By: Nate Bek
Antonio “Tono” Osio is all about people.
The general partner of early-stage venture capital firm ANIMO Ventures made that clear during our conversation last week. My takeaway: human connection and shared values largely define Tono’s investment posture. It’s even baked into his fund’s mantra: “People backing people.”
Tono’s people-first approach to investment has become a sort of credo — one that gets to the heart of his thesis around early-stage investing. At the core, founder-investor relationships will inevitably be tested during the tumultuous startup journey, so it helps to be on the same page from the jump.
“Venture, especially at the seed stage, is all about the people,” Tono told me. “That is why we are focused on building the most people-centric firm in the industry.”
Tono’s investment philosophies have largely been shaped by his path into VC. Originally from Mexico, he graduated from the Instituto Tecnológico Autónomo de México (ITAM) with degrees in law and economics. His initial career trajectory spanned corporate law, economic development, and traditional finance before veering into the world of early-stage tech investing.
Tono developed an interest in the space during his involvement in Mexico’s then-nascent startup ecosystem, where he got involved with a few early-stage companies.
Working with startups inspired him to pursue a career in venture investing. In 2012 he decided to enroll at MIT, with a focus on VC. While there, Tono worked part-time at New York venture firm FJ Labs. From then on, he decided that VC would become his life’s work.
Returning to Mexico in 2014, he decided to partner with a close friend and mentor to launch Capital Invent, which he said was one of the first early-stage VC firms in the region.
A year after launching the fund in Mexico, Tono joined the Kauffman Fellows Program. That’s where he met his friend and eventual fund partner Nico Berardi. The duo discovered a mix of shared values and ideals that eventually drove them to team up and start a new venture firm, ANIMO Ventures.
Since launching in 2018, the firm has raised two funds, totaling $140 million in AUM. It has 36 portfolio companies, and it’s actively deploying checks at the pre-seed and seed stages across the US with an aggressive generalist approach. (More below on the firm’s funding strategy and details.)
A lot has changed in seed investing during the past years, but Tono thinks that one thing will remain consistent in the coming decades: while sectors and verticals will come and go, people will always remain.
Here’s what ANIMO believes:
“The only constant will be exceptional people. It is exceptional people that build exceptional companies. It is exceptional people that create and destroy entire markets. Our commitment to backing people is born out of it being the only 30-year strategy, and thus will remain open to any industry or sector; to simply backing exceptional people building wherever their will takes them. It is that will that bends the universe and generates outsized returns.”
This has manifested across the fund’s portfolio.
Tono pointed to Zócalo Health, a Seattle-based startup with a primary care platform. Founded in 2021 by ex-Amazon Care leaders Erik Cardenas and Mariza Hardin, both of whom are Latino, the startup’s mission is to address the underserved Latino community in healthcare.
“Erik and Mariza are exceptional founders that have a real founder-market fit story. They really understand the target customers they’re serving — because they are them,” Tono said. The company has raised more than $5 million and recently signed a couple of large business-to-business contracts. “It’s really taking off,” Tono said.
In other words, he invested in the right people. 🚀
Tono was kind enough to sit down with Ascend for our VC profile series, where we showcase early-stage investor friends from across the US. We talked in more depth about his VC passion, Animo, and his bullish views and thoughts about the Seattle tech ecosystem. Read to the end for carve-outs.
*We’ve edited this conversation for brevity. Enjoy! — Nate 👾
Nate: Thanks so much for chatting with us, Antonio. What made you fall in love with VC?
Tono: I've been in venture capital for more than 12 years. Venture, for me, is a craft with no end — you’re always building and building to try and improve, by continuously raising the bar and never reaching a ceiling. Venture perfectly aligns with my life’s mission, values and goals, and I can’t see myself doing something different. I have realized this is my calling and serving founders is my life’s work.
It’s also very exciting in the sense that you are learning new things all the time, meeting and learning from exceptional people. Founders that are reimagining industries and re-inventing our future. Being a small part of that is very fulfilling and rewarding.
