QUICK FACTS
Boost Fund 1 is the UK’s first automated high-volume equity fund for high-growth startup businesses
Using Capital Pilot’s leading Investability Rating System to automatically select companies, the fund has now invested £2.5m into 50 startup businesses across the UK
At the halfway point, Boost Fund 1 has backed a diverse portfolio of entrepreneurs with industry-leading representation from traditionally underrepresented groups
Tuesday, 27 September 2022 - Capital Pilot is delighted to announce that Boost Fund 1, the first automated, high-volume fund for UK-based startups, has now reached its halfway milestone by completing the first 50 investments out of the £5m fund in just three months.
The fund has now deployed £2.5m of capital into 50 UK-based high-growth startups, backing a diverse range of entrepreneurs, of which 50% are female founders, 30% are founders from an ethnic minority background, and an impressive 40% of the businesses in the fund are based outside of London, in line with Capital Pilot’s mission to provide ‘equal access to capital for everyone, everywhere.’
The sector-agnostic fund launched in June 2022 and uses Capital Pilot’s pioneering Investability Rating System to select investment opportunities automatically. Boost Fund 1 remains on track to complete 100 investments within six months, making it the leading UK startup investment fund by volume.
Richard Blakesley, Founder & CEO of Capital Pilot, commented: “From the outset, we were confident that by removing human bias in the investment selection process, the Boost Fund would build a more diverse portfolio of startup founders. It’s hugely encouraging to see that at just the halfway point, the fund already has a considerably higher representation of female founders, ethnic minority entrepreneurs, and businesses based outside the capital than the industry average.”
Jo Living, Co-Founder and COO of Aura Fertility, added: “From my perspective, the alarmingly low levels of VC investment flowing to female entrepreneurs illustrates the enormous challenge women and underrepresented founders are faced with when raising funds - from unconscious bias to old boys' networks.
Refreshingly, due to Capital Pilot’s thorough Investability Rating System and the investment process of Boost Fund 1, funding is allocated purely on the strength of the investment opportunity with Aura, which gives me a huge amount of confidence as I grow my business and attract future investment.”
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For all media enquiries, please contact:
Tom Sutton: 14:46 Consulting tsutton@1446.co.uk
For further information on Capital Pilot and Boost Fund 1, please contact:
Richard Blakesley: rb@capitalpilot.com | capitalpilot.com
Disclosures
Capital Pilot is the Investability Rating Agency for startups and scaleups. It combines human insight, proven analytics and sophisticated algorithms to produce comprehensive assessments of the attractiveness of a startup or scaleup to potential investors. Its proprietary rating system provides objective insights into fundraising and scaling potential.
Capital Pilot’s aim is to help founders identify and fix flaws in their investor proposition early, to maximise their chances of funding success.
Capital Pilot is a trading name of Capnova Limited which is registered in England with company number 12177695, to provide non-regulated services.
The Boost Fund is a fast, data-driven investment vehicle that backs startups with real potential. It is not open to outside investors. Funded by high-net-worth investors, it will make fixed £50,000 investments in 100 startups in just 6 months. Applications for the Boost Fund are through the Capital Pilot Investability Rating. If a startup’s rating is high enough, it qualifies automatically for funding subject to satisfactory online due diligence checks.
Boost Fund 1 L.P. is an unregulated Non-Mainstream Pooled Investment (NMPI) which is registered in Jersey with registration number RN154575. Capital Pilot Advisory, a trading name of Sturgeon Ventures LLP (FRN: 452811), which is authorised and regulated by the Financial Conduct Authority, is the Investment Adviser to the Fund
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