Investor Profile: Fuel Ventures — Thesis, Cheque Size & How to Apply

Introduction

Fuel Ventures is a London based early stage investor backing technology companies from pre-seed to Series A. It was founded by entrepreneur Mark Pearson, now founder and managing partner, following the sale of MyVoucherCode. Since inception, its funds have deployed more than 280 million pounds across more than 230 early stage UK companies.

Thesis

The Fuel Ventures thesis is that the UK can build global technology businesses, and that founders benefit most from investors who have built companies themselves. The firm describes itself as built by entrepreneurs for entrepreneurs, and its fund structure keeps supporting winners beyond the first cheque through dedicated follow on vehicles.

Sectors and stages

Fuel Ventures invests at pre-seed, seed and Series A, with a focus on Vertical AI, AI enabled software, FinTech 2.0, business to business and business to business to consumer models, hardware, consumer technology, and biotech and patents. Its funds generally lead or co-lead the rounds they invest in, and they look for globally scalable, technology driven businesses.

Fund size and cheque size

Rather than a single headline fund, Fuel Ventures operates a range of tax efficient vehicles. Its pre-seed SEIS Fund invests up to 250,000 pounds per company, typically in 30 to 45 deals a year. Its Scale-up EIS Fund invests 1 million to 3 million pounds in revenue generating businesses, in 10 to 15 companies per tranche. Its Follow-On EIS Fund invests 500,000 to 2 million pounds in seed to Series A companies, and its VCT Fund invests 250,000 to 1 million pounds. A single aggregate fund size is not publicly disclosed, as the vehicles raise in tranches.

Notable portfolio

Portfolio companies named in recent reporting on the firm include Volt, the payments company, ContentCal, the social media planning tool acquired by Adobe for 110 million pounds, and Capdesk, the equity management platform acquired by Carta for 88 million dollars. Other names in its funds include Paddle, Cult Mia, Fundpath and HowNow.

Partners and team

Fuel Ventures is led by founder and managing partner Mark Pearson, based at 22 Bishopsgate in London, with Shiv Patel among its partners. The firm's pitch rests on operator experience: a team that has built, scaled and sold technology businesses, not only financed them.

Programs, credits and perks

Fuel Ventures does not run a public accelerator programme, and no startup credits or perks bundle is advertised on its founders page. Its structured support comes through the fund range itself: the SEIS Fund for pre-seed, the Scale-up EIS Fund for scale ups, and the Follow-On EIS Fund for the strongest performers. That follow on capacity is the key perk for founders.

How to apply for funding from Fuel Ventures

Founders can pitch directly through the firm's official founders page at fuel.ventures, which invites early stage technology companies seeking pre-seed, seed or Series A funding to pitch to the team. Applicants should state which vehicle fits: pre-seed companies should target the SEIS Fund, revenue generating businesses the Scale-up EIS Fund.