Participated · Equity · Aug 2018

AllBright is a global collective of all-female members' clubs, special event programming and a digital network that connects professional women. Its offerings include physical clubs (the first club and a Mayfair club spanning five floors and 12,000 sq ft with an 80-seat restaurant, two roof terraces and dedicated coaching space), event programming, the AllBright Magazine and the AllBright Connect app. Co-founded by Anna Jones and Debbie Wosskow, the company counts founder members such as Naomie Harris, Olivia Wilde, Martha Lane-Fox and Kanya King. AllBright raised £13m in the latest round, bringing total funding to date to £25m and valuing the company at £100m. The company intends to use the proceeds to expand operations, open its first international club (The AllBright West Hollywood) on Melrose Place in September 2019, and to roll out further international sites. Funds will also support growth of AllBright’s digital community and its programming and content initiatives. Founded in 2016 by Debbie Wosskow OBE and Anna Jones, AllBright operates a members' club, a digital Academy, and a fund to support female entrepreneurs. The Academy uses a digital, cohort-driven curriculum, a faculty of experts, and diverse course offerings to help female founders and aspiring founders build and grow businesses. The fund promotes promising female entrepreneurs in Britain and connects them with a community of angels and investors. The AllBright members' club, opened in March 2018, provides an environment for women to connect, create, and collaborate. The company raised £9m in funding to support its expansion plans. It is launching a second UK club in early 2019 and plans to open a third club in Los Angeles in 2019. AllBright was launched in November 2016 by Debbie Wosskow OBE and Anna Jones to provide tailored training, space and funding for female founders and executives. It operates the AllBright Academy, a digital and in-person educational platform for women wishing to start or scale businesses. The organisation has backed six female-led businesses since launch, including Chiaro and Piccolo. AllBright also runs events such as the FoundHER Festival, which featured over 80 speakers and 1,000 attendees across London and Manchester. It has appointed Erica Allen as Chief Operating Officer. The recent Series A financing will support expansion into providing physical workspace for female founders and scaling its platform, events and funding activities.

Participated · Series A · Mar 2018

Tech Will Save Us provides a play-led home learning system that pairs a digital platform (interactive manuals, projects and coding challenges) with physical product experiences such as the Electro Dough Kit and the Arcade Coder. The company has launched a subscription service to support lifetime learning and to integrate its products with ongoing online content. It has collaborated with partners including Google, Code Club, The Prince’s Trust, the BBC on the micro:bit, and Disney to produce a Marvel Avengers STEAM toy. Tech Will Save Us reports customers across 97 countries and says it has helped 1.2 million kids build and create with technology. Founded in 2012 by Bethany Koby and Daniel Hirschmann and based in London, the company shifted focus to digital sales prior to the COVID-19 pandemic. Management plans to accelerate home learning clubs as parents increasingly seek ways to inspire learning at home. Tech Will Save Us develops educational, accessible 'hackable' toys and DIY technology kits that enable young children and parents to creatively engage with technology. Founded in 2012 by Bethany Koby and Daniel Hirschmann and based in London, its products have been sold in over 87 countries and are carried by retailers including Nordstrom, Best Buy and John Lewis. The company has secured partnerships such as a superhero-themed electronic building kit with Marvel and a coding kit with the BBC. In November 2018 it raised an additional £1.6m as a Series A extension, bringing the total Series A to £5.3m. The extension was led by Brighteye Ventures, and Alex Spiro, Managing Partner of BEV Advisors, will join the Tech Will Save Us board. The company said it will use the funds to accelerate development of its DIY gadgets and to expand into new global territories. Tech Will Save Us develops ‘hackable’ toys and kits that combine digital and physical play to teach children STEM, electronics and programming. Its product range includes electronic dough, programmable wearables and build-your-own game consoles across multiple price points and age groups. The company sells direct online and through retailers including Amazon, John Lewis, Best Buy and Target, and says it has reached customers in over 97 countries. It has launched a multi-year, multi-product partnership with Disney, beginning with a Marvel Avengers-themed kit that embeds electronics learning into mission-based play. The new capital will be used to expand the product range and continue the company’s mission to encourage kids to create with technology rather than be passive consumers. The company was founded by Bethany Koby and Daniel Hirschmann and is based in London. Technology Will Save Us (TWSU) produces do-it-yourself gadget kits, activities and online resources that combine hardware and software making into accessible products. Its kits are priced from £15 and the company has shifted over 50,000 units to date. TWSU designed the BBC micro:bit, a pocket-sized tech tool slated to be given to 1 million 11-year-olds in February 2015, and sells through mainstream retail partners. Retail relationships include John Lewis, Urban Outfitters, The Conran Shop and the MoMA Design Store in New York, which the company plans to build on. The business presents an ecosystem approach—open-source-friendly kits plus community hacking and customization—that the founders say complements rather than undermines sales. Advisors and mentors include Tracy Dorée, Matt Webb, Stuart Marks and Sherry Coutu CBE.

