Channel

We currently invest only in Internet-based businesses

Industry

We consider all industries but we don't invest in gambling, adult-related or weapons industries, nor in illegal businesses or those that promote intolerant or anti-social attitudes

Business model

Historically we've specialised in businesses related to online classified advertising, but we're increasingly considering a wider scope.  We've recently favoured niche and hyper-local models, though not exclusively

Stage of business

We invest mostly in businesses at seed or early stage.  You should have at least a live prototype and ideally you'll already be in your market with some early users.  Only occasionally do we invest in businesses at a more advanced stage

Geographical area

We prefer to invest in UK and Europe, though we also consider businesses outside of these areas.  We're also interested in businesses that are starting to prove themselves in one geographical region and might be replicable in Europe and UK

Knowledge of the sector

We invest only in entrepreneurs with demonstrable knowledge of their market

Size of investment

Between £10,000 and £500,000 initial round dependent upon the opportunity

Degree of involvement

We seek an equity stake and light-touch involvement commensurate with our investment, though we're nurturing entrepreneurs not employees

Sectors of particular interest

  • Environmental / green startups and early stage - we see environmental as a big growth sector, tapping into increasing consumer environmental consciousness
  • Mobile startups and early stage - there are more mobile phones worldwide than computers, and we're increasingly interacting online via hand-held devices
  • Location based and location aware services startups and early stage - the ability for applications to know where you are at any moment is allowing businesses to provide more local-based and personalised services which bring increased relevance to users
  • Local and niche startups and early stage - we love verticalization, either by geography (local) or sector (niche); the more local or niche the better.  Hyper local or hyper niche hobbiest sites will get our attention