Claudio Alvarez

🌱 Looking to Connect with Leading VCs and Early-Stage Investors? 🌱 At Virtualnonexecs, we don;t only work with PE firms - we are also proud to be working with some of the UK’s most active early-stage investors to help them find the top board advisors and chairs who can drive impact. If you're a non-executive or chair looking to connect with the heart of the startup ecosystem, take note of the names below. Here are 10 of the UK's most active early-stage investors and the incredible numbers that back them: 1. Octopus Ventures - Backed 100 startups, with a portfolio value of over £1.3 billion. 2. Seedcamp - Over 400 startups funded, including unicorns like Revolut and TransferWise 3. LocalGlobe - Invested in 300 startups across deep tech and fintech. 4. Playfair - Early backer of companies like Stripe and Anduril. 5. Passion Capital - Early investor in Monzo Bank, managing £100M in assets. 6. Ascension - Over 100 startups backed with a focus on social impact and fintech. 7. Frontline Ventures - Backed 80 startups across Europe with a key focus on B2B. 8. MMC Ventures - £500M under management, supporting 60 innovative growth companies. 9. Balderton Capital - Invested in 220 startups with notable exits like THG. 10. Entrepreneur First - 500 startups built, including companies now worth over $10 billion collectively. ✅ To join Virtualnonexecs: https://lnkd.in/eXBj687 ✅ If you are a VC or company looking to hire: https://lnkd.in/d3na7CEC #NonExecutiveDirectors #Chairs #VentureCapital #Startups #Virtualnonexecs #BoardRoles #Leadership #BusinessGrowth

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This is great information for founders about valuation multiples! Michael Ho gives a deep dive into the numbers to understand how to think about fundraising and investor expectations, especially as the time between rounds has increased. Thank you for including our venture survey data in such a thoughtful analysis, Michael! Check out the full report on how VCs are investing in 2024: https://bit.ly/3y1eQ3s

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London, UK based growth investor Copilot Capital recently launched a fund 💸 $200M fund seeded by an investment division of The Friedkin Group. 💡 Investing up to $40M in European software start-ups looking to scale and help founders drive further growth and profitability, with a specific focus on go-to-market strategy, internationalisation, acquisitions, and data & AI. 🌍 #Europe 📈 Alongside the fund’s launch, Copilot Capital has made its first investment into Danish-based Relesys, an all-in-one employee app for frontline workers in the retail industry. 💭 “There are 60,000 SaaS companies across Europe. Our goal is to identify businesses with market-leading products and proven revenue models and equip them with the capital and expertise to scale into software champions.” - John Messer, Copilot Capital’s co-founder 🗞️by Tech Funding News https://lnkd.in/dSjYtXgY 👏 For the #AudaciousInvestors unleashing innovation and empowering tomorrow🚀 John I Charlie I Charlie I Dave I Alba I Kitarack I Zerxis I Kemar I Zarosh I Hannah I Team Copilot … #growthcapital #pe #funds #startups #entrepreneurs #uk #funding #tech #entrepreneurship #technology #innovation #venture #london

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Despite England’s loss at the Euro 2024 last night in Berlin, the UK has retained its crown for venture capital investment! 🇬🇧👑 Data from Dealroom, a global provider of data and intelligence on start-ups and tech ecosystems, revealed that UK start-ups and scale-ups raised £7.4bn during the first six months of the year. That’s a 16% increase from the same period last year, accounting for nearly one-third of all venture capital funding in Europe! Some standout funding rounds include: • Wayve, the autonomous vehicles technology firm, raised £861m in May. • Credit technology company Abound secured £400m. • Highview Power, focused on long-duration energy storage, raised £300m. • Online bank Monzo gathered £150m. • Electric vehicle charging group Char.gy raised £100m. The second half of the year looks promising with Index Ventures announcing it has raised $2.3bn in two new funds to invest in start-ups, with a significant portion expected to be deployed in the UK. Tech companies specialising in energy attracted the lion’s share of funding, with £4.3bn across Europe, followed by generative AI companies, which attracted £2bn. Having been deeply involved in the UK tech sector, I’ve witnessed the resilience and innovation driving these impressive numbers. The UK continues to be a powerhouse for tech innovation and investment, and it’s exciting to see the impact these investments will have on the future of technology and sustainability. What are your thoughts on the future of UK tech investments?

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🚨 EGYM attracts nearly $200 million in primary funding from L Catterton and Meritech at a valuation of over $1 billion 🚨 I'm excited to announce that EGYM / EGYM | DACH / EGYM Wellpass has recently secured nearly $200 million in primary funding from L Catterton and Meritech Capital, valuing the company at over $1 billion. The fundraise last year with Affinity Partners marked a significant achievement for EGYM: we were profitable, debt-free, and maintained a big chunk of the fundraise in the bank, all while experiencing rapid growth. That meant that we no longer relied on investor funds for survival; instead, we could take the time to focus on building relationships with the best possible investors to support EGYM's mission. Phew 😅 that was quite a relief as a founder, and the next round ended up happening much faster than expected. We are a fitness technology company: In my research, I identified L Catterton as the ideal partner for EGYM on the fitness and health side, given that they are the world's largest fitness investor. For the technology piece, Meritech Capital stood out as the best fit, given its deep understanding of SaaS and its success stories with leading companies like Facebook and Salesforce. Therefore, I started reaching out to both firms with the intent of building a long-term relationship, which has turned into a round of funding. I had the pleasure of meeting Marc Magliacano, a Managing Partner in the L Catterton Flagship Fund, and was impressed by his extensive experience in fitness investing. His deep industry knowledge will be invaluable as he joins our board. On the Meritech side, I was equally impressed by Paul Madera, a co-founder of the firm. His sharp questions and focus on the important elements of our business convinced me that he is the right fit for EGYM. The EGYM team has earned the trust of what I consider to be the best possible investor partners for our mission to get to where we are today, and we are much more capitalized than we were planning. However, this trust now comes with even greater responsibility. Our mission to build the leading global platform at the intersection of fitness and health is not just a business goal but a commitment to driving sustainability into the world's largest market—healthcare. We are 120% dedicated to making it happen and are grateful to our existing investors for their continued support. 👋🏻 Welcome aboard, Marc and Paul. 🚀 Let's go, EGYM team!

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Counting down to launch :) Eva, Sam and I are hosting a webinar tomorrow at 1300 UK time on cold investor outreach. We'll cover best practice, along with investor founder perspectives. Now at ~800 registrations - sign up link below. #capitalraising #startups #fundraising #founders

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Liquidity or exit planning is often taboo leading to many companies being ill prepared. Successful outcomes are years in the making - they start and end with proactive prep (e.g. getting your house in order, developing strong relationships with strategic partners, potential investors and advisors). With Scott Colvin & Paul Perrett we lay out some key actions you should embed now that can set you up for exit success and also make you a better run business today Big thanks to Bree Fedele 🖋

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Delighted to share news that Bizumi has just received SEIS Advance Assurance! This is great news for private investors looking to offset the inherent risks when investing in startup companies in search of great returns. In summary, the Seed Enterprise Investment Scheme (SEIS) provides: Income tax relief of up to 50%: A £100,000 investment could provide a £50,000 saving on that year’s income tax bill.  Up to 50% capital gains reinvestment relief: You could reduce the CGT on gains made elsewhere by up to 50%.  Loss relief: If things don’t go to plan, you can choose to offset any loss, less the income tax relief received, against your income tax bill.  Now don't get me wrong, I have every confidence that Bizumi is a fantastic opportunity, but de-risking your investment through SEIS is a no-brainer! Get in touch to explore how we can become successful together.

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