Participated · Equity · Feb 2018

We Got POP is a London-based filmtech startup that provides a platform to streamline workflows between production, crew, casting agents and background artists in film, TV and advertising. Launched in 2014 by CEO Kate McLaughlin, the company’s technology aims to make the production process more efficient, transparent and secure for booking, management and pay. The platform is designed to enable optimal workflow and coordination among production teams, casting agents and background artists. We Got POP raised £2m in funding to continue to develop the platform, grow operations and expand its business reach in the USA. The company intends to use the funds to accelerate product development and expand operations into the US market.

Participated · Equity · Jul 2017

Sparrho operates a discovery platform that aggregates over 60 million open-access papers, patents, and publications and applies AI to help users sort and find relevant research. The product targets both members of the public and enterprise users seeking clearer access to scientific work that is often gated by costly journal subscriptions. Sparrho reports one million users on its platform, reflecting consumer and professional demand for direct access to scientific thinking. The company positions itself as reducing barriers created by subscription paywalls and enabling researchers to communicate beyond siloed disciplines. CEO Dr Vivian Chan highlights public appetite for science driven by profession, personal interest, or medical conditions, and notes enterprises are using the platform to showcase and monitor their research landscape. Financially, Sparrho has recently raised $3 million to support its mission.

Participated · Equity · Mar 2017

Elvie develops consumer-focused women’s health products designed to replace outdated medical devices with sleek, home-friendly alternatives. Its product lineup includes the Elvie Trainer app-connected Kegel trainer, the Elvie Pump silent wearable breast pump, and breastfeeding accessories Elvie Catch and Elvie Curve. The company was founded in 2013 by Tania Boler and is headquartered in London. Elvie aims to revolutionise categories such as breast pumps and pelvic-floor health by combining engineering, design, and consumer UX. Financially, Elvie has completed multiple fundraises, bringing total funding to $136 million to date from backers that include BlackRock, Octopus Ventures, and the Business Growth Fund. The most recent capital is intended to enhance women’s well-being and support the company’s product and category expansion. Elvie is a British femtech company that designs consumer health products for women, including the Elvie Pump and app-connected Elvie Trainer. The company has four products on market—Elvie Trainer, Elvie Pump, Elvie Catch and Elvie Curve—and has commercialized two breakthrough, patented and FDA-approved devices. Since launching Elvie Pump in 2018 the business experienced rapid growth, growing 6x in 2019, almost doubling in 2020 and on track to double again in 2021, while launching 10 new markets across Europe and Asia and gaining the No.1 position for Elvie Pump in the US and UK. Elvie plans to expand its product portfolio into other key life stages to become a global platform for women’s health. The Series C proceeds will be used to fund product innovation, geographic expansion and to strengthen operations and infrastructure for the next phase of growth. Elvie is a six-year-old, London-based femtech hardware company known for an app-connected Kegel trainer and a silent wearable breast pump. Its Kegel trainer provides five-minute workouts with real-time biofeedback, while the pump monitors milk volume in real time, tracks pumping history per breast and can be operated remotely. The pump launched in September and had a waitlist of thousands of women. Elvie's long-term plan is to develop products supporting women at every stage of life — prenatal, menopausal and otherwise — and to become a one-stop shop for women's health. Financially, the company has raised nearly $50 million to date and announced a $42 million Series B as its third private financing. The new capital will be used for R&D on upcoming products and to build brand awareness and distribution across the U.S., Canada, Europe and Asia. Launched in 2013, Elvie develops consumer technology focused on women’s health, notably a pelvic floor exercise tracker paired with a mobile app. Its tracker is distributed through major retailers and e-tailers including Amazon, John Lewis, Goop and Violet Grey. The company already operates in 59 countries and generated $1 million in direct sales revenue in 2016. Elvie plans to use new funding to expand into 25 additional countries across the Americas, Europe and Asia-Pacific. It also intends to launch a second device aimed specifically at new mothers before the end of 2017. The business has previously raised seed funding and received government grants to support development and growth.