Frequently asked questions

What is Ventures Together (VT)?

  1. VT is a curated community of 150+ of Europe’s leading tech entrepreneurs and operators who angel invest and help companies together. We’re responsible for building some of the biggest startups like Wise, Klarna, Beamery, Onfido, Citymapper, Huma, Monzo and Deliveroo. There are few mistakes we haven't made, lessons we haven't learned and people we don't know!
  2. As founders ourselves, we know how painful it is to fundraise.  We built VT to help the best founders get investment quickly and easily from the best operators in the ecosystem - without having to pitch to them, and get investment (or not) from each separately. We aim to make commitments to your company from our whole network as quickly and simply as a single angel working solo. We don’t set terms, or take board seats.
  3. Our aim is to be the maximum impact investors on your cap table per $/£/€ received (our usual cheque size is ~£50-150k, so we don’t take lots of room). We know the best founders want thoughtful, experienced people backing them - those who know what it’s like to build standout companies - but also want a quick, easy fundraising process and a clean cap table (we invest as a single entity).
  4. We launched quietly in 2021, and have already invested together into 250+ promising early stage technology companies, bringing our collective network, knowledge and experience to help them succeed.

VT has provided us with unique access to influential and strategic business operators. I am amazed at the pace, efficiency and feedback provided to us by the VT community” - Anna Brailsford, founder and CEO of Code First Girls

Why does Europe need VT?

"There probably aren't more than a couple hundred serious angels in the whole of Silicon Valley, and yet they're probably the single most important ingredient in making the Valley what it is. Angels are the limiting reagent in startup formation." - Paul Graham, Founder of YC

  • Unlike Silicon Valley, the pool of active angel investors in Europe who have real, first hand experience building startups is small. The lack of maturity amongst private investors and their unwillingness to take early risk has been a significant barrier to European growth.
  • This is a problem because early stage founders are forced to fill cap tables with investors who are useless at best and destructive at worst.
  • VT aims to change that, by putting the best operator-angels into the best companies.

“VT is one of the best decisions I made. The process was quick and straightforward much like their value. You have a wealth of knowledge from different sectors at your fingertips, whether it's fundraising, go to market, branding, sales, product and a really solid support system of other entrepreneurs further along the journey than you that you can learn from.”Insiya Jafferjee, CEO and founder of Shellworks

Who are the VT community?

See members here, who comprise 160+ of Europe’s leading tech entrepreneurs and operators

"Raising with VT is the single easiest and most time-efficient way to bring onboard operational and high-quality angels.”Yi Luo, founder and CEO of Eunice

Why you should consider investment from VT?

  • As founders ourselves - we know that the best founders also want investment from their peers, namely other founders and experienced operators who can help them navigate their journey.
  • Knowing the right people saves you time, money and stress, plus increases your probability of success.
  • Good angel investors often add very different value to VCs and therefore act as a complement. Within reason, the more experience and networks you can tap into via the breadth of your investors, the better you will do.

Receiving investment from likeminded cofounders and practitioners is a massive value-add not just because of the network, but the diversity of ideas and practical advice from those who are engaged in the daily running of a startup. This is a nice balance to more traditional funds or investors who are often 5+ years out of action and therefore out of date with most of the practical day-to-day challenges founders face. Husayn Kassai, founder of Onfido and Quench

What companies does VT back?

We back founders who are:

  • Using technology to tackle a big, growing market with potential for significant scale (have a chance at a 100x outcome)
  • Raising pre-seed or seed rounds (we don’t look at Series A+)
  • Operating in any sector/geography
  • People we feel we can help in a meaningful way - advising, making connections and supporting both practically and emotionally!
  • We look for relentlessly resourceful founders. The primary thing we look for is founders who have demonstrated previously that they are exceptional.

"You can tell they're all ex-operators & founders, because when you ask for help they move with the purpose, force & speed of one.”Saket Kumar, founder and CEO of Vitt

How do I send an opportunity to VT?

  • If it’s your company, please use this form to tell us a bit more about what you’re working on and and someone from our team will reach out.
    • If you happen to know any of our members, it’s really useful to let us know. If members can recommend you, it’s much easier for us to make a case to proceed.
  • If it’s someone else’s company, please send a deck through to startups@venturestogether.com.

It was incredible getting those 34 VT investors on board in under 2 weeks. We now have a pool of amazing founders and operators we can ask for advice (and I do it all the time). It was also great for diversity - 56% of our VT investors are from underrepresented groups, which is super important to us.” Kate Pljaskovova, founder and CEO of FairHQ

Why don’t you do a call with founders to see if there’s a fit?

Honestly, we dearly love to chat to amazing entrepreneurs… but, we see ~50 new opportunities a week. If we did a call with everyone we’d not have time to run VT, or help any of the companies we have invested in. It would also probably waste your time too, if it’s not the right moment.

So, if we’re asking Qs in a direct way, it’s usually trying to help save you time too!

We try, our very best, to be as transparent as possible and interact as and when relevant but can’t always give feedback.

Have a look at ‘at what point does VT invest’ for more info.

