Members

Founder + Lightning is a pioneering Venture Studio and Fund, that invests in Founders to build and grow their businesses.

We invest in B2B companies that have the potential to use tech to radically increase their value. We use our decade-long skillset and resources to help them realise that potential, by co-building technology solutions.

Our headquarters are in London, but we have teams in India, Poland and all across the world. We are proud of our 130+ team, 6 investments and 30 portfolio companies that have a combined value of £150m+, multiple of which are now at Series A.

Too many tech companies in the UK fail, and frustratingly it’s often for the same reasons over and over. If we’re to live in the kind of society we all want to live in, we need more founders to succeed– that is what drives the Founder + Lightning model.

Green Angel Ventures is responsible for pioneering early stage investment in the fight against climate change.  It founded the first angel syndicate specialising in climate change investments (all eligible for EIS) and has gone on to create the first EIS Climate Change Fund.  Its success is leading to venture fund management.  The specialist sectors are, in particular, Energy, Food & Agriculture, Water, Waste & Recycling, Construction & Buildings, Road Transport and Natural Resources.  A portfolio of 41 investee companies without a single failure is a result of the depth of specialist knowledge. Syndicate Membership now stands at 340 investors, of whom many are and have been notable in climate change related sectors.  The EIS Fund is supported by an additional £10 million from the Government’s Regional Angels Programme.  The EIS Fund is currently open for investment.  The Fund’s mandate is to invest in every deal completed by the Syndicate, thus benefiting from the Syndicate’s deal selection, due diligence and deal management.  Green Angel Ventures welcomes all those interested in both EIS and Climate Change, the combination of which means your investments will make your money work twice – for the planet and for your profit.

Growthdeck is a multi-channel investment platform that provides direct access to new and more established UK businesses, primarily to Sophisticated and High Net Worth Investors, with minimum single investment units of £1,000.

Its focus is on long-term business viability: companies must have strong management, realistic business plans and operate in growth sectors. The majority of its investment opportunities are eligible for tax reliefs under the Enterprise Investment Scheme (EIS) or Seed Enterprise Investment Scheme (SEIS).

Unlike many platforms, Growthdeck provides service levels similar to more traditional private equity and venture capital firms, including professional due diligence, extensive investee business support and higher levels of customer service. This is provided by an experienced investment team with decades of combined experience in private equity (with the likes of 3i, Mitsui, and Hotbed).

Growthdeck also has a dedicated panel of experts from various industries/sectors, known as the ‘Growthdeck Panel’. All panel members have many years of experience in building and managing successful businesses and they help Growthdeck provide the best level of service to its investors and fundraising businesses

Guinness Ventures is the sister company to Guinness Global Investors (both from the Guinness Asset Management stable) and was founded in 2010.

Trusted by investors to grow their capital, our award-winning investment management team are experts at sourcing opportunities in growth-stage companies and helping them unlock their significant potential

Being truly invested in the success of the businesses we back, our impact goes beyond the financial investment as we use our resources and network to provide the companies that we invest in with the help that they need to grow.

We look for exciting and interesting businesses that we believe have potential for growth across a wide range of sectors including technology, education, healthcare, manufacturing, retail, leisure and food & drink.

Since inception, Guinness Ventures has invested £300 million into more than 180 EIS qualifying companies including some of the fastest growing growth companies in the UK.