The Capital Pilot team was recently in Manchester for the launch of the £5m Boost Fund for startups: an entrepreneurial support model set to transform startup funding as an asset class, improving open access to capital through data-driven decision making.
Capital Pilot, the investability rating agency for startups and scaleups, uses its rating system to help select investees for the Boost Fund.
The £5m Boost Fund aims to invest in 100 UK startups in six months
Funded by a high net worth investor, the Boost Fund will use Capital Pilot’s independent and bias-free Investability Rating to make rapid investments in eligible companies.
This data-driven approach to funding will enable up to 100 high potential startups to receive £50k within weeks of application. By rapidly reducing the time and friction costs of investment, the Boost Fund is paving the way for more institutional money to access this exciting asset class with its distinctive returns profile. That means more great businesses get the cash they need to grow, potentially transforming the whole economy.
A warm welcome from Manchester’s vibrant startup community
Working in partnership with the Manchester Growth Company, the Capital Pilot team hosted startup founders, VCs, accelerators and service providers from the North West’s busy startup scene.
CEO Richard Blakesley’s presentation referred to the statistics that in the UK, 80% of funding goes to startups based in the South East, only 10% goes to female-founded businesses, and only 15% goes to ethnic-minority founded companies. These issues are exactly why we founded Capital Pilot.
The impact of Assessment-based investing will transform the startup funding industry
Big institutions can’t invest in early-stage VC for many reasons: the market is too small, they can’t invest at scale, there isn’t enough data to dynamically value their investments, and there is no liquidity mechanism for buying and selling.
Fixing the data issue solves the scale and liquidity issues. It eliminates human bottlenecks and enables good companies to get funded fast - regardless of geographic location or the connections of the founding team to sources of capital.
This is where Capital Pilot and the Boost Fund can help. Our rating system replaces subjective investor judgements with actual data. We rapidly assess businesses and efficiently select the strongest while supporting the less strong. We’ve been doing it for years, and it works.
Powered by Capital Pilot's Investability Ratings to support investment decisions
The Boost Fund aims to benefit hundreds of startups at a time. The model gives institutional investors what they need to invest in early-stage companies at scale. That changes the economy - redistributing wealth.
If you are a startup or scale-up in the UK, applying for Boost Fund investment is quick and easy. Apply for an Investability Rating (cost: £150), and if your rating is high enough, you qualify automatically for funding. That's it - visit boostfund.uk for more details.