"The VT process was one of the smoothest investment processes I have been part of (much smoother than most VCs). They are quick, thoughtful, easy to work with and super smart. The VT crew that ultimately invested has a wealth of knowledge across many different areas, from recruitment to sales to compliance (again more than most VCs). In a short period of time, they have helped us with sales & talent introductions, and are helpful in many other areas as well. I would take investment from VT in a heartbeat!” - Amon Ghaiumy, founder of Ophelos

How does VT decide what to invest in?

How it works:

  1. The VT team reviews a new opportunity and analyses it based on a number of key factors
  2. Where there is interest, we will share it with a 2-3 VT community members who have relevant experience, or know the startup. We ask them to make a decision about whether or not they want to find out more (the VT team itself doesn’t make the decisions)
  3. If there is interest, VT will put the startup in touch with the relevant member of the VT community who is the main person to interact with and persuade!
  4. We tend to invest towards the end of a funding round, when terms are set. As such, we might need to wait for the right moment (to make the most of the VT community).

If VT decides not to invest:

  • This doesn’t necessarily mean we don’t like you, or what you’re building. There are many factors that play into our decision. For example:
    • Do we have anyone who knows enough to make a qualified judgement? Do they have time in the next week or two? If not, we might just not know enough to be able to help
    • Have we already invested in something similar?
    • Are we simply too overwhelmed with other opportunities?
    • What themes are the VT community keen to see
  • We LOVE it when a company that we can’t invest in does well. Please don’t take a lack of response, or a decision not to invest personally/or as a signal you’re not building something amazing.

"VT is pretty unique - land a lot of great angels but only one name on the cap table. Quite the dream. And I've had handy intro's to potential hires from the VT'ers that invested. Big thumbs up”. - James Mishreki, Founder and CEO of Life Supplies

At what point in your fundraise does VT invest?

We tend to come in towards the end of a round, but we can sometimes help with advice or introductions beforehand

  • We love to hear from you as early as possible in your process, as we can often help with intros
  • However, because we’re a (relatively) small cheque size (£50-150k), we usually run an opportunity when you’ve set terms (e.g. have a term sheet signed), this:
    • Means you don’t get distracted - finding a lead or investors who write large enough cheques to fill out the bulk of your round is usually your most important job when fundraising!
    • Ensures a better result in terms of VT member commitments (our members are busy operators too, so we can’t diligence as deeply)
    • Prevents changing terms during a round requiring us to run the whole process again, with all of our members (a big pain for you, and for us)
  • Nonetheless, we like to hear about your round early because:
    • We have an amazing network of investors in the wider ecosystem we can sometimes help companies find a good lead if you haven’t got one - but usually only if you are highly recommended by one of our members.
    • We enable our members to receive S/EIS benefits, so if we can get tax benefits, it increases the likelihood we will proceed, so it’s good to try to keep some back if you can

“The process with VT was super easy. You get a chance to get a group of really smart people backing you who can all help support your company with advice and their networks. The VT cheque was really what allowed our round to get so much momentum due to the introductions VT made.”

Ash Staines, founder and CEO of Volunteero

How does the investment process work?

We aim to make commitments as quickly and easily as a single angel working solo, but for the same money you get many experienced people supporting you. We don’t set terms, or take board seats.

  1. We normally ‘run’ 2 companies a week between a Thursday and Monday evening - meaning we discuss them as a community and give the members a chance to invest
  2. Each company usually has someone from the VT team or community who champions the opportunity and acts as an interface between the founders and the VT community, so you only have to deal with 1 person
  3. Once we’ve decided to proceed, VT will send you a short form (~5 mins to fill), to collect key details (the latest deck, the terms of the round and other company info) and ask you to reserve the allocation for us whilst we run the process
  4. We use this to prepare a ‘memo’, which is a 1-2 page document (no need to do anything yourself)
  5. We ask founders to do a 5-10 min video - either an interview with the a community or team member, or just a self-recorded video. This is because we like to invest in people, not in decks! Here’s some info about the video:
  6. Founder Video
  7. We share the opportunity with our community on a Thursday and give our members till Monday to review. Sometimes questions that come up will be relayed back to you over those days
  8. Each member has the option to invest (a minimum of £1k each, with no max), or to pass. So if you receive £50k, it might comprise 20 members writing smaller cheques. We can’t guarantee how much you’ll get, it depends on how the VT members feel about the company
  9. We usually let you know by Tuesday morning what’s happened
  10. Here’s how we close the process

“VT has been an incredible partner to us at Stitch. Their investment process is simple and fast, and gives you access to a network of operators who can support all aspects of company building, which as a first time founder has been invaluable. They were instrumental in supporting our subsequent Seed round, both through advice on funding strategy, and warm introductions to top tier VCs. They're also lovely people, so it's been a joy working with them!” -Mike Sterling, founder and COO of Stitch Health

How do you close the process?

