Houghton Street Ventures | April 2022 Newsletter
Hello,
The Houghton Street Ventures newsletter is back with a bang! We’ve been busy working away for the last few months and have some exciting news to share. Strap yourselves in…
What's happening at Houghton Street Ventures:
Launch of Fund 1
We are inches away from the launch of Houghton Street Ventures Fund 1. We’re working with fund administration platform, Vauban, enabling more investors to participate in the fund with a new minimum ticket of £25,000. We continue to work closely with the LSE Entrepreneurship community and have built up a fantastic pipeline of exciting early-stage companies from Fintech to Healthtech. We’re excited to start deploying capital and welcoming the companies into the portfolio. If you’d like to hear more about the launch of Fund 1, please do get in touch.
Launch of Co-Invest Platform
In February, we launched the Houghton Street Ventures co-invest platform to enable the LSE community to invest alongside us in the exciting opportunities that we’re pursuing for the fund. We have since closed a later-stage deal in an exciting UK fintech - more details to be announced shortly! For anyone interested in finding out more about the co-invest platform and how you can get involved, sign up here or respond directly to this email.
New Member of the Team
In April, we welcomed our first hire to the Houghton Street Ventures team. Whilst not an LSE alumni, he is a Houghton. David Houghton joins us as an Associate, previously at Climate-KIC the European Union’s climate venture fund and Seedrs. He brings a wealth of knowledge and experience across sustainability and healthcare and will be supporting us with all aspects of the new fund.
New Office
We have a new home! Through our partnership with the LSE, we’re now very kindly being hosted by the Marshall Institute, who sit on the top floor of the new Marshall Building at LSE - with our very own roof terrace! Expect drinks receptions and BBQs overlooking Lincoln’s Inn Fields throughout the summer. Check out the view:
What's happening within LSE alumni-founded ventures?
Exciting Fundraises
Moove - African vehicle financing - $105m Series A from Left Lane Capital, Speedinvest
Previse - UK payments fintech - $10.4m Series A from Tencent
Capchase - Revenue-based financing - $80m Series B from 01 Advisors, QED Investors
Ellevest - female-focused investing platform - $53m Series B from Contour, Khosla Ventures
Roofstock - Real-estate investment fintech - $240m Series E from Softbank, Lightspeed
Acquisitions
Ro has acquired LSE alumni sperm technology startup, Dadi, in a $100m deal - link here
Klara, virtual healthcare platform, was acquired by Modernizing Medicine in a $200m transaction - link here
In The News
Karat, the leading tech interviewing platform and Serena Williams partner up to double the number of black software engineers in US tech - link here
Fertility Mapper, featured in The Telegraph’s exposé of the fertility industry, promoting the platform for creating greater transparency in fertility options for aspiring families - link here
Three LSE ventures have recently graduated from Y Combinator W22 and raised from top investors: Mono, Bipi and Flike
Companies We’re Excited About
We continue to support the LSE entrepreneur community with much vigour. A few recent companies to highlight are Dines, the operating system for the hospitality industry; The Joy Club, the online community for retirees; Nira, the consumer finance platform for lower-middle class India; Kravata, crypto-as-a-service infrastructure solutions for businesses; CompanyHero, the platform for forming and protecting businesses in LATAM.
What's happening at LSE?
LSE Generate Accelerator Launch
LSE Generate, the school’s entrepreneurship centre, has just launched the 3rd cohort of the Generate Accelerator Programme (GAP) with 10 fantastic early-stage companies, each addressing UN sustainable development goals. From APAC mental health platforms, through to European edtech, LATAM fintech and German oat-milk manufacturers, we’re excited to see the cohort develop over the next 12 weeks.
Marshall Institute
The Marshall Institute has hired Leslie Labruto, former Head of Investment at Acumen, to lead on the new Marshall Impact Accelerator. The Accelerator strives to be the ‘YC of Impact’ and marks the next step in the Marshall Institute’s objective of improving the impact and effectiveness of private action for public good - link here .
LSE Secures £175m in Funding
LSE has secured a funding package of £175m for green and social projects at the school, including the development of the new Firoz Lalji Global Hub. The funding will be used to drive LSE’s Sustainability Strategic Plan to maintain carbon neutrality and more. LSE’s Director Minouche Shafik said: “Securing this funding is a historic moment for LSE and a milestone on our journey to achieve our ambition to be the leading social science institution with the greatest global impact.”
To conclude, the team will be travelling a fair bit over the next couple of months, we'd love to catch-up if our paths cross:
New York - 13 - 20th May
Amsterdam - 7 - 9th June for Money 20/20
Berlin - 13 - 16th June for SuperVenture
Best,
Adam, Veronika, Hannah & David
The Houghton Street Ventures Team