Jan Lynn-Matern

🌱 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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My thoughts below on how EdTech businesses can best position themselves for success. BGF has invested £100m+ across Education, Training & EdTech to date, and we continue to look for more exciting businesses and teams to partner with. Do reach out if you would like to discuss any of the below or hear more on how BGF funding, and our extensive value creation offering, can help unlock your next phase of growth. #BGFGoodGrowth

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As a Partner at Antler, one of the most active early-stage investors in the world, I’m thrilled to announce our latest round of investments—£840k across seven exciting new British startups! The eleventh UK residency brought together over 2,400 applicants from across the globe, with 78 founders making the cut. This group reflects incredible diversity, representing 24 nationalities and 18% female founders. After a rigorous selection process that included over 200 hours of due diligence per company, we’re backing just under 1% of applicants, confident in the impact they’ll have. Here are the seven ventures joining the Antler family: 🔎 Vente AI: Changing the recruitment game by automating how agencies discover roles and optimize their candidate pipelines. 💡Distillery: Unlocking rapid insights for businesses, providing crucial product and marketing data 25x faster than traditional methods. (Vasil Yakov, Edward Louth) 🏦 Banqora: Uses AI to automate document processing and streamline post-trade operations, saving financial institutions significant time and money. 🏠 AskVinny: Simplifying property management with AI, making tenant-landlord interactions effortless and improving service delivery. 🪲 Omma: Supporting sustainable farming with AI-driven insect incubation, reducing the need for pesticides in large-scale horticulture. 🧑‍🏭️ Tradestack: Helping trades businesses quote quicker and win more jobs with an AI-backed productivity tool. 🏨 Inntelo AI: Transforming hotel operations with AI that automates guest services, making every stay smoother and more personalized. With some of them already speaking to follow-on investors and closing investment rounds, I’m personally excited about what lies ahead for them all. If you’d like to connect with any of the founders or learn more, drop me a message! 🚀 🦄 #VentureCapital #Investments #Founders #TechStartups

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"Funding Collapse sends investment in start-ups to six year low" The Times today covering the shocking stats that VenturePath uncovered, with our partner Beauhurst. Great quotes from supporters Michael Moore CEO, BVCA and Julian David CEO, techUK. * UK VC funding at Series A is -44% from last year, and worsening * Q3 24 is down a staggering 57% from Q2, itself down from Q1 * 9 in 10 seed funded startups cannot access Series A VC funding, the next 'rung on the funding ladder' * Just 32 future scaleup companies across the whole of the UK were able to access their first VC funding round in Q3...a 6 year low * Half a billion less capital is going in to UK scaleups at Series A, than just 2 years ago! As the UK scaleup funding gap widens, we are losing ground against other countries, at both startup stage (a position the UK worked hard to achieve, since 2011), and for scaleup support. OECD data: 13th in the world for scaleup support, and that's before Series A funding access dried up. I get that its confusing. Another report (BBB, Nations & Regions) released this week spoke of positive trends in private investment, stating "The data for Q2 2024 shows that investment value has continued to grow". Great, I love to see optimistic data. But under analysis that bundles venture with private equity (later stage), where a few megadeals skew the numbers. Otherwise the exact opposite is true. Our independent research here, for the UK ScaleUp Investment Mission, is laser beam focussed on Series A. The funding round where companies move from the c.1m startups launched each year, through the 2,179 that access seed funding, into the rarefied category of being recognised as future scaleups, attracting Series A funding (£2-10m). The UK venture landscape is currently funding just 248 pa of these companies, and declining. We've been sharing this urgent call for support with the new Government since the day after the election. I've personally met with several Ministers, and spoke to all the relevant Government departments. I will shamelessly repeat loudly what is at stake. UK scaleup funding at Series A has nearly halved in a year, and continues to decline steeply, more than halving in the last quarter. VenturePath developed The UK ScaleUp Investment Mission to convene the scaleup support ecosystem and £7bn of funders to help address this problem, to improve nationwide access to VC investment, and create more venture-backed successes. We have clear support, clear recommendations to reverse this decline in UK scaleup investment, and have made a clear ask of Government for participation in this, to ensure immediate action is taken to create the conditions for success for UK scaleups, ensuring the focus on growth isn't undermined by lack of capital, or equitable access to it. Government decision makers, we'd love your interest, to progress to action. HM Treasury: Rt Hon Rachel Reeves Spencer Livermore James Murray & CC Poppy Gustafsson (welcome to the debate).