  1. If we run the process, we will usually let you know the outcome on Tuesday morning
  2. If we reach the minimum (usually ~£20k), we will email you to let you know who the VT community members are that invested and the total amount we’re requesting, as well as feedback collected
  3. Once agreed, we’ll introduce you to your VT members that invested
  4. Depending on where you are at with closing your round, we will then initiate the process with you for signing documents and collecting funds. We are a single entity on your cap table and make one transfer of funds. Please follow the instructions in the email carefully, to ensure we can make the process as smooth as possible for you
  5. How VT is structured
  6. The docs we’ll ask you to sign
  7. If we don’t reach a minimum threshold (~£20k) we tend not to invest. In this case, you will be given feedback that was collected from the members who responded
  8. While you will have direct access to all members who invest in your deal, we wrap all their cheques into a structure so you only need to treat us as one investor (one signature to sign docs etc).
  9. VT Community Ltd is an appointed representative of Aldgate Advisors Limited which is authorised and regulated by the Financial Conduct Authority. We have all KYC docs prepared ready to close deals quickly once we decide to invest.

"It's great to have the Ventures Together group onboard. The decision making process their side was slick and efficient, the investment structure is really simple, and most importantly the value of having so many experienced operators engaged and involved as investors is extremely high.” Matt Ford, Founder and CEO of Sidekick

Founder Quotes

Some more quotes from founders we’ve backed:

"Getting investment from VT is a dream scenario. Many established founder angels, super quick decision in 5 days, one name on cap table and a seamless process! In addition to the cash investment, you get great founders with relevant experience supporting you and the business. It has been a foundational element in our raise, many of the investors were very supportive. I would highly recommend VT.” - Baris Ozaydinli, CEO and founder of Scooch

VT is great because in a world where (sadly) intros seem to matter, I have Tom, Rob plus 18 fantastically networked angels from a range of sectors and backgrounds to help me get in front of the world's best investors. They're a responsive, honest and no BS group of operators who have hugely helped me in raising The Lowdown's seed round.” - Alice Pelton, CEO and founder of The Lowdown

"Working with VT is a blessing. They are fast, friendly, professional and everyone involved is impressive and gives relevant, actionable advice and have made loads of amazing intros. A great partner for ambitious startups.” - Daniel Koss, founder and CEO of Creable

"VT has already been super useful. Getting advice and recommendations on routes to take in our business from former founders who are also our investors gives us lots of confidence in what we should be doing. We have already learned so much from the conversations we have made and no doubt their intros are going to be even more helpful in the days ahead.” - Varun Bhanot, CEO and founder of Magic.fit

VT has been one of our most helpful and hands on investors to date - that's not to say they meddle, but that they're supportive and (literally) the first to respond to every request we make to our investor base even if that's to say they can't help this time round. As we've gone through our most recent round of investment, VT has been there to support more than any other single investor. Not just with cash, but to help us through the roller coaster that fundraising can be with helpful advice, introductions and feedback to help us close the round” - Andy Aitken, founder and CEO of Honest Mobile

Ventures Together brought a huge diversity of founders to my round, enabling me with a raft of people to turn to for every situation. The VT community is made up of folks who have seen and done it before, the perfect addition to VC's who might not be able to draw from personal experience. The process for founders is a huge time save and turbocharges your round with subsequent introductions that ensure you get talked about in all the right circles.” - Chris Butcher founder and CEO of Cheq

Our Partners 2024-2025

We’re proud to announce the following partners for Ventures Together in 2023-24. These are firms recommended by members, who offer value-add services:

There is no compulsion to use or interact with the partners, but we might recommend them to you when you have a specific need they can help with. They are also on hand if you/we need them - we are entirely focused on symbiotic value add!

For VT exclusive offers and if you’d like an intro, please complete this quick form and we’ll do the rest!

