Today marks a special milestone for us – Love Ventures turns four years old.

It’s hard to believe how much has changed since we launched. Do you remember what the world looked like four years ago? It was a time of profound change and upheaval. Lockdowns, face masks, Zoom calls, and social distancing became the norm. The world was in turmoil, and economies were in flux as we all navigated a once-in-a-generation crisis.

As the saying goes, ‘never let a good crisis go to waste’. We’ve seen how some of the most successful companies were born in times of adversity – according to Sapphire Partners, half of all Fortune 500 companies were created in a crisis – and we saw an opportunity to build something special during the challenges that arose in 2020.

As we reflect on our journey, we celebrate the milestones we’ve reached, extend our heartfelt thanks to those who’ve supported us along the way, and look forward to what the next four years and beyond may bring.

The Origins of Love Ventures

While Love Ventures is officially four years old today, the idea behind it has been in our minds for much longer.

After years spent building our careers in technology, finance, and property, we recognised an opportunity. In the early part of the last decade, as the UK’s startup ecosystem began to flourish, we found ourselves asking, “What if…?”

Driven by our passion for technology and entrepreneurship, we started angel investing together in 2015. It was an exciting time – new founders were unlocking the potential of the UK as a startup powerhouse, and we were eager to be part of that journey.

Some of our early investments were in now-household names such as Revolut, Chip, Crowdcube, Black Sheep Coffee, and Vita Mojo. Our maturing angel investment portfolio began to validate our theories on how financial services and consumer businesses are evolving and it was during this time that we began to shape a thesis for a different kind of venture capital firm.

Inspired by investment models emerging in the US, we formalised our approach. We developed a syndicate for friends and our network – people who wanted to gain exposure to the UK’s best startups but weren’t sure where to begin.

As demand for the syndicate grew, we knew it was time to take the next step.

Then, the world shut down. COVID-19 disrupted nearly every aspect of life in 2020, leaving many startup founders and venture capital investors wondering when, or if, things would return to normal.

However, the shift to remote work and changes in how people spent their time and money began to create new opportunities. Founders were forced to innovate and adapt, while technology was stretched to meet the demands of a ‘new normal’.

While many expected startups to falter under the pressure of the pandemic, the reality was quite different. We saw first-hand the resilience of the UK’s startup ecosystem. It was amidst this global crisis that we realised that if we were ever going to take the next step in professionalising our investing journey, the time was now.

And so, Love Ventures was born.

We set out on a mission: to fuel the growth of UK technology startups while bringing investors along on a unique investment journey.

 

The Last Four Years

In 2020, we closed our first fund, focusing on FinTech, the Future of Work, and ConsumerTech – sectors where we could offer hands-on expertise to our portfolio founders. These areas also aligned with some of the most exciting innovations within the UK’s startup economy. From the outset, we established high-calibre investment and advisory committees made up of top operators and exited entrepreneurs from the likes of Skyscanner, Google, The Instant Group, and PayPal.

 

 

Fund I had 54 investors and completed eight investments into companies such as Aprao, Banked, Just Move In, and Tymit. These companies were creating innovative solutions in areas such as account-to-account payments and the next generation of credit cards by instalment.

The following year, in 2021, we successfully closed Fund II and were honoured to be recognised as the Best EIS New Entrant at the Growth Investor Awards. Our team grew to five, and we moved into our first office.

 

 

Fund II had 100 investors and completed fourteen investments into companies such as Connect Earth, Detected, Kato, Solo, Tembo, and Wayhome. We moved away from some of the previous B2C business models and shifted our focus to B2B or B2B2C and backed founders who are solving today’s problems of home affordability with solutions such as gradual homeownership or intergenerational wealth transfer. We also continued to seek out founders who are making today’s work more capital-efficient in areas such as compliance and property leasing.

By 2023, we had successfully closed Fund III, bringing our assets under management (AUM) to over £14 million. Our investor community grew to nearly 200 individuals, and our portfolio expanded to over 20 companies.

Fund III had 84 investors and completed fourteen investments into companies such as Fifth Dimension AI, givestar, HomeCooks, Kaizan, Konfir, Mintago, Mojo and Wondering. We believe AI is as game-changing as the advent of the computer or the smartphone and many of our portfolio companies are uniquely positioned to capitalise on these new technologies. We like sector-specific verticalised AI and this continues to be a key focus area of ours today.

 

 

Looking Ahead

We are consistently impressed by the strength and willingness of the community that supports us.

From our fellow VCs with whom we share friendly games of padel, to the hundreds of investors who trust us with their capital, and the exceptional teams behind the businesses we’ve invested in — each of you has played a role in making the past four years truly special.

 

 

At Love Ventures, we’re fortunate to have a world-class team of investment and investor relations professionals who share our ambition. We’re also incredibly grateful for the support of our investment committee, consisting of exited founders and industry leaders who provide an exceptional level of guidance to our founders and investors.

In many ways, we’re more excited today about what we’re building than we were when we started. Seeing portfolio companies begin to mature towards exits is a uniquely humbling experience. Watching our community of investors grow, and become more diverse with each fund’s close reinforces the sense that we’re building something truly special.

While we’re still early in the story of Love Ventures, our ambitions remain unchanged. We want to continue to help nurture UK technology startups across FinTech, Future of Work and ConsumerTech and ensure that as many investors as possible can share in the success of the UK’s unique startup ecosystem.

To each and every one of you who has contributed to the first four years of Love Ventures’ journey: thank you.

 

 

Adrian and Marcus Love