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I couldn’t be prouder to be a Venture Partner at Isomer Capital (aka the best European FoF - at least for me) as we just announced the launch of our pioneering £100m secondaries fund. This fund is dedicated to acquiring stakes from LPs in various VC funds, tapping into a massive and largely unexplored market. 🌟 Key Highlights: - Focused Investment: Primarily targeting stakes in VC funds, with selective investments in private companies. - Robust Funding: Already over 20% funded, thanks to strong support from Nordic family offices and a German foundation. - Market Potential: With a growing number of private tech companies and a VC liquidity crunch, Europe's VC secondaries market is poised for rapid growth. - Track Record: This isn’t Isomer’s first foray into the secondaries market. As a firm we’ve done several secondaries deals with portfolio companies and VC firms, including early-stage VC Seedcamp (in 2021) and mobility giant Bolt (in 2023). - Expert Team: Welcoming the amazing Omolade (Rachel) A., formerly of Coller Capital, as a principal to lead this initiative. 💡 Investment Strategy: - 65-75% of the fund will buy "LP interest" stakes in VC funds. - 15-25% will be directed towards stakes in companies. - Up to 15% reserved for flexible investment opportunities. 📈 Looking Ahead: We're targeting returns of 2-3x, with significant distributions expected in the next 4-7 years. As one of the few players in this space, we're not just participating in the market—we're driving it forward. Read all about it here: https://lnkd.in/dc7sbC3G #VentureCapital #SecondariesFund #EuropeanVC

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🚨 Funding Alert: It's the last day of October, and 2024 is slipping away faster than you think... You know it, I know it – the funding world moves at LIGHTNING speed ⚡️ Timing is everything, and opportunities vanish in the blink of an eye. If you're aiming to land a funding deal before year's end, we've got your back! 💪 At Magdalena Reith, we're offering a special Q4 deal: Book a pitch deck package before November 15th and get a FREE one-pager 🎁 Your strategic conversation starter that turns "Maybe later" into "Let's talk!" Looking to finish Q4 strong and slingshot your startup into 2025? Here's what you get in our Q4 Power Package: 🎯 Expert guidance  🎁 FREE one-pager  💼 Professional pitch deck  ⏰ Priority completion (optional) Reach out via DM or drop a comment below to learn more and lock in your package before November 15th! #StartupFunding #PitchDecks #Startups

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Your feedback keeps us going! 🚀 This is feedback from a recent workshop we ran for Hatch Enterprise UK on funding strategy.  Our mission with GuessWorks is centered around demystifying the entrepreneurship journey. It's incredibly fulfilling to provide that stepping stone and cheat sheet for others that are inspired to start the journey. Now, gearing up for our next workshop! And if you're a founder looking to join a programme like this - Hatch actually have another Incubator coming soon - applications close end of Monday 29th April... Gain the tools, knowledge, and network you need to market effectively, access crucial funding, and grow your business sustainably. Don't miss this chance to stay accountable, connect with fellow entrepreneurs, and achieve clarity on your business growth strategies. Apply now but be quick, applications close on Tuesday 7th May (link in comments 👇🏻). #Founderskills #startuptraining #accelerators #innovationskills #entrepreneurshipeducation #feedback

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Great insights from Adam Agius on what to consider when raising debt for a search fund buyout. Most relevant to the UK market, but a worthwhile read for all searchers. There's more debt capital keen to support search acquisitions than ever before, but approaching it naively can be very costly...