⭐️ Our  partners ⭐️

  • People + Talent: Amplified PeopleAmplified is a multi-brand People Services group that supports technology companies across People, Talent & HR.Our Offers:
    • Free office hours with one of our Chief People Officers
    • 10% off any services from our Brands (Foundation Partners, Unleashed, JBM + more to come)
  • Personal Wealth: LGT VestraLGT is a family owned, multinational private bank with a leading practice in founder entrepreneurs and business owners. Marrying comprehensive strategic planning with market-leading investment performance, LGT occupies the highest echelons of modern wealth management.Our Offers:
    • Free consultation on pensions and investments over £250k
  • Legal: Wilson SonsiniWilson Sonsoni are an international law firm offering seed legals for free if you use them through Series A!! They specialise in helping companies in the UK and US and provide: 1) Investor outreach / fundraising strategy; 2) Term sheet negotiation; as well as 3) Long form documentation; diligence responses (i.e., the traditional “legals”).Offers:
    • For UK-led Seed rounds -  WS will provide Stage 1 at no charge and handle Stage 2 on the following basis:  deferred payment for Seed-stage term sheet negotiation until completion of the company’s Series A, and waive payment if they are lead counsel for the Series A.
    • For US-led rounds (including US VCs with UK/EU offices) and UK-led Series A and later rounds - WS will provide Stages 1 and 2 at no charge, and handle Stage 3 on a discounted and/or deferred payment basis.
  • Banking for startups & Scale-ups: HSBC Innovation Banking (FKA SVB)
    • HSBC Innovation Banking (formerly known as SVB) offers benefits to early-stage companies that few others do: a dedicated Relationship Manager; experts in FX and Treasury management; opportunities for venture debt and other unique lending offerings; support for international and US expansion.
    • Remember, it’s well worth developing a relationship with a bank so you have them on hand when things go wrong (which they will) - and many startups have fallen foul relying on challenger banks when there’s a problem!
    • Offer: Direct introduction to their priority coverage team.
  • Company Accounting: Haysmac
    • The friendly face of audit, tax and financial expertise, HaysMac brings personality, positivity,dynamism and proven-market knowledge to help clients unlock opportunities and tacklechallenges head on. With a vast range of specialists, bringing comprehensive knowledge oftheir chosen market to the table, HaysMac is perfectly positioned to help clients at every stepthrough their journey.
    • HaysMac is an award-winning, top 10 London firm of chartered accountants and tax advisorswith over 500 partners and staff providing advice to entrepreneurs, fast-growing and owner-managed businesses and listed entities, as well as charitable and not-for-profit organisations,across the UK and internationally.
    • Chartered accountants and tax advisors, including ESOP, R&D tax credits and basically making sure the financials of your business are tidy - especially as you’re preparing to close.We always recommend this is worth doing well, and early!
    • Offer: A free 1hr call - which includes time with a tax expert on an area of their choice – on share schemes, R&D, corp tax, employment tax or VAT or a mix of these. Feel free to ask some pressing questions under no obligation.
  • Treasury Management : Round
    • Round simplifies treasury management, offering high yields (up to 4.80%) with 1-2 day liquidity, increased FSCS protection, multibanking and payments - all through one platform.
    • They’re offering a 90-day 0.15% AER boost on your Treasury account when you deposit £500k or more, and they’ll build an 18-month liquidity and working capital management plan for you.
  • Interim CTO/tech leadership: Rational PartnersRational Partners is a technology and product leadership consultancy. We help businesses with sensible, rational technology and product leadership. We focus on three main areas, Operational, Insights and Advisory.
    • Operational - Fractional and Interim leadership for all stages of growth and scaling. Not having leadership in your technology and product organisation can demoralise the team and generate technical debt, bad decisions, flawed processes, and more. Rational Partners can take over teams on an interim basis, giving your business the freedom and flexibility to work out who should be the next leader while simultaneously solving architecture, process and team challenges.
    • Insights - Understanding a team's performance, technology challenges, and opportunities is key, particularly during capital raising or acquisitions. Rational Partners works with VC, PE, and businesses looking to sell or raise to complete in-depth due diligence and auditing, reducing risk and giving teams clear direction for the future.
    • Advisory - From coaching new role technical and product leaders to giving a founding CEO perspective on how to manage their technical team, Rational Partners can provide unbiased advice and guidance from experienced leaders with decades of experience in the industry, allowing you to level up your leadership without having to suffer the pitfall
  • Executive Assistance + Delegation Coaching : AthenaAthena provides Founders, Executives, and Entrepreneurs with elite worldc
    • lass tech-enabled dedicated Executive Assistants so they can win at work, at life and everywhere in between.Their assistants are highly educated, trained, and deployed with top-tier technology and enabled to leverage AI, the world’s largest internal EA network, and Athena delegation resources to increase efficiencies and productivity so our clients can focus on what really matters. Whether you're a novice or a pro, Athena's delegation system helps you level up.VT Offer:
      • $1,500 off membership fees
      • 1:1 membership delegation coaching session
      • Access to Delegation Mastermind Groups
      • Access to monthly Delegation Master Class
  • M&A and Fundraising Advisory: : GrowthPointWith over two decades of experience as a Silicon Valley investment bank, GrowthPoint Technology Partners provides M&A, capital raising, and financial advisory services to technology companies worldwide. Having completed hundreds of transactions, we recognise that securing the best deal—not just any deal—is what truly matters. As former CEOs, founders, inventors, venture capitalists, and advisers, we bring a wealth of strategic and financial expertise to help our clients succeed.Our Offers:
    • Free in-depth valuation consultation
    • Free market analysis and company-specific reports
    • Free pre-process preparation consultations with experienced bankers
    • Invitation to GrowthPoint sponsored events
  • Finance hires:  Zanda
    • Zanda offer specialist recruitment for startup finance roles (Seed – Series D) and are experts at establishing how your finance function fits into your strategy. They specialise in CFO and Finance Leader searches, as well as offering Interim and Fractional CFO Placements tailored to your evolving needs. They have a 100% track record of delivery on searches and offer a market-leading 6 month guarantee period.
    • Offer: the VT community benefits from a 25% discount on (already market-leading) Fractional CFO day rates and 25% discount on standard permanent search terms.
  • Personal Accounting: Bishop Fleming
    • Cater for all of your personal accounting, audit, tax, and advisory needs. Peter Ball is our POC and knows a lot about what it means to be a founder or angel investor - and represents VT and many of our community members.
    • Offer: A free call with Peter Ball to cover your tax and accounting questions, including how best to plan your tax position and understanding any upcoming changes in legislation.
  • Fibre network for businesses: Vorboss
    • Vorboss provides dedicated enterprise fibre from 10Gbps to 100 Gbps with simple, transparent pricing. It’s way better and more reliable than BT!
    • Offer: Get their 10G dedicated line for £350 per month (instead of £650). For businesses under 20 people and below £10m turnover.
    • All VT members get all connection fees waived on any product.

