How it works
What is pre-seed funding?
Our pre-seed team invests at the earliest possible stage of a business, even before a product or service has been developed. The typical investment amount at this stage is £100k.
If you’re a founder coming to us at this stage, you may think you just have an idea – but if it’s a potentially world-changing one, we want to hear about it. If we like your pitch, we’ll set up a call. We usually make our final decision within 10 days of that first chat.
Intro call
Send us your pitch – if we think we’re a fit for your business, we’ll set up an intro call. This first chat (around 30 minutes) includes a general introduction to your team, the problem you’re tackling and the solution you’re proposing.
Go to market meeting
At this second meeting (about 45 minutes) you’ll present detailed go to market information, deep dive, a live product demo and introduce us to any other co-founders.
Due diligence
We’ll carry out our internal co-investor and pilot partner/customer due diligence, to give us a third-party view on your startup value proposition. We’ll also go through our know your customer and anti-money laundering processes with you.
The offer
If we decide we’re the right fit for you, we’ll finalise terms and present our offer. We’ll review and sign legal documents on each side, then wire funds, ready to hit your bank account within 10 working days.
Onboarding
Welcome to Octopus Ventures! We’ll invite you to an onboarding session (around 30–45 minutes), where we’ll tell you all about the excellent resources and support available to you as you start your journey with us.
About seed funding, Series A and beyond
Seed funding, Series A and up are the next stages of early funding after pre-seed. The companies we back at these stages are further along in their development than at the pre-seed stage, and our investments typically start at £1 million.
If we like your idea, you should hear back from us within 21 days of submitting your pitch. After our first chat, we aim to make our final decision within four weeks. Note that the steps below can differ slightly at the later investment stages.
Intro call
Send us your pitch – if we think we’re a fit for your business, we’ll set up an intro call. This first chat (around 30 minutes) includes a general introduction to your team, the problem you’re tackling and the solution you’re proposing.
Discovery meeting
We’ll invite you to meet with three to four members of the investment team from your sector in a 60-minute discovery meeting. This is your chance to tell your business’s story and ask any questions you have about working with us.
We’ll come to you
We’ll visit your offices for a couple of hours to meet with more of your team and dig a little deeper into a few specific question areas. This could be your product roadmap, sales collateral and pipeline, hiring plans, or position in the market.
Partnership meeting
You’ll meet more members of our investment team in a 90-minute partnership meeting. This is a chance for you to present to us, and for us to discuss why Octopus Ventures could be the right partner for you and your business. (Note that the partnership meeting isn’t always necessary at the later investment stages.)
The offer
We’ll hold our Investment Committee within 48 hours of the partnership meeting and make our final decision. If we’re investing in your company, we’ll present you with a termsheet. (If not, we’ll explain why not and provide detailed feedback.)
Onboarding
Welcome to Octopus Ventures! We’ll invite you to an onboarding session (around 30–45 minutes), where we’ll tell you all about the excellent resources and support available to you as you start your journey with us.
Submit your pitch
Ready to tell us why we should invest in you? Send us your pitch.