Investment areas
We are interested in the most pioneering, ambitious and impressive founders, ideas and companies that have the potential to change the world. We find the best recipe for potential success to be brilliant teams with complimentary skill sets, large markets with room for disruption and innovative scalable solutions (often technological) that are generating rapid growth.
Since we aim to back the best companies of today and tomorrow, for the right opportunities where we feel we can add value we can be sector, stage and location agnostic. Ultimately, we invest where we find our expertise and the potential of a startup are symbiotic. Our usual investment criteria is below.
Our usual investment criteria
Who do we help?
Exceptional people, first and foremost. We always look for outstanding founding teams and believe that any company is only as good as its people. The same applies to us. Simple.
What do we look for?
What do we look for? Disruptive technologies targeting large markets (or even creating new ones) and companies with great potential and global ambitions. In particular, we focus on eCommerce, SaaS/Digital Media, FinTech, Cyber Security, Gaming and Energy. We are able to work with hardware companies, particularly with regards to AI/3D, robotics and connected devices.
When do we invest?
Focusing on pre-seed, seed and Series A stage companies with the ability to provide follow on later stage investments, we provide entrepreneurs with comprehensive support. We have full end to end capability, co-invest with our extensive network of partners and provide continuity from startup to scale up and beyond.
Where do we invest?
We are location agnostic and believe that successful companies can come from any region but are particularly keen to find the best opportunities in the UK, Europe and the Middle East. We have a global reach so can back companies regardless of where they are based. We have supported companies from across the world and we help companies expand internationally and also run our Unlocking the Asian and American markets schemes.
We celebrate those visionaries who see the world differently. We love innovation, technology and those looking to make a difference and their own dent in the universe. We want to help you make your mark and build iconic global businesses that have a lasting impact on the world.
Entrepreneurs come in many different shapes and sizes. They come from all corners of the world. They may be young or old, PhDs or University dropouts, seasoned experts in their fields or enthusiastic bright-eyed newcomers. However, they share key common bonds: They are champions who see a world of opportunity where others see problems. They are transforming the way we live, work and play. They want to shape both the future and the present, as swiftly as possible. They are brave risk takers who want to both question and challenge the status quo. They are passionate about their mission and devote colossal efforts towards attaining their goals. They are a rare commodity and are outliers. They are the creative changemakers who think outside the box. Unlike those who dream of a better future, entrepreneurs boldly create and shape it.
Each week we hear from many talented and passionate entrepreneurs who want to make an impact with their game-changing ideas, methodologies and products. Nothing excites and inspires us more than our discussions with these ambitious founders who want to challenge traditional mind-sets, transform outdated industries and create new ones whilst changing the way people think and reinventing the way markets work.
We’re here to help and strive to be your best partners and the most entrepreneur friendly venture capital firm and company builder. We aim to help you to prosper and succeed and we work hard to provide you with the best platform from which to maximize and unleash your potential. Whilst investment is of course important, on top of this we provide you with the necessary tools needed for making a success of your business. Our value added business services include complete technological and software development, financial, marketing, legal and HR services that help entrepreneurs to focus on developing the best products, relationships and traction possible. In short, we provide the fertile soil, water and light for your venture to grow.
Our investment process
We want to ensure that there is a good fit with the entrepreneurs, ideas and businesses we work with so we can best help you succeed. We do not want to keep you in limbo and prefer to be efficient when it comes to making deals. When it comes to origination activities our access to innovators is unique and we leverage our widespread reach for opportunity discovery. We have a broad reach across startup communities and ‘best-in-class’ relationships with top universities, societies and research hubs. We have an extensive network of university relationships with the most forward thinking institutions to channel research-led dealflow and an unparalleled pipeline of opportunities.
As part of our investment process we initially review the ideas and businesses to get an overview of the opportunity. We then meet and chat with you and your team to find out more about yourselves and what you are working on and to get a better understanding. We give you quick and honest early feedback and look at any materials you may have that would be helpful for us. We then study the market and opportunities, researching and learning more so that we can gauge the potential. Like all good companies we conduct our due diligence so we are fully confident and can have deep trust in our partnerships with the businesses we work with. We hope that following this we can invest and work with you to help you succeed, aligning our interests and aiming to be your best partners throughout the lifetime of your company. We come up with plans for how we can best support you and use our startup learning cycle methodology to drive scale and growth with each area of your business. Our priority is you because when your business grows, so does our own and when you win so do we!
The community is very important to us and we believe in collaboration and rewarding those that help us, whoever they might be. This can be directly or through donation to a philanthropic cause of choice. If we invest in a company that has been referred to us, we share any profits with those who have made the referral. The same goes for anyone who helps us win a deal or helps our companies reach major milestones. We work and co-invest alongside other investors and partners in our wide network, forming the most formidable syndicates for entrepreneurs. We want to help those who we come across on their journeys regardless of whether we end up working together formally. Even if we do not end up injecting our own capital we want to assist you and make valuable introductions. We really are all in this together and by working with and helping others we are all stronger.