What is Ventures Together (VT)?

  1. VT is a curated community of 150+ of Europe’s leading tech entrepreneurs and operators who angel invest and help companies together. We’re responsible for building some of the biggest startups like Wise, Klarna, Beamery, Onfido, Citymapper, Huma, Monzo and Deliveroo. There are few mistakes we haven't made, lessons we haven't learned and people we don't know!
  2. As founders ourselves, we know how painful it is to fundraise.  We built VT to help the best founders get investment quickly and easily from the best operators in the ecosystem - without having to pitch to them, and get investment (or not) from each separately. We aim to make commitments to your company from our whole network as quickly and simply as a single angel working solo. We don’t set terms, or take board seats.
  3. Our aim is to be the maximum impact investors on your cap table per $/£/€ received (our usual cheque size is ~£50-150k, so we don’t take lots of room). We know the best founders want thoughtful, experienced people backing them - those who know what it’s like to build standout companies - but also want a quick, easy fundraising process and a clean cap table (we invest as a single entity).
  4. We launched quietly in 2021, and have already invested together into 250+ promising early stage technology companies, bringing our collective network, knowledge and experience to help them succeed.

VT has provided us with unique access to influential and strategic business operators. I am amazed at the pace, efficiency and feedback provided to us by the VT community” - Anna Brailsford, founder and CEO of Code First Girls

Why does Europe need VT?

"There probably aren't more than a couple hundred serious angels in the whole of Silicon Valley, and yet they're probably the single most important ingredient in making the Valley what it is. Angels are the limiting reagent in startup formation." - Paul Graham, Founder of YC

  • Unlike Silicon Valley, the pool of active angel investors in Europe who have real, first hand experience building startups is small. The lack of maturity amongst private investors and their unwillingness to take early risk has been a significant barrier to European growth.
  • This is a problem because early stage founders are forced to fill cap tables with investors who are useless at best and destructive at worst.
  • VT aims to change that, by putting the best operator-angels into the best companies.

“VT is one of the best decisions I made. The process was quick and straightforward much like their value. You have a wealth of knowledge from different sectors at your fingertips, whether it's fundraising, go to market, branding, sales, product and a really solid support system of other entrepreneurs further along the journey than you that you can learn from.”Insiya Jafferjee, CEO and founder of Shellworks

Who are the VT community?

See members here, who comprise 160+ of Europe’s leading tech entrepreneurs and operators

"Raising with VT is the single easiest and most time-efficient way to bring onboard operational and high-quality angels.”Yi Luo, founder and CEO of Eunice

Why you should consider investment from VT?

  • As founders ourselves - we know that the best founders also want investment from their peers, namely other founders and experienced operators who can help them navigate their journey.
  • Knowing the right people saves you time, money and stress, plus increases your probability of success.
  • Good angel investors often add very different value to VCs and therefore act as a complement. Within reason, the more experience and networks you can tap into via the breadth of your investors, the better you will do.

Receiving investment from likeminded cofounders and practitioners is a massive value-add not just because of the network, but the diversity of ideas and practical advice from those who are engaged in the daily running of a startup. This is a nice balance to more traditional funds or investors who are often 5+ years out of action and therefore out of date with most of the practical day-to-day challenges founders face. Husayn Kassai, founder of Onfido and Quench

What companies does VT back?

We back founders who are:

  • Using technology to tackle a big, growing market with potential for significant scale (have a chance at a 100x outcome)
  • Raising pre-seed or seed rounds (we don’t look at Series A+)
  • Operating in any sector/geography
  • People we feel we can help in a meaningful way - advising, making connections and supporting both practically and emotionally!
  • We look for relentlessly resourceful founders. The primary thing we look for is founders who have demonstrated previously that they are exceptional.

"You can tell they're all ex-operators & founders, because when you ask for help they move with the purpose, force & speed of one.”Saket Kumar, founder and CEO of Vitt

How do I send an opportunity to VT?

  • If it’s your company, please use this form to tell us a bit more about what you’re working on and and someone from our team will reach out.
    • If you happen to know any of our members, it’s really useful to let us know. If members can recommend you, it’s much easier for us to make a case to proceed.
  • If it’s someone else’s company, please send a deck through to startups@venturestogether.com.

It was incredible getting those 34 VT investors on board in under 2 weeks. We now have a pool of amazing founders and operators we can ask for advice (and I do it all the time). It was also great for diversity - 56% of our VT investors are from underrepresented groups, which is super important to us.” Kate Pljaskovova, founder and CEO of FairHQ

Why don’t you do a call with founders to see if there’s a fit?

Honestly, we dearly love to chat to amazing entrepreneurs… but, we see ~50 new opportunities a week. If we did a call with everyone we’d not have time to run VT, or help any of the companies we have invested in. It would also probably waste your time too, if it’s not the right moment.

So, if we’re asking Qs in a direct way, it’s usually trying to help save you time too!

We try, our very best, to be as transparent as possible and interact as and when relevant but can’t always give feedback.

Have a look at ‘at what point does VT invest’ for more info.