I love this phrase from Josh Wolfe at Lux Capital that we, as VCs, “like to believe before others understand.”
Can you go deeper on ANIMO?
We lead pre-seed and seed deals. We are aggressive generalists and invest across the US. Here’s the breakdown:
ANIMO has about $140 million in AUM across two funds. It now has 36 companies in its portfolio.
The firm raised its first fund of $60 million in 2018; it landed $78 million for Fund II in mid 2022, which is the one it is currently deploying out of.
Check sizes range from $500,000 to $2.5 million for startups raising their first $500,000-to-$5 million.
ANIMO is industry agnostic, with a ratio of about 60% enterprise and 40% consumer.
Sell us on ANIMO. Why should founders want you on their cap table?
We're striving to create the most people-focused and relationship-driven fund in the industry. We're usually the most active investor on the cap table. We’re very present, we deeply care and we're hustling all the time for our founders. Given that we only do between 7-10 deals a year, we have a very hands-on, white-glove type of approach in the way we work with our founders.
I’m sold! You mentioned earlier that you plan to visit Seattle soon. What draws you here? And what’s your bull case for the region?
I’ve been going there for a couple years now. What makes the city and region so unique is its talent base. You have some of the largest and most successful tech companies ever based there, so I think that's a magnet and breeding ground for new founders.
One other thing that I've been pleasantly surprised about is how collaborative and friendly the investor community is in Seattle. I've gotten to know a bunch of the early-stage funds, angels and investors there, and I’ve become close friends with many of them. They’re always really open and willing to help.
It’s always interesting to get an outside view on the ecosystem. I recently chatted with a valley VC about Seattle's big bet on AI/ML. He pointed out that much of our infrastructure and talent pool is riding on it. The VC told me that if AI doesn't take off like we all think it will, we might not be in the best spot. What about you? Any other concerns or thoughts on the local startup ecosystem?
On the AI front, a concern is the good AI talent from Seattle ends up moving out of the city. If the center of the universe around AI is in the Bay Area, that might attract a lot of the good AI founders out of Seattle.
But I also understand that there's been a lot of work on that front. There’s institutions like the Allen Institute for AI (AI2), as well as a lot of big tech companies investing heavily in the space. The conditions are being created for founders to be able to build their companies and not have to leave.
The other one, which we’re really excited about, is that we're starting to see more interesting consumer companies coming out of Seattle (i.e. Zocalo), whereas the region has been known more for its enterprise and B2B startups.
Brain drain is always top of mind. But, like you said, there’s so many great people and institutions working to keep that talent in Seattle. Also, I remember reading about Zocalo in GeekWire. I loved Erik and Mariza’s founding story. At the time, I thought it seemed like a rare consumer healthcare play in Seattle.
Erik and Mariza both have a lot of experience in healthcare, but they also worked at Amazon. I think it's part of that talent you can find in Seattle. There's not that many cities like that, where so much talent works in big tech, along with backgrounds across different industries and company stages.
Let’s pivot to more fun questions… What song is getting the most play on your Spotify/Apple Music?
There’s an indie rock band from Mexico called Zoé, which has a song named Arrullo De Estrellas which I really like. That’s one. I’m also a big '90s rock fan. Foo Fighters is one of my favorite bands and I love their Seattle origin story. I have seen them live in concert a few times, and they are one of my favorite bands.
That’s more of a personal question to find new music. And, of course, shout out to the Foo Fighters. What’s your favorite pair of shoes?
I know Kirby’s a big sneakerhead! I’m training for the Boston marathon, which I’ll be running in a few weeks. Just two days ago, I bought the new Kayano 30 by Asics, and they are my go-to shoe for running.
Good luck! What’s your go-to ingredient in the kitchen?
I’m from Mexico, so I like spicy food, really spicy food. I would say anything with chiles or salsa.
Any parting thoughts?
We gravitate to other investors and founders that are not just exceptional but also just good people — and I think Seattle is full of them. ☔🔥☔
Read More: Mapping the Emerald City’s Growing AI Dominance