Episode 1 Ventures is a London venture capital firm obsessed with one journey: the 0-to-1. Founded in 2013 by partners Simon Murdoch (Managing Partner), Damien Lane and Adrian Lloyd — entrepreneurs who helped build companies including Betfair, LoveFilm and Shazam — the firm's stated mission is getting pre-seed and seed B2B software companies to a successful Series A.
Thesis and stage
Episode 1 invests in UK-based software-driven businesses, with particular interest in how emerging deep tech is disrupting industry and how technology is reinventing markets. Current areas of focus include AI, TechBio, open-source, software infrastructure, healthtech and marketplaces. The firm calls itself "company builders" and makes decisions quickly while engaging for the long term. Its headline stat: 73% of portfolio companies go on to raise a Series A.
Fund size and cheque
The firm has raised £170m in total funds and backed 65+ companies. Its first £37.5m Enterprise Capital Fund blended public money with private backing from entrepreneurs including Zoopla founder Alex Chesterman. It typically invests £250k to £3m per company as the first institutional investor, and in 2024 closed an €88.8m fund dedicated to early-stage B2B innovators.
Notable portfolio
Episode 1's best-known investments include Carwow, Zoopla and CloudNC, alongside Omnipresent, Attest, Raft, TouchSurgery (Touch Surgery), Robin AI, Fatmap and Huboo. Zoopla and Shazam feature among the team's earlier company-building history and portfolio wins.
How to pitch
Founders can submit a pitch deck directly through the firm's website — a straightforward "submit your deck" route, with no warm introduction required. The ideal company is a UK software-led startup with its first satisfied customers and a product in market, however early, and ambition to disrupt a large market.
Fund structure and initiatives
Episode 1's first £37.5m fund was structured as one of the UK government's Enterprise Capital Funds, blending public money with private backing from entrepreneurs including Zoopla founder Alex Chesterman and Shutl founder Tom Allason — a design that kept the firm anchored to genuine early-stage risk. In 2020 the firm also partnered with Crowdcube to run a joint search for UK B2B software and deep-tech startups, combining venture investment of £250k to £3m with equity crowdfunding.
Why it matters for founders
If you are building B2B software in the UK and targeting a Series A in the next 12-24 months, Episode 1 is built exactly for that stretch: a 73% Series A conversion rate, partners who have operated at scale themselves, and cheques up to £3m as a first institutional investor. The deck-submission route means you don't need a warm intro — but you do need early customer signal.