Antoine Nussenbaum

Who they are

Antoine Nussenbaum is a Partner and Co-Founder at Felix Capital — former M&A banker who first built NT Valley, a verticalized software company for kindergarten and nursery management, before co-founding the firm in 2015.

Person

Antoine joined Felix Capital in 2015 when it was a small early-stage team, and has been there since its founding — a long tenure that covers the firm's growth to over $1.2 billion in assets under management and a portfolio of approximately 50 companies. Before Felix, he came up through M&A investment banking at ABN AMRO, then moved into brand and intangible asset valuation consulting at Sorgem Evaluation, and spent time at Atlas Global and Voy — a path that moved from deal-making into operational and strategic advisory before landing in venture. In between, he co-founded NT Valley, a verticalized software play for kindergarten and nursery management, and co-founded Lassie, a pet insurance and health company that raised $75 million in funding. The through-line is a persistent interest in businesses that sit at the intersection of everyday life and technology — consumer-facing, brand-driven, category-defining. He writes for TechCrunch and on Medium on venture capital, digital lifestyle, and the creative class, and appeared on the 20VC podcast (Episode 084) to explain Felix's thesis. He teaches Venture Capital as a Visiting Professor at both ESCP European Business School and University Paris Dauphine — a signal that he thinks carefully about the craft, not just the returns.

Company

Felix Capital's most recent notable portfolio activity includes co-investing in Noah's $22 million seed funding round in June 2025, and backing Origin in its $21 million Series A as the company emerged from stealth — both consistent with Felix's thesis around digital lifestyle and the future of work. On the portfolio side, TravelPerk — one of its longest-held board seats — recently strengthened its leadership team by appointing Nikita Miller as Chief Product Officer and promoting Robin Smith to Chief Technology Officer. Felix Capital manages over $1.2 billion in assets across approximately 50 companies, with a track record that includes 11 unicorns, 3 IPOs, and 21 acquisitions, with notable names including Spotify, Deliveroo, and Farfetch. The firm is London-based and has built its identity around investing in technology and creativity-driven companies in the digital lifestyle sector.

Market

Felix Capital operates in the European early-to-growth-stage venture market, focused specifically on digital lifestyle and the creative class — a differentiated niche relative to generalist or deep-tech focused funds. The broader venture landscape in 2025–2026 is seeing valuation pressure, increased M&A consolidation, and a reorientation of capital toward AI, fintech, and defense driven by geopolitical dynamics — themes that sit somewhat outside Felix's core consumer and creativity thesis, creating both a point of difference and a potential headwind for fundraising cycles.

Network

Antoine works most closely with Frederic Court, Felix Capital's Founder and Managing Partner, who co-leads the firm alongside him. His board network spans a wide range of portfolio companies — TravelPerk, Unmind, Papier, Manual, Lick, Ukio, Hungry Panda, and Pure Pet Food — and he has collaborated with Schmuel Chafets of Target Global on co-investments including TravelPerk's Series B. He has also publicly championed Alex Hersham in the context of the Termeer Fellowship.

Frederic Court· Founder and Managing Partner, Felix Capital
Schmuel Chafets· Investor at Target Global
Alex Hersham· Termeer Fellow / Zencargo

How they likely show up

Long tenure at Felix Capital since 2015, from early-stage team to $1.2B AUM → likely thinks in fund cycles and decade-long company arcs, not short-term performance windows.
Board seats across at least eight active portfolio companies simultaneously → comfortable holding multiple context-switches at once; probably values founders who come prepared and get to the point.
Co-founded NT Valley and Lassie alongside his investing career → high agency; not a passive capital allocator — has operator instincts and will notice when a founder hasn't stress-tested their own assumptions.
Teaches Venture Capital at two universities as a Visiting Professor → translates complex ideas for non-expert audiences; likely responds well to precise framing over jargon.
Publicly posts on mental health in leadership and engages with portfolio companies' people-oriented milestones → pays attention to team culture and founder wellbeing, not just metrics.
Possibly — TechCrunch contributor and 20VC podcast appearance on Felix's creative-class thesis → comfortable being a public articulator of the fund's point of view, suggesting he's the one who will probe whether your company fits the narrative, not just the numbers.

Conversation tips

→ Reference a specific Felix portfolio company you genuinely find interesting — he's on the boards of TravelPerk, Papier, Unmind, and others, and will immediately know whether you've done the reading.
→ Come with a sharp view on where consumer and digital lifestyle is going — his thesis is opinionated, and he'll engage harder with someone who challenges or sharpens it than someone who flatters it.
→ If you've read his TechCrunch pieces or heard the 20VC episode, name the specific idea you took from it — he'll know you went beyond the LinkedIn summary.
→ Don't skip the operator questions — he co-founded NT Valley and Lassie, so he's been on the other side of the table and will probe whether you've actually built something versus just theorized about it.

Toolbox

Openers

Open on the Noah seed round (June 2025) — Felix co-invested in a $22 million seed, which is a signal about where Antoine sees momentum right now; asking what drew them to Noah is a direct window into live thesis conviction.
Mention NT Valley — he built a verticalized software company for kindergarten and nursery management before going into venture, which is an unusual operator credential for a VC; it's a genuine conversation starter about why he sees what he sees in B2B software.
Reference the Papier 10-year anniversary — he's been on the board through a decade of that business, which is rare staying power; asking what's changed in consumer brand building over that period will get a substantive answer.

Discovery questions

Felix has backed companies across very different verticals — TravelPerk, Unmind, Papier, Lassie — what's the actual unifying thread when you're evaluating a new investment, beyond the 'creative class' label?
You co-founded NT Valley before Felix — how much does having been a founder yourself shape the way you run board meetings or challenge portfolio CEOs?
With $1.2 billion under management and 11 unicorns in the portfolio, what does the 'digital lifestyle' thesis need to evolve into over the next fund cycle given how macro conditions are shifting?

Avoid

Don't pitch a company as 'the next Farfetch or Deliveroo' — he knows those exits intimately from the inside and will immediately probe whether you understand why they worked, not just that they were big outcomes.

Make it yours