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We know Black startups receive less than 1% of venture capital funding in most quarters of the year, but does it matter what city you're in? There isn't a clear indication of which city has the highest funding for Black-founded startups. However, we can draw some insights about funding trends in major startup hubs: Major Startup Hubs 1️⃣ San Francisco Bay Area:    - Historically the top region for funding Black-founded startups.    - However, funding plunged 78% in 2023, reaching its lowest total since 2017.    - The Bay Area saw funding drop from $895 million in 2022 to $198 million in 2023, an 88% decline since 2021. 2️⃣ New York:    - Experienced a 51% drop in funding to Black-founded startups.    - Funding fell from $375 million in 2022 to $185 million in 2023. 3️⃣ Los Angeles:    - Saw a 43% decline in funding to Black-founded startups.    - Funding decreased from $301 million in 2022 to $173 million in 2023. 4️⃣ Atlanta:    - Historically strong for minority-led companies.    - However, funding for Black-founded startups declined by 79% in 2023.    - Only $23 million was invested, the lowest amount since 2017. 5️⃣ Boston:    - Experienced a 72% decline in venture dollars going to Black-founded startups.    - The 2023 total of $23 million represented 2.6% of the region's venture market, which was the highest percentage share among these cities, despite the significant drop. While no city stands out as having the highest funding for Black-founded startups in 2023, it's clear that all major startup hubs experienced significant declines. The San Francisco Bay Area, despite its sharp decline, still appears to have allocated the largest amount of funding to Black founders in absolute terms. However, Boston had the highest percentage of its venture market going to Black founders at 2.6%, even though the total amount was relatively small. These figures reflect a broader trend of declining funding for Black founders across the United States, with total funding dropping to $705 million in 2023, the lowest figure since 2016. How do you think Black startup founders can get more VC dollars to flow their way? Subscribe to my newsletter below to receive more insights on diverse founders, my business and VC learnings and well as well the Emerging world around us. https://lnkd.in/g85xKDxj 📸 : Google Black Founders Fund #venturecapital #startup #funding #black #founders

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📣 We’ve got a big ESG_VC event planned for Tuesday next week – featuring the latest updates to our measurement framework, news of our 2025 benchmarking with the British Private Equity & Venture Capital Association (BVCA), and an introduction to our new platform partners… 📣 On the afternoon of Tuesday 26 November, we’ll be gathering 200+ VCs for the latest update on the ESG_VC Measurement Framework – from what it covers to how it informs industry-leading research, and how you can now work with our accredited data collection partners. This will be our first event delivered in partnership with our cohort of platform partners: Apiday, Novata, and PortF. I’m excited to share with our members how these partners can support a big step up in your ESG initiatives. Join us for a jam-packed event that will feature: 🟢 An update from Suzi Gillespie of the BVCA on how you can take part in our 2025 research – we analysed ESG performance in c.600 VC-backed companies in 2024 and we’re looking to deliver an even more ambitious piece of research next year… 🟢 Insights from Emily Havers of Fidelity International Strategic Ventures on the updates that have been made to the framework and what it means for our members, their portfolio companies, and the broader ecosystem. 🟢 Perspectives from Emily Matthews of Oxford Science Enterprises and Nina Foote of Volution on how the ESG_VC Measurement Framework has supported their work on ESG. 🟢 Presentations from our platform partners: Edouard Audi of Apiday, Conor O'Laoire’Laoire of Novata, and Alex Lu of PortF. It’s going to be a good one so do register. Link to sign up in the comments! #ESG_VC #sustainability #venturecapital

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This month marks my 10 year anniversary in Venture, and what a ten years it has been 🎉 🤩 First stop: JamJar Investments Rewind 10 years and you’ll find me sitting at my desk at JamJar, operating under the alias of “Bread”, working my way through an inbox full of 1000 cold inbound pitch decks, reviewing and replying to every single one. Highlights included a hand drawn picture of a new ketchup sachet design with “target market: Nandos” written below it, and a concept for a drink that tasted like the leftover milk at the bottom of a cereal bowl. But there were also some diamonds in the rough, and it was here that I got my first experience of that lightbulb moment when you meet an exceptional founder that you want to back, making my first investment a few months in. JamJar was the best training ground I could have hoped for, and I'm so grateful to Katie Marrache and Adam Balon, Richard Reed & Jonathan Wright for welcoming me into the team. Second stop: Venrex In 2015, I joined Mark & Tom at Venrex alongside Pooja Patel. We clicked as a team immediately, and over the ensuing years launched 7 new funds, grew the portfolio to 180+ companies, built a brilliant team, moved from a small attic in West London to panoramic views in Fitzrovia, and had a lot of fun along the way. As well as the buzz of discovering new founders to back, I also discovered my love for supporting founders post-investment. With 11 board roles and a further 16 portfolio companies to support, the ex-strategy consultant in me had just enough to get my teeth into. Venrex’s people-centric and pragmatic approach to investing chimed with my own instincts about the type of investor I wanted to be. They gave me the most incredible platform to grow as an investor and roll up my sleeves with all of the operational sides of running a venture fund. To the entire Venrex team, new and old, thank you for an amazing chapter. Third stop: Circle & Co In June, I left Venrex to launch my own Venture fund, Circle & Co, which is on track for its first close next month. It's by total chance that this milestone falls on my 10th anniversary in venture, but what an incredible way to kick off the next decade. More details on the fund to follow, but for the moment I want to thank the amazing network of friends, fellow VCs, founders, LPs and family who have got me this far. You are the original Circle, and have been the inspiration & driving force behind this next step. Let's make it a good one.

