2024 marks 30 years of the EIS, so we are shining the spotlight on success stories of businesses that have grown using the Enterprise Investment Scheme (EIS) or the Seed Enterprise Investment Scheme (SEIS).
These stories demonstrate why it is so important for us to celebrate and support the schemes so they can continue to boost the UK start up ecosystem.
“[EIS] allowed us to offer investors a massive incentive and de-risking of investing in us”, says LEVRA founders
We spoke with the founders Bartek Ogonowski and Emily Gill, who used the Enterprise Investment Scheme to grow LEVRA, a learning platform that coaches Human Skills.
How important has SEIS/EIS funding been to your startup?
“Vital to our startup.”
“It allowed us to offer investors a massive incentive and de-risking of investing in us.”
“We all know that the odds are against us as startup founders in terms of success rates, so assistance from such a brilliant scheme certainly helped with the first fundraise!”
How much did you raise and from who?
“£410k. Our lead investor was a VC, we have 2 family offices and about 20 angel investors on the LEVRA cap table.“
What has SEIS/EIS investment enabled you to do?
“It has allowed us to accelerate our growth by raising funds that were absolutely necessary at the time.”
“We had bootstrapped the company for the first 8/9 months, and once we had enough interest and research from customers, the funding we secured allowed us to build a team and enter into the correct technology partnerships.”
“Most importantly, it enabled us to secure our first customer! (And many more after that).”
How are you changing the world?
“At LEVRA, we’re revolutionising the future by equipping young adults with essential Human Skills, often overlooked yet crucial for success in the modern workplace.”
“We’re fostering genuine human connections and enhancing positive workplace interactions. By doing so, we’re not just improving careers — we’re restoring humanity, one skill at a time.”
Want to discover more EIS and SEIS success stories like this one?
You can read more stories of how businesses have grown using the schemes here. If you are a founder and would like to share your EIS success story, please contact us here.