Independent rating of Episode 1 VC fund
Overall rating:
4.7
(19)
About Episode 1 VC fund
Website:
Founded:
2013
Number of funds:
2
Number of investments:
83
Number of exits:
7
Headquarters:
Organization type:
Venture Capital
How Episode 1 VC fund invests
Rounds:
Average ticket size:
4.8M USD
Biggest investment:
23.3M USD
Would lead round:
Yes
Would coinvest:
Yes
Countries where invested:
Sectors of interest:
Software, Machine Learning, Supply Chain Management, Logistics, E-Commerce, Artificial Intelligence, Transportation, Shipping, Security, SaaS, Risk Management, Procurement, Network Security, Marketplace, Mapping Services, Legal Tech, Legal, Identity Management, Financial Services, FinTech, Delivery, Data Integration, Cyber Security, Contact Management, Business Intelligence, Big Data, Analytics
Founders' reviews of Episode 1 VC fund
Older than a year by non-portfolio founder
Round: Seed
Reputation to Spare
Caring, ready to put his name out there to defend you and support you.
Older than a year by portfolio founder
Round: Series A
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Approaching Full Optimization
Team of absolute legends with operational experience.
Older than a year by non-portfolio founder
Round: Pre-Seed
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Bullseye
Very on point
Older than a year by non-portfolio founder
Round: Pre-Seed
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Fine Interaction
Got contacted by the founder on LinkedIn asking to email a deck. Sent over the deck, and received a reply in about a week. Good, reasonable feedback on why they chose not to invest.
Older than a year by portfolio founder
Round: Seed
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Yes Please
Professional and efficient during the fundraising and due diligence processes. Now a genuinely helpful presence on the board. Would recommend to other founders.
Older than a year by portfolio founder
Round: Seed
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Space to Make Decesions
If you're a founder starting out and need an investor to help you scale, but without any micro-management, Episode 1 is a great choice.
The partners are very knowledgeable and experienced entrepreneurs, especially in the enterprise space. What I also like the most is that they respect it's YOUR company and that they are there to support you.
They are hands-off and have full trust in you the founder, but if you do ask for guidance, they will provide it to you.
Older than a year by portfolio founder
Round: Pre-Seed
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Selfless
Episode One is very good at what they do. They are warm, kind and pleasant to work with. They have a great pedigree and vast knowledge about the operational aspects of running an early stage startup; specifically hiring and finances. They also find ways to bring founders in their portfolio together through social events, which is both entertaining and useful.
Older than a year by non-portfolio founder
Round: Seed
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Long Story Short
Seem like a good shop with some impressive previous investments. When founders put in effort to reach out and then prepare pitch material, some basic economic reasoning vs unconscious bias towards a certain industry shouldn't take precedence in descison making, but at least they did respond.... and so did sequoia!
Older than a year by portfolio founder
Round: Pre-Seed
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Imperative
Episode 1 have played an instrumental role in the successful development of our company. In good times and bad they are level headed, pragmatic, transparent and easy to deal with. The team, in particular the managing partners, bring a wealth of experience beyond investment capital that can help first time founders succeed & grow.
Older than a year by non-portfolio founder
Round: Pre-Seed
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Refreshingly Able to Let the Hair Down When Necessary
E1 got back to us super quickly and the first meeting felt productive and enjoyable. Giving the “real reason” they passed was the highlight (I appreciate how awkward that can be)
Older than a year by portfolio founder
Round: Seed
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Key word Especially
Always supportive especially in difficult times
Older than a year by portfolio founder
Round: Seed
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Handstand Finish
Hugely supportive and value add investors. Have been incredible investors throughout good and bad times. All the partners are genuinely nice, passionate and ethical people. Have and would recommend them to any founder. Very well regarded by later-stage investors too, which helped us raise later bigger rounds.
Older than a year by portfolio founder
Round: Pre-Seed
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Throwing Down the Gauntlet
The best partner in the UK at Seed stage. Now several years and several rounds later, looking back and with greater knowledge about other funds, Episode 1 are a very valuable partner.
Older than a year by portfolio founder
Round: Seed
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Unwavering
A real conviction investor and a true partner in building the company with us. Didn't flinch at the bumps in the road and doubled down on very fair terms when it was needed.
Older than a year by non-portfolio founder
Round: Series A
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Bro Move
Even though the fit wasn’t right for us at the time, Episode 1 went above and beyond to make introductions for us.
Older than a year by portfolio founder
Round: Seed
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Received Both Wisdom and Money
We have had a really great experience with Episode1 so far. They were the lead investor into our Seed round.
A few highlights of working with them (chronologically):
1. They were very quick to build conviction - after our first meeting with one partner (Carina) she scheduled a meeting with two additional partners less than a week later. During that meeting, they said they wanted to invest and after a short period of negotiating, we signed the term sheet.
2. They have a focus on company-building, including an in-house People and Culture person and a CFO - working with both of them has been extremely helpful to think about how we build a great company to work for with great fundamentals in terms of people and financials.
3. Both of the partners on our board (one has a seat, the other is an observer) are very switched on, give helpful feedback, and add significant value.
Older than a year by portfolio founder
Round: Seed
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Brave Enough to Forgo Trends
Paul and Simon from Ep1 have been on the CloudNC board for nearly five years now.
It's a safe bet to say we wouldn't be here without the continuous and excellent support and advice they've given that has shaped CloudNC into what it is today.
Ep1 is one of those rare VCs that invest intelligently based on what they believe to have fundamental value to the future, rather than what's cool in VC that particular year. This makes them a great fit for deep-tech companies like us that require patience and real understanding of the business, that will ultimately yield great returns.
Ep1 is also genuinely founder friendly, through the good times and the tough, and has put the effort into fostering a helpful community among their portfolio companies.
The rest of the Ep1 team has also always been happy to proactively step in to help where they've seen an opportunity. Their combined network among next-stage VCs is strong, and Episode 1 is a respected name among these firms - exactly what's needed for closing that big Series A/B.
Not just a great VC. A great and supportive friend. I unreservedly recommend teaming up with them.
Older than a year by portfolio founder
Round: Seed
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Ontop Looking Down
No doubt, the best VCs for founders in London! The team always put the founders first, even though sometimes it goes against their own interests.
Older than a year by portfolio founder
Round: Pre-Seed
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Through Thick and Thin
Episode 1 understands the highs and lows of building a company, they are supportive in difficult times when needed, and they celebrate wins with us. They are the perfect partner for an early stage company that is looking to scale.