

Avoid

Don't lead with generic European VC market observations — he has 15 years of on-the-ground pattern recognition in Spain and South America and will have more specific views than any macro framing you can offer.

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Sources

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Generated by briefthecall.com from public web sources on June 5, 2026. Each claim is linked to its source above.

Automatically generated by AI from public sources. May be inaccurate or out of date. Remove or correct this profile →