Walking Ventures

A seed fund run by someone who knows how hard start-ups are

Walking Ventures is a London seed fund that describes itself as led by an entrepreneur and as entrepreneurial venture capital. It invests in internet and mobile start-ups with big ambitions and strong teams, covering the funds, syndicates and family interests of its founder, and it says it is usually the first professional money in. Its site lists more than forty companies as live at the time of its statistics, many of them software-as-a-service businesses with distributed teams.

What it looks for

The site lists four criteria: the quality of the team, traction to date, how large the target market is and the entry barriers a company can put up. The fund favours large markets and teams that can build defensible positions. Its sweet spot is a round of around a million pounds or euros, where it aims to lead by taking about half and brings in co-investors who add value, although it says it can go lower.

Working style

The fund describes its way of working as personal rather than run by committee, and as thinking like a start-up itself. It aims to lead rounds, take board seats and act as a helpful minority investor, and the founder is also the person who sits in on board meetings and offers advice, connections and the shared learning of other founders. The statistics page counts board meetings attended and annual walks in the park, a light-hearted measure of how involved the fund is.

The investment process

The process is meant to be quick. Walking Ventures says it seeks only the minimum information it needs to reach the next stage, uses simple term sheets and investment documents, and carries out due diligence as a team. It also keeps its involvement focused on a specific range of activities where it can help, rather than offering a general service.

Background

The founder has been an active early-stage investor since 2000 and has acted as adviser and non-executive director to private companies. The pages say he previously ran a European technology venture fund at a large American private equity firm, founded an online auction company that listed in London and on Nasdaq, and wrote about technology for newspapers. Entrepreneurs the fund has backed describe their relationship with it on the site.

Walking Ventures is a London-based seed investor that covers the funds, syndicates and family interests of Tim Jackson. It is led by an entrepreneur and backs internet and mobile start-ups with ambitious founders.

What Walking Ventures does

• Seed investment: it aims to lead rounds, often taking about half, and to bring in co-investors who add value.
• Board involvement: it takes board seats and acts as a helpful minority investor.
• Founder support: connections, advice and shared learning from other founders.
• Quick process: it asks only for the information it needs, uses simple term sheets and does due diligence as a team.

Who it serves

The firm looks at the team, the traction achieved so far, the size of the market and the barriers a company can build. It favours large markets and teams who can build defensible positions.

Key facts

• Based in: London, UK
• Focus: internet and mobile companies at seed stage
• Style: personal decision-making rather than a committee