Jusoe Miguel Herrero

José Miguel Herrero is the founder and Managing Partner of Big Sur Ventures, a Madrid-based early-stage venture capital firm he co-founded in 2011 alongside Manuel Matés. He is a serial technology entrepreneur with more than two decades of operating and investing experience spanning Spain and the United States, and is frequently cited as one of the more experienced operator-turned-investors in the Spanish startup ecosystem.

His entrepreneurial career began in 1996 when he founded LaNetro, one of the first significant Spanish internet companies. He subsequently built and led businesses on both sides of the Atlantic, including serving as President and CEO of Escala Group, a company listed on the NASDAQ. Along the way he founded and later sold a technology-focused mergers & acquisitions advisory firm, giving him deep M&A and cross-border transaction experience. He has also been active as a mentor and angel-style backer of founders (for example through initiatives such as UpStartUp and university entrepreneurship programs at UPM).

Herrero was educated in California. He holds a B.S. in Electrical Engineering and Computer Science and an M.S. in Electrical Engineering from Santa Clara University, and earned an M.B.A. in Finance and International Operations from the Haas School of Business at U.C. Berkeley. This engineering-plus-finance background underpins Big Sur's recent expansion into Deep Tech and semiconductors.

At Big Sur Ventures he leads investment strategy and portfolio work, and the firm has grown from early internet/SaaS bets into a multi-fund manager. Its newest vehicle, BSV IV Ariadne, targets €100M and focuses on Deep Tech and enterprise software.

• Stated thesis: "We invest early, commit personally and team with exceptional founders to help build extraordinary companies." — Big Sur Ventures
• Stage & check: Seed to Series A; typical checks roughly $1M–$5M, with a sweet spot around $2.5M.
• Two pillars: (1) "Power of Internet" — software, SaaS, marketplaces and internet-enabled products/services, with a B2B tilt; (2) "Deep Tech" — AI, photonics, microelectronics/semiconductors, new materials, nanotech, quantum, space and robotics, aimed at energy, decarbonization, mobility and demographic challenges.
• What makes them say yes: Exceptional founding teams, scalable models with global-leadership potential, and companies where BSV's operators can add hands-on value; the partners emphasize personal commitment and active, relationship-driven involvement.
• Geography: Primarily Spain and broader Europe, leveraging combined European and U.S. market experience.