"The VT process was one of the smoothest investment processes I have been part of (much smoother than most VCs). They are quick, thoughtful, easy to work with and super smart. The VT crew that ultimately invested has a wealth of knowledge across many different areas, from recruitment to sales to compliance (again more than most VCs). In a short period of time, they have helped us with sales & talent introductions, and are helpful in many other areas as well. I would take investment from VT in a heartbeat!” - Amon Ghaiumy, founder of Ophelos

How does VT decide what to invest in?

How it works:

  1. The VT team reviews a new opportunity and analyses it based on a number of key factors
  2. Where there is interest, we will share it with a 2-3 VT community members who have relevant experience, or know the startup. We ask them to make a decision about whether or not they want to find out more (the VT team itself doesn’t make the decisions)
  3. If there is interest, VT will put the startup in touch with the relevant member of the VT community who is the main person to interact with and persuade!
  4. We tend to invest towards the end of a funding round, when terms are set. As such, we might need to wait for the right moment (to make the most of the VT community).

If VT decides not to invest:

  • This doesn’t necessarily mean we don’t like you, or what you’re building. There are many factors that play into our decision. For example:
    • Do we have anyone who knows enough to make a qualified judgement? Do they have time in the next week or two? If not, we might just not know enough to be able to help
    • Have we already invested in something similar?
    • Are we simply too overwhelmed with other opportunities?
    • What themes are the VT community keen to see
  • We LOVE it when a company that we can’t invest in does well. Please don’t take a lack of response, or a decision not to invest personally/or as a signal you’re not building something amazing.

"VT is pretty unique - land a lot of great angels but only one name on the cap table. Quite the dream. And I've had handy intro's to potential hires from the VT'ers that invested. Big thumbs up”. - James Mishreki, Founder and CEO of Life Supplies

At what point in your fundraise does VT invest?

We tend to come in towards the end of a round, but we can sometimes help with advice or introductions beforehand

  • We love to hear from you as early as possible in your process, as we can often help with intros
  • However, because we’re a (relatively) small cheque size (£50-150k), we usually run an opportunity when you’ve set terms (e.g. have a term sheet signed), this:
    • Means you don’t get distracted - finding a lead or investors who write large enough cheques to fill out the bulk of your round is usually your most important job when fundraising!
    • Ensures a better result in terms of VT member commitments (our members are busy operators too, so we can’t diligence as deeply)
    • Prevents changing terms during a round requiring us to run the whole process again, with all of our members (a big pain for you, and for us)
  • Nonetheless, we like to hear about your round early because:
    • We have an amazing network of investors in the wider ecosystem we can sometimes help companies find a good lead if you haven’t got one - but usually only if you are highly recommended by one of our members.
    • We enable our members to receive S/EIS benefits, so if we can get tax benefits, it increases the likelihood we will proceed, so it’s good to try to keep some back if you can

“The process with VT was super easy. You get a chance to get a group of really smart people backing you who can all help support your company with advice and their networks. The VT cheque was really what allowed our round to get so much momentum due to the introductions VT made.”

Ash Staines, founder and CEO of Volunteero

How does the investment process work?

We aim to make commitments as quickly and easily as a single angel working solo, but for the same money you get many experienced people supporting you. We don’t set terms, or take board seats.

  1. We normally ‘run’ 2 companies a week between a Thursday and Monday evening - meaning we discuss them as a community and give the members a chance to invest
  2. Each company usually has someone from the VT team or community who champions the opportunity and acts as an interface between the founders and the VT community, so you only have to deal with 1 person
  3. Once we’ve decided to proceed, VT will send you a short form (~5 mins to fill), to collect key details (the latest deck, the terms of the round and other company info) and ask you to reserve the allocation for us whilst we run the process
  4. We use this to prepare a ‘memo’, which is a 1-2 page document (no need to do anything yourself)
  5. We ask founders to do a 5-10 min video - either an interview with the a community or team member, or just a self-recorded video. This is because we like to invest in people, not in decks! Here’s some info about the video:
  6. Founder Video
  7. We share the opportunity with our community on a Thursday and give our members till Monday to review. Sometimes questions that come up will be relayed back to you over those days
  8. Each member has the option to invest (a minimum of £1k each, with no max), or to pass. So if you receive £50k, it might comprise 20 members writing smaller cheques. We can’t guarantee how much you’ll get, it depends on how the VT members feel about the company
  9. We usually let you know by Tuesday morning what’s happened
  10. Here’s how we close the process

“VT has been an incredible partner to us at Stitch. Their investment process is simple and fast, and gives you access to a network of operators who can support all aspects of company building, which as a first time founder has been invaluable. They were instrumental in supporting our subsequent Seed round, both through advice on funding strategy, and warm introductions to top tier VCs. They're also lovely people, so it's been a joy working with them!” -Mike Sterling, founder and COO of Stitch Health

How do you close the process?

