Victoria van Lennep

A funny thing has happened with almost all of the impact investments we've done. We look at an opportunity, do our due diligence and decide it makes for a good investment. Then when we share our due diligence and invite people to participate in that investment, mainstream investors come onboard. Without our work to demonstrate financial returns, those investors wouldn’t have touched those investments because they didn't think the commercial returns were there. We've got a pioneering investment mandate. So, sometimes we’ll take the risk of looking into investments which mainstream investors don't have the remit to review. And we’re investors. So, we care deeply about unpacking and analysing risk and return, but we also make sure that we can see sufficient social or environmental impact in each deal. In short, our due diligence is next level. As a result, we create a safe space for mainstream investors to dip their toes in impact investing deal by deal and have done many times over.  Quite often we take a lead investor position and mainstream investors crowd in to fill a round. That’s a whole lot of capital for ventures that otherwise wouldn't have got a look in with mainstream investors who didn't know how to approach them. It's our belief that we'll see this process writ large. Impact investors come along, do the deals, demonstrate returns, and show that it's possible. Then other investors can follow in behind because they see evidence that impact investing can work and there are established practices to follow. Massive thanks to The University of Auckland Business School for publishing this piece and for being context for my growth as an academic and entrepreneur. Soul Capital was born during my PhD (🎓 Deb Shepherd, Christine Woods) and grew in parallel to my academic career. Not all business schools were open to my research agenda back then, 'career limiting' was a term I heard a lot when abroad. But at UABS I always found the best mix of rigour and support among colleagues. Still do. And now the leadership across the faculty are demonstrating a commitment to producing the research, graduates, and industry collaborations which will drive us toward the more productive and sustainable economy to which we aspire. #impactinvesting #investment #socialimpact #environmental #esginvesting

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Very proud to be working with Clever Offsets, Inc.. I'm super excited to see all the additional progress they have made with the team and the platform in a few short months. Read more about how they are changing things for those working in the carbon markets. #carbonmarkets #carboncredits #carbonneutral #dataplatform #datadrivendecisions #datasolution #analyticsplatform

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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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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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🌍 Introducing the Fund ID by BlueMark! 🌍 Today, we’re excited to share the launch of the Fund ID – a new fund-level impact rating designed to provide investors with a clear and credible view of impact performance across four key pillars: strategy, governance, management, and reporting. This summer, we piloted the Fund ID with 37 leading sustainable and impact funds, helping us refine a tool that will elevate how impact is assessed and understood. Find out more about the Fund ID and download our white paper for key insights from the pilot: https://lnkd.in/g3A5VzAZ #sustainablefinance #impactinvesting

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Last week, I made my third investment in as many months. As someone who tries to keep a clear line between my personal investments and the day-to-day operations at fundmypitch.com, I can honestly say that sometimes it's impossible to pass up on a strong opportunity. Right now, we're supporting 66 investment opportunities on FundMyPitch, the majority of them eligible for S/EIS. From #fintech disruptors to game-changing #insurtech, there’s no shortage of innovation and potential. 🔍 For the investors in my network looking to explore these exciting opportunities - both existing and upcoming - please do one of the following: 1️⃣ Register at fundmypitch.com 2️⃣ Drop me a DM to discuss how you can get involved. #AngelInvesting #FundMyPitch #SEIS #EIS #UKStartup

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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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🌍 Excited to share the latest article in our FTSE 100 series, where we dive into the current state of Biodiversity and Nature reporting! Using Root’s advanced LLM frameworks, we’ve analysed the FTSE 100’s progress on nature-focused frameworks, policies and targets, with a focus on biodiversity and water usage. 📊 In this article, we explore the history of biodiversity reporting, sparked by the Kunming-Montreal Global Biodiversity Framework and how it’s shaping corporate actions today. 500 companies are now committed to Taskforce on Nature-related Financial Disclosures (TNFD), following COP16 Colombia. It’s clear that biodiversity risk is becoming integral to corporate ESG disclosures, yet, as our analysis shows, there’s still a way to go for nature reporting to reach the maturity of other climate disclosures. 🌱 Our findings also spotlight the current gaps in FTSE 100 biodiversity and water policies, and including a case study of Sainsbury’s biodiversity performance. Root’s LLM frameworks tracks this information for 1,000s of companies to help stewardship teams identify where companies are taking action—and where more work is needed. 🔍 As investor initiatives like Nature Action 100+ and Forest 500 raise the bar, Root’s tools offer specialised resolution intelligence and benchmarking to support meaningful investor engagement on nature and biodiversity. Our frameworks can uncover disclosure gaps and high-risk areas, helping stewardship teams advocate for robust, transparent biodiversity strategies in their portfolios. Read the full article here: https://lnkd.in/eETeAF_Q 🌳 Follow me, and Root to stay updated on our series, where we uncover insights shaping climate and nature disclosures. Please repost if you think your network would find this analysis valuable! #ESG #FTSE100 #Biodiversity #NatureDisclosure #TCFD #TNFD #CSRD #SBTN #SustainableFinance #COP16 #CorporateAccountability #InvestorEngagement #RootESG #LLM #AI #ImpactInvesting #EnvironmentalDisclosure #SustainableBusiness #Stewardship #Nature UN Biodiversity, Taskforce on Nature-related Financial Disclosures (TNFD), Frederick Fabian, James Carter

