Joseph Pizzolato
Investor at Stealth
Greater London, England
Overview
Work Experience
Managing Partner
2024 - Current
Defiant is a tech-enabled venture capital fund based in London and Lisbon. We focus on B2B SaaS and Fintech and invest in Seed ($1-3m) and Series A ($2-10m) across Europe and occasionally the US. We like technical products, those with complexity, moats and barriers to entry, where we have deep expertise and an ability to add value. We don’t invest pre-revenue or pre-product. We are a team of investors, technologists and builders, who saw first hand how venture could evolve. We are here to push the boundaries of what a traditional VC fund looks like. To question everything, never accept the status quo, and create something different. Our approach is three-fold, at its core a mission to productise venture, by creating a fund where data, technology and deep thematic work are integral to everything we do. Like the companies we invest in, we build products - internally for our team to move faster and make better decisions, and externally to add value to our founders and the wider ecosystem. We have a love for the craft of investing and pride ourselves on deep research, coupled with a data-driven culture. We have a low-volume, high-conviction investment style, with the aspiration to back future category leaders in verticals exposed to long-term secular growth trends. Our partners have worked with 10 unicorns, investing over $400m into transformational companies such as Transferwise, Marqeta, Farfetch, Travelperk, Pigment, Forter, Ebury, Ledger, Juni and more.
Early Stage and Growth Investor
2020 - 2023
Felix Capital is a globally recognised top performing venture capital firm investing at the intersection of creativity and technology. The firm has over $1.2bn under management, with more than 50 portfolio companies across Europe, the US and RoW. I was responsible for the B2B portfolio (software & fintech) including origination, thought leadership, board representation & portfolio governance.
Investor
2023 - 2023
Pigment is an EU/US B2B SaaS platform for CFOs, acting as the financial engine and co-pilot for enterprise scale organisations to help manage, plan and oversee all their financial needs
Investor & Board Observer
2023 - 2023
Vue Storefront is a global headless commerce B2B SaaS platform, helping merchants build best-of-breed digital experiences driving revenue and retention.
Alokai is a Frontend as Service (FEaaS) for composable commerce.
Investor & Board Observer
2021 - 2023
Non-dilutive financing for the subscription economy (B2B), offering entrepreneurs and investors access to a new form of capital
Investor
2021 - 2023
Global B2B SaaS expense management and booking platform for corporate travel
Investor & Board Observer
2021 - 2023
B2B Headless eCommerce checkout and Web3 enabler, modernising the eCommerce payment stack.
Rally is a developer of a checkout payment software for modern brands.
Raised $18,000,000.00 from Commerce Ventures, Afore Capital, March Capital, Alumni Ventures, Felix Capital and Kraken Ventures.
Investor & Board Observer
2021 - 2023
Juni is a global, vertically focused B2B banking platform for eCommerce SMEs and Digital Entrepreneurs. Named Europe's fastest growing Fintech in 2021.
Investor
2021 - 2023
Ledger is the market-leading secure gateway for investors looking to access the world of digital assets securely
Investor
2020 - 2023
US Fraud Prevention B2B SaaS/Fintech company, applying AI & Machine Learning to over $200bn in eCommerce transactions globally. Reducing fraud rates and improving conversions.
Forter is a software-as-a-service company that delivers real-time, automated, fraud prevention solutions for online merchants.
Raised $525,101,500.00 from Adage Capital Management, Sequoia Capital Israel, DFO Management, L Catterton, NewView Capital, Bessemer Venture Partners, Third Point Ventures, Tiger Global Management, Salesforce Ventures and Samsung NEXT.