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This is for all women investing in and building startups across the UK. Barclays and The Entrepreneurs Network are currently undertaking research for the next Female Founders Forum report. - Repost and share to reach all voices. In this year’s report, they are exploring the opportunities and challenges for female angel investors in the UK. Throughout October, They are hosting a series of roundtables across the UK to feed into this research. This will cover: Regional challenges in angel investing The impact of angel syndicates, groups, and co-investment funds in supporting female entrepreneurs and investors across different regions. Strategies to increase women's participation in angel investing through improved support programs and policy changes Bridging the gap between entrepreneurs and investors   The roundtables are open to both male and female angel investors, female entrepreneurs who have been backed by angels, and those actively interested in becoming angel investors. The insights from the regional roundtable discussions will help inform the research and policy recommendations for the Government’s work on supporting angel investing among women.   If you want to have a seat at the table sign up below:   Newcastle: Monday, 7 October 2024, 1.30pm to 3.30pm, Maybrook House, Newcastle upon Tyne - https://lnkd.in/ehtUFVxe Edinburgh: Tuesday, 8 October 2024, 1.30pm to 3.30pm, CodeBase, Edinburgh - https://lnkd.in/e9cwZs-x Birmingham: Tuesday, 15 October 2024, 1.30pm to 3.30pm, 6 Brindley Pl, Birmingham - https://lnkd.in/erqTQnd4 London: Tuesday, 22 October 2024, 1.30pm to 3.30pm, 1 Churchill Place, London - https://lnkd.in/eMmRftKS Belfast: Tuesday, 29 October 2024, 1.30pm to 3.30pm, Ormeau Baths, Belfast - https://lnkd.in/e--xj54k investHER-UK, Roxane Sanguinetti, Hannah Bernard OBE, Juliet Gouldman,Natalie Ojevah MBE, Emmie Faust, Alma Angels, HERMESA, Angel Academe - increasing female investment, UK Business Angels Association, Deepali Nangia, Jenny Tooth OBE, Emma Sinclair MBE, Emma Wright, Marla Shapiro, Ella Goldner (Levy),

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Today we have a superb episode with an absolute legend, Alan Patricof, Co-Founder of Primetime Partners, Greycroft, and Apax Partners. It’s hard to explain just how important Alan has been for tech and VC. He’s one of the true pioneers in venture capital worldwide, having started his first VC firm in the 1970s, Alan Patricof and Associates, which later became Apax Partners and currently has over ~$80Bn AUM. Alan is an inspiring figure, not only because of his success in the business world but also because of his vitality and contagious optimism. He joined us a day after his 90th birthday and candidly, he had more energy than most people I know. We recorded live on stage at Rise, created by Barclays in NYC for the 2024 Gilgamesh Ventures Summit, an annual meeting where we gather over 150 limited partners, founders, investors, and friends for a series of events and discussions about the future of tech and financial services. In this episode, we discuss: - The early days of Venture Capital and Tech in the 1970s and beyond - Alan grew up in NYC and built his career in NY – how was the city back then? - Building primetime partners to invest in the fastest growing market, people over 60 - Staying healthy. How Alan keeps fit, focused and is closing deals at 90 Years Old - Why your reputation is all that matters in this business… and a lot more! Special thanks to Morgan Borer, Jessica Schaefer, Carlee Snyder, Courtney Dawson, and Carina Oriel! https://bit.ly/4g1HNMU

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Very much looking forward to talking to founders that are enabling enterprises to get their data ready for AI consumption. Sign up below!