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I wrote an opinion piece for The Financial Times today commenting on the role of debt financing to fund hardware scale ups. The VC industry is developing new playbooks to scale hardware businesses and forges new commercial relationships with more traditional lenders who have started to move downmarket to explore the business opportunity that extending credit to a new generation of hardware scale-ups represents. The resulting stratification of the capital structure of scale-ups, which tap into an ever-increasing variety of funding sources from equity finance to grants and different types of debt, results in a much more complex environment start-up founders and VCs alike have to navigate. Engaging in a rigorous analysis of all the risks and developing risk mitigation strategies to become bankable is a critical inflexion point where founders and investors alike have to switch from 'move fast and break things', to planning diligently and working systematically towards the elimination of risks. To find out more, click on the link below 👇 #venturecapital #scaleups #climatetech #debt #FOAK KOMPAS VC

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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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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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We recently sat down with Jennifer Sieg from City AM to discuss Belong, our vision for the platform, and how we are rallying a new generation of long-term investors. TL;DR Money x Time = Wealth. And we will never have more time ahead of us than we do today; but many of us struggle to get going, whether that’s due to a lack of confidence around investing, a sense of inertia, or feeling like we don’t have enough upfront cash available to make it worthwhile. Enter: the Belong Boost loan. Ps. When Avion and I were younger, one of us wanted to be a litigation attorney, and the other wanted to be a Power Ranger. Read to the end of the article to find out who’s who 😂 https://lnkd.in/dJq9ufYe -- Please note, as with all investing, your capital is at risk, and adding a Boost loan to your investment increases both the risk of loss, as well as the opportunity for higher returns.

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It's been interesting over the past couple of weeks to step back and reflect on the themes that have emerged from our early Assembly Ventures portfolio. In particular, we've taken a look at investments through the lens of the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals. These targets may seem squishy to some, but in my view, also align with a laser focus on business results. Not buying the argument yet? Affordable and Clean Energy (SDG 7): We've invested in Our Next Energy (ONE), commercializing technology that drives the adoption of clean energy solutions, such as grid storage and electric vehicle batteries. Industry, Innovation, and Infrastructure (SDG 9): Our Mobility 4.0 framework embodies our commitment to revolutionizing the digital and physical infrastructure layers that underpin future mobility systems. Integration can create systems that are not only efficient but also sustainable and scalable. This unusual holistic approach ensures that our investments support resilient and innovative industrial ecosystems. Responsible Consumption and Production (SDG 12): We invest in and support startups that leverage AI, data analytics, and advanced sensors to drive profitability and sustainability at industrial scale. Companies like Sortera Technologies, Inc. create true material circularity through innovative recycling technologies, thereby reducing waste and fostering a circular economy. This is about more than a feel-good impact. We're talking about real financial returns, industrial resilience, and economic security for the western world. #VentureCapital #CleanEnergy #Innovation #Sustainability

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UK Centre for Greening Finance and Investment (CGFI) We are excited to sharing the journey of greening finance and investment #innovation #acceleration #esg #greentech #fintech #climatetech #esginvestment #greenfinance

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🔔Great to be on the panel with The Economist discussing ''A Year of Change'' Thanks to The Economist for having me on the panel with Ana Nicholls (Economist Intelligence: EIU), Simon Bashorun (Investec Wealth & Investment UK) & Anthony Wells (YouGov) where we delved into how potential government shifts could impact growth, taxes, and investment opportunities.  🗒Discussion points included;  - What challenges investors face in Britain’s tax environment. - How would a change in government be likely to affect the economic landscape for individuals, from growth to taxes?  - What tax-saving opportunities should individual #investors look out for? etc. 🔗Link to the panel discussion https://lnkd.in/dZTZm9Rc #Economy #TaxPolicy #Investment #Britain2024

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At the start of 2024 we invited a subset of leading climate fund managers to share views on market sentiment as well as their performance. Insights include sentiment on the fundraising environment, sector focus, impact tracking methodologies, portfolio valuation expectations and spending allocations. Please find an abridged version of the survey here: https://lnkd.in/e-BgCKpG We truly appreciate the participation of all the contributing managers and hope the results are insightful and useful to all. We view this inaugural survey as the first of many CREO Climate Investment Surveys and aspire to attract participation from an increasingly robust and diverse set of managers. We will invite managers to participate in our 2025 survey at the end of this year. Participants who completed the survey received unabridged versions of the aggregated results. CREO Owen LoudonLucas FiorettiTaline Filipovic

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The funding dearth around series B is borne out by the half-year report from Sightline Climate (CTVC) - time taken to get to Series B more than double what it was at the peak (healthy level probably somewhere in the middle). A lot of the early stage funds we speak to are spending a lot of time working with their portfolio companies to help them secure these rounds. They aren't coming easy. HOWEVER, one trend that this report misses, given its exclusive scope on venture equity, is that climate tech companies are increasingly accessing non-dilutive finance to scale up. That is an absolutely critical transition for many climate companies to make, and it is starting to happen.

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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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Excited to announce the launch of ClimateQueers on the 27th of June to supporting diversity and inclusion within early-stage ClimateTech! Come along to our launch event hosted with Sustainable Ventures at County Hall (RSVP below) 💚🌍🏳️‍🌈 The startup scene is often perceived as a monoculture, it’s a stereotype which is not unduly founded, however, has become less true in recent years as the value of team diversity is being given more weight. However, attracting underrepresented talent can be self-defeating due to underrepresentation in the workforce making roles seem less attractive to those who may feel more vulnerable. It’s a catch-22 for small teams, but by bringing together multiple companies we’re looking to build a larger community for smaller companies benefiting from opportunities of scale often reserved for established organisations. We're launching ClimateQueers with our first event on the 27th of June at Sustainable Ventures County Hall—just in time for London Pride! 🎉 You can sign up and share the event below or DM me if you’d like to know more. #ClimateQueers #DiversityInTech #ClimateImpact #PrideMonth

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