ABOUT
Francesco Rubino
Venture Builder · Investments & Due Diligence · Grant Funding · Expert Evaluator
I work with early-stage ventures, mostly deep-tech and health-tech, from the first investment decision to the funding that keeps them alive. I select investments and run due diligence, advise founders before and after they raise, and win grant funding: as a verified expert evaluator since 2018 (Horizon Europe, EIT, InvestMED) I have scored 3,700+ companies, and I write proposals from inside the rubric. Around that, I engage the stakeholders a venture depends on (corporates, institutions, investors) and design the learning content behind accelerator programmes. 15+ years across Europe, Africa and Latin America, 800+ founders, based in Barcelona.
Institutional roles & affiliations
Expert Evaluator
Horizon Europe · EIT · InvestMED · since 2018
Entrepreneur in Residence
Carbon13, Europe's leading climate venture builder · Berlin cohort
Programme Lead
CAF · Development Bank of Latin America · 8 countries
PoC Roadmap Facilitator
CERN · World's largest particle physics laboratory
Senior Innovation Consultant
Pioneers.io · Hofburg Palace, Vienna · 3,000+ startups scouted
Innovation Programme Expert
EIT · European Institute of Innovation & Technology
In the field
Projects, events, and collaborations across Europe, Africa, and South America
EXPERTISE
Investment Selection & Due Diligence
Screening deal flow and testing team, technology and market before capital goes in. A corporate finance background (State Street, Bocconi) shows in every model.
Early-Stage Venture Advisory
From hypothesis to first customers: business model validation, PoC design, and the pre-seed decisions founders most often get wrong.
Deep-Tech & Health-Tech Startups
Founders turning research into companies, where science, regulation and slow sales cycles change the playbook.
Raising Grant Funding
EIC Accelerator, Horizon Europe, national and regional instruments: identified, written, and delivered. Keep your equity.
Stakeholder Engagement
Aligning corporates, institutions and investors around a venture, as at Merck, Ferrovial and CAF across 8 countries.
Designing Learning Content
Curricula, workshops and mentoring for accelerator and incubation programmes, 800+ founders across 3 continents.
Companies I've worked with