  1. If we run the process, we will usually let you know the outcome on Tuesday morning
  2. If we reach the minimum (usually ~£20k), we will email you to let you know who the VT community members are that invested and the total amount we’re requesting, as well as feedback collected
  3. Once agreed, we’ll introduce you to your VT members that invested
  4. Depending on where you are at with closing your round, we will then initiate the process with you for signing documents and collecting funds. We are a single entity on your cap table and make one transfer of funds. Please follow the instructions in the email carefully, to ensure we can make the process as smooth as possible for you
  5. How VT is structured
  6. The docs we’ll ask you to sign
  7. If we don’t reach a minimum threshold (~£20k) we tend not to invest. In this case, you will be given feedback that was collected from the members who responded
  8. While you will have direct access to all members who invest in your deal, we wrap all their cheques into a structure so you only need to treat us as one investor (one signature to sign docs etc).
  9. VT Community Ltd is an appointed representative of Aldgate Advisors Limited which is authorised and regulated by the Financial Conduct Authority. We have all KYC docs prepared ready to close deals quickly once we decide to invest.

"It's great to have the Ventures Together group onboard. The decision making process their side was slick and efficient, the investment structure is really simple, and most importantly the value of having so many experienced operators engaged and involved as investors is extremely high.” Matt Ford, Founder and CEO of Sidekick

Founder Quotes

Some more quotes from founders we’ve backed:

"Getting investment from VT is a dream scenario. Many established founder angels, super quick decision in 5 days, one name on cap table and a seamless process! In addition to the cash investment, you get great founders with relevant experience supporting you and the business. It has been a foundational element in our raise, many of the investors were very supportive. I would highly recommend VT.” - Baris Ozaydinli, CEO and founder of Scooch

VT is great because in a world where (sadly) intros seem to matter, I have Tom, Rob plus 18 fantastically networked angels from a range of sectors and backgrounds to help me get in front of the world's best investors. They're a responsive, honest and no BS group of operators who have hugely helped me in raising The Lowdown's seed round.” - Alice Pelton, CEO and founder of The Lowdown

"Working with VT is a blessing. They are fast, friendly, professional and everyone involved is impressive and gives relevant, actionable advice and have made loads of amazing intros. A great partner for ambitious startups.” - Daniel Koss, founder and CEO of Creable

"VT has already been super useful. Getting advice and recommendations on routes to take in our business from former founders who are also our investors gives us lots of confidence in what we should be doing. We have already learned so much from the conversations we have made and no doubt their intros are going to be even more helpful in the days ahead.” - Varun Bhanot, CEO and founder of Magic.fit

VT has been one of our most helpful and hands on investors to date - that's not to say they meddle, but that they're supportive and (literally) the first to respond to every request we make to our investor base even if that's to say they can't help this time round. As we've gone through our most recent round of investment, VT has been there to support more than any other single investor. Not just with cash, but to help us through the roller coaster that fundraising can be with helpful advice, introductions and feedback to help us close the round” - Andy Aitken, founder and CEO of Honest Mobile

Ventures Together brought a huge diversity of founders to my round, enabling me with a raft of people to turn to for every situation. The VT community is made up of folks who have seen and done it before, the perfect addition to VC's who might not be able to draw from personal experience. The process for founders is a huge time save and turbocharges your round with subsequent introductions that ensure you get talked about in all the right circles.” - Chris Butcher founder and CEO of Cheq

Our Partners 2024-2025

We’re proud to announce the following partners for Ventures Together in 2023-24. These are firms recommended by members, who offer value-add services:

There is no compulsion to use or interact with the partners, but we might recommend them to you when you have a specific need they can help with. They are also on hand if you/we need them - we are entirely focused on symbiotic value add!

For VT exclusive offers and if you’d like an intro, please complete this quick form and we’ll do the rest!