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Great to see SIS Ventures make this list by TechRound https://lnkd.in/eDtRbggM A bit more about what we look for below. If you're a founder and these hit the mark 👇 then please get in touch Investment targets SIS Ventures is focused on high-impact, high-growth potential businesses our investee companies are innovation-led, often spun out of Scotland’s leading university innovation programmes. Portfolio companies are also carefully selected for their commitment to developing their environmental, equality and diversity, social impact and governance practices. SIS Ventures seeks to provide equity investment to: ✔ High growth potential with a global scale and intent to provide significant impact ✔ Focus on social and/or environmental impact, aligning with impact themes / at least one of the UN SDGs ✔ Product or service backed by defensible technology or proprietary know-how ✔ EIS or SEIS qualifying ✔ Low capital-intensive businesses ✔ Sector agnostic, but historically invested across Life Sciences, MedTech, Climate Tech, Circular Economy, Biotech ✔ Pre-seed – Series A ✔ Headquartered in Scotland

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Community VC weekly progression updated 😍 A really validating week around our underlying hypothesis of attracting, nurturing, and engaging potential investors, advisors, and evangelists through a centralised environment over longer periods of time - from both investors and founders. ✅ A snapshot of our last week: 🚀 112 registrations, 46 full-length webinar participants + invited to host the same webinar for two more communities 🚀 Filling final spots for the next available batch on the 20th 👌 Still collecting checks final checks will be complete next week (got some incredible ex founders involved) 🚀 **+**35 new users this week 20% conversion on activation point, 🚀 Hosted 2 new investor podcasts for the week 🚀 3 new founders engaged 🚀 281 founders on waitlist You can request the longform update in link in the comments below 👇

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A HUGE thank you to everyone involved in publishing the latest report from ESG_VC and the British Private Equity & Venture Capital Association (BVCA) today! The report is packed full of useful insights into how start-ups are actually performing across their work on environmental, social, and governance issues. There's also a brand new roadmap for ESG in start-ups with specific guidance on the initiatives to implement from Pre-Seed through to Series C and beyond. A particular shout out to everyone involved in the production including Suzi Gillespie and Ewa Skornas at the BVCA, David Strong and Dianne Skurray at Marriott Harrison, and Susannah Philipson and Nadeem Muzaffar at Seven Hills, who designed this beautiful report. I'm also massively grateful for all of the hard work that our VC contributors put into compiling data from 587 portfolio companies across the UK, Europe, and around the world - a few names to mention include Ashleigh, Shanice, Lauren, Laure, Michelle, Jason, Hessel, Emily, Beth, Joe, James, Eugenia, Alex, Grace, Emma, Emily, Lucy, Cordelia, Nina, Raj, and Rob. Thank you to you all! And thanks as ever to the remaining members of our steering group for their ongoing support of ESG_VC - Antonia at Seedcamp, Leslie at Astanor Ventures, Natalie at Lakestar, Andrew at Par Equity, and of course Karen McCormick for all of your support at Beringea! Check out the full report via the link in the comments! And let us know what you think about it! #ESG_VC #sustainability #venturecapital

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Anthony's innovations have had a massively positive impact on so many in the UK tech ecosystem. I think it would be wise for the UK Gov (and Rt Hon Rachel Reeves) to pay attention. #capitalraising #startups #fundraising #founders #venturecapital #investors #vc #vcfunding #technology #startup #tech

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In a recent Sifted article, I share thoughts on emerging managers esp. Solo-GPs, here's what I think 👇🏽 https://lnkd.in/eYx7h5Qv I’m a solo-GP building OpenseedVC, here’s what some think this means; 🔻That there is key-person risk 🔻That there is little accountability or governance 🔻That it is a one-person show Here’s what it ACTUALLY often means; 👇🏽 ✅ We've set up governance that foster accountability, not bureaucracy ✅ As a fund, we have a dizzying depth of complementary skillsets ✅ We build conviction and move quickly; critical for early stage ✅ We are process geniuses, automations and efficiency is in our DNA ✅ We have a lean, mean team optimised for high for efficiency There is no "founder-like fund" quite like a Solo-GP emerging manager. For us at OpenseedVC, we invest up to $150k at the angel stage, and are flexible. We can lead your angel round. We can follow if the terms work for us. We don't take board seats. Whatever it is, we are first investors in ambitious and experienced operators just as they start their technology companies! We are founders ourselves, and have parallel experiences to the most ambitious and resilient founders, and this is ultimately superpower 💥 Solo-GPs are outliers, and in the business of #VC #venturecapital, outliers signal potential for outsized opportunity. #operators #openseedvc #europe #africa #soloGPs

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