⭐️ Our  partners ⭐️

  • People + Talent: Amplified PeopleAmplified is a multi-brand People Services group that supports technology companies across People, Talent & HR.Our Offers:
    • Free office hours with one of our Chief People Officers
    • 10% off any services from our Brands (Foundation Partners, Unleashed, JBM + more to come)
  • Personal Wealth: LGT VestraLGT is a family owned, multinational private bank with a leading practice in founder entrepreneurs and business owners. Marrying comprehensive strategic planning with market-leading investment performance, LGT occupies the highest echelons of modern wealth management.Our Offers:
    • Free consultation on pensions and investments over £250k
  • Legal: Wilson SonsiniWilson Sonsoni are an international law firm offering seed legals for free if you use them through Series A!! They specialise in helping companies in the UK and US and provide: 1) Investor outreach / fundraising strategy; 2) Term sheet negotiation; as well as 3) Long form documentation; diligence responses (i.e., the traditional “legals”).Offers:
    • For UK-led Seed rounds -  WS will provide Stage 1 at no charge and handle Stage 2 on the following basis:  deferred payment for Seed-stage term sheet negotiation until completion of the company’s Series A, and waive payment if they are lead counsel for the Series A.
    • For US-led rounds (including US VCs with UK/EU offices) and UK-led Series A and later rounds - WS will provide Stages 1 and 2 at no charge, and handle Stage 3 on a discounted and/or deferred payment basis.
  • Banking for startups & Scale-ups: HSBC Innovation Banking (FKA SVB)
    • HSBC Innovation Banking (formerly known as SVB) offers benefits to early-stage companies that few others do: a dedicated Relationship Manager; experts in FX and Treasury management; opportunities for venture debt and other unique lending offerings; support for international and US expansion.
    • Remember, it’s well worth developing a relationship with a bank so you have them on hand when things go wrong (which they will) - and many startups have fallen foul relying on challenger banks when there’s a problem!
    • Offer: Direct introduction to their priority coverage team.
  • Company Accounting: Haysmac
    • The friendly face of audit, tax and financial expertise, HaysMac brings personality, positivity,dynamism and proven-market knowledge to help clients unlock opportunities and tacklechallenges head on. With a vast range of specialists, bringing comprehensive knowledge oftheir chosen market to the table, HaysMac is perfectly positioned to help clients at every stepthrough their journey.
    • HaysMac is an award-winning, top 10 London firm of chartered accountants and tax advisorswith over 500 partners and staff providing advice to entrepreneurs, fast-growing and owner-managed businesses and listed entities, as well as charitable and not-for-profit organisations,across the UK and internationally.
    • Chartered accountants and tax advisors, including ESOP, R&D tax credits and basically making sure the financials of your business are tidy - especially as you’re preparing to close.We always recommend this is worth doing well, and early!
    • Offer: A free 1hr call - which includes time with a tax expert on an area of their choice – on share schemes, R&D, corp tax, employment tax or VAT or a mix of these. Feel free to ask some pressing questions under no obligation.
  • Treasury Management : Round
    • Round simplifies treasury management, offering high yields (up to 4.80%) with 1-2 day liquidity, increased FSCS protection, multibanking and payments - all through one platform.
    • They’re offering a 90-day 0.15% AER boost on your Treasury account when you deposit £500k or more, and they’ll build an 18-month liquidity and working capital management plan for you.
  • Interim CTO/tech leadership: Rational PartnersRational Partners is a technology and product leadership consultancy. We help businesses with sensible, rational technology and product leadership. We focus on three main areas, Operational, Insights and Advisory.
    • Operational - Fractional and Interim leadership for all stages of growth and scaling. Not having leadership in your technology and product organisation can demoralise the team and generate technical debt, bad decisions, flawed processes, and more. Rational Partners can take over teams on an interim basis, giving your business the freedom and flexibility to work out who should be the next leader while simultaneously solving architecture, process and team challenges.
    • Insights - Understanding a team's performance, technology challenges, and opportunities is key, particularly during capital raising or acquisitions. Rational Partners works with VC, PE, and businesses looking to sell or raise to complete in-depth due diligence and auditing, reducing risk and giving teams clear direction for the future.
    • Advisory - From coaching new role technical and product leaders to giving a founding CEO perspective on how to manage their technical team, Rational Partners can provide unbiased advice and guidance from experienced leaders with decades of experience in the industry, allowing you to level up your leadership without having to suffer the pitfall
  • Executive Assistance + Delegation Coaching : AthenaAthena provides Founders, Executives, and Entrepreneurs with elite worldc
    • lass tech-enabled dedicated Executive Assistants so they can win at work, at life and everywhere in between.Their assistants are highly educated, trained, and deployed with top-tier technology and enabled to leverage AI, the world’s largest internal EA network, and Athena delegation resources to increase efficiencies and productivity so our clients can focus on what really matters. Whether you're a novice or a pro, Athena's delegation system helps you level up.VT Offer:
      • $1,500 off membership fees
      • 1:1 membership delegation coaching session
      • Access to Delegation Mastermind Groups
      • Access to monthly Delegation Master Class
  • M&A and Fundraising Advisory: : GrowthPointWith over two decades of experience as a Silicon Valley investment bank, GrowthPoint Technology Partners provides M&A, capital raising, and financial advisory services to technology companies worldwide. Having completed hundreds of transactions, we recognise that securing the best deal—not just any deal—is what truly matters. As former CEOs, founders, inventors, venture capitalists, and advisers, we bring a wealth of strategic and financial expertise to help our clients succeed.Our Offers:
    • Free in-depth valuation consultation
    • Free market analysis and company-specific reports
    • Free pre-process preparation consultations with experienced bankers
    • Invitation to GrowthPoint sponsored events
  • Finance hires:  Zanda
    • Zanda offer specialist recruitment for startup finance roles (Seed – Series D) and are experts at establishing how your finance function fits into your strategy. They specialise in CFO and Finance Leader searches, as well as offering Interim and Fractional CFO Placements tailored to your evolving needs. They have a 100% track record of delivery on searches and offer a market-leading 6 month guarantee period.
    • Offer: the VT community benefits from a 25% discount on (already market-leading) Fractional CFO day rates and 25% discount on standard permanent search terms.
  • Personal Accounting: Bishop Fleming
    • Cater for all of your personal accounting, audit, tax, and advisory needs. Peter Ball is our POC and knows a lot about what it means to be a founder or angel investor - and represents VT and many of our community members.
    • Offer: A free call with Peter Ball to cover your tax and accounting questions, including how best to plan your tax position and understanding any upcoming changes in legislation.
  • Fibre network for businesses: Vorboss
    • Vorboss provides dedicated enterprise fibre from 10Gbps to 100 Gbps with simple, transparent pricing. It’s way better and more reliable than BT!
    • Offer: Get their 10G dedicated line for £350 per month (instead of £650). For businesses under 20 people and below £10m turnover.
    • All VT members get all connection fees waived on any product.