Fuel Ventures is created by entrepreneurs for entrepreneurs
Our team is composed of passionate and driven entrepreneurs and operators who understand the challenges and rewards of building a successful business, having experienced this world firsthand ourselves. We pride ourselves on our unwavering commitment to partnering with fellow entrepreneurs, providing not only the necessary capital but also invaluable guidance, resources, and mentorship.
Our diverse backgrounds, industry expertise, and hands-on approach enable us to offer unique insights and tailored support to help propel our portfolio companies towards exceptional growth. As a team that thrives on innovation and collaboration, we are dedicated to fueling the success of the next generation of game-changing businesses.
Get to know us better
Mark is an award winning digital entrepreneur having achieved multiple successful exits over the last decade. Mark takes an active role in mentoring the Fund's portfolio of companies.
Mark
Pearson
Michael has a background in early stage technology investing, along with managing international investor relationships. He heads up the Business Development team and sources new investment opportunities, also supporting portfolio companies with growth plans including follow on investment. He also sits on the investment committee and helps make investment decisions.
Michael
Burnett
Jing has extensive experience working with international investors and key Asian markets. Jing manages relationships with Chinese investors and Tier 1 Entrepreneur visa clients.
Jing Jing
Xu
Stan has +9yrs experience investing in early-stage technology companies and helping them scale to exit. He helps to find new investment opportunities for the fund and manages key relationships with investors.
Stan
Williams
Shiv leads investments from our Scale Up and Follow-On Funds. He works closely with our portfolio companies and sits on a number of boards. Previously, Shiv worked with a recruitment tech start-up in India before working in Wealth Management.
Shiv
Patel
Oli has spent several years working for startup companies and as an Analyst with an early stage venture fund and Angel investors. His focus is on sourcing new opportunities for Fuel and working with the existing portfolio.
Oliver
Hammond
Christina has +13 years' experience working in C-Level offices across Australia and Europe. She supports with new and existing companies in the portfolio, heads the Operations such as Marketing and Talent, as well as various general matters across all functions of Fuel Ventures.
Christina
Levada
Qasim has 9+ years of experience in Private Banking, managing the wealth of Ultra High Net Worth individuals and their families. He holds the Private Client Investment Advice & Management (PCIAM) qualification and is responsible for managing investor relations and supporting portfolio companies with growth capital.
Qasim
Mahmood
Alex has recently returned to London after a tour of over 25 years in New York, where he helped run the investment bank at Credit Suisse, been a senior private banker at J.P. Morgan, and had run equities for both HSBC and ABN AMRO, as well as being an MD in global equities at UBS.
Alex Shepard
Henry spent four years at another established VC fund where he led the fundraising and investor relations function, successfully raising institutional capital from the likes of APG and Schroders. At Fuel, Henry raises capital for Fuel's core funds and SPVs.
Henry Martin
James has gained a wealth of experience across diverse sectors of financial services over the past 15 years; including banking, pensions & venture capital. At Fuel, James leads the IFA/Strategic Partners distribution team.
James
D’Mello
Having completed the EIS Diploma in 2017, Katie’s recent focus has been in Tax Efficient Investments both at Platforms and Funds. Katie’s role within the IFA distribution team involves managing relationships with IFAs, wealth managers and financial institutions.
Katie
Hopkin
Mahesh has extensive venture investment experience with a particular focus on SaaS and Fintech businesses. Complimenting his early-stage experience he has also held investment banking and corporate finance role at organisations like UBS.
Mahesh Santiapilla
James’ focus at Fuel Ventures is on fundraising and investor relations, supporting the portfolio companies with growth capital from the likes of VCs and Family Offices, and earlier-stage funding from UHNW and Angels.
James
Steel
Katie holds a degree in International Politics and Italian from Georgetown University. Previously, Katie worked with startups in the venture debt space. Her focus at Fuel is on sourcing new investment opportunities and on deal execution.
Katie
Mathias
Hector’s primary focus is to raise capital for our core funds as well as managing relationships with existing fund investors. Hector is also involved in supporting Fuel’s portfolio companies with raising future funding rounds.
Hector
Hunt
Jonny began his career recruiting in the Financial Services sector before moving in-house to scale early stage start-ups. His role at Fuel is to work with the portfolio to source & hire the best talent whilst also helping to establish a successful people function & strategy.
Jonny
Thoroughgood
Pierce leverages his experience in venture capital, angel investing and legal roles. With a background in sourcing and executing deals from pre-seed to Series A stages, he's supported funds across multiple tech sectors. Combining a strong foundation in law and business with a proven ability to build meaningful relationships with founders and investors.
Pierce Polak
TOP
Risk summary for non-readily realisable securities which are shares:
Last updated: 15 April 2024 | Estimated reading time: 2 min
What are the key risks?
1. You could lose all the money you invest
If the business you invest in fails, you are likely to lose 100% of the money you invested. Most start-up businesses fail.
2. You are unlikely to be protected if something goes wrong
The business offering this investment is not regulated by the FCA. Protection from the Financial Services Compensation Scheme (FSCS) only considers claims against failed regulated firms. Learn more about FSCS protection here.
Protection from the Financial Ombudsman Service (FOS) does not cover poor investment performance. If you have a complaint against an FCA-regulated firm, FOS may be able to consider it. Learn more about FOS protection here.
3. You won’t get your money back quickly
Even if the business you invest in is successful, it may take several years to get your money back. You are unlikely to be able to sell your investment early. The most likely way to get your money back is if the business is bought by another business or lists its shares on an exchange such as the London Stock Exchange. These events are not common. If you are investing in a start-up business, you should not expect to get your money back through dividends. Start-up businesses rarely pay these.
4. Don’t put all your eggs in one basket
Putting all your money into a single business or type of investment, for example, is risky. Spreading your money across different investments makes you less dependent on anyone to do well. A good rule of thumb is not to invest more than 10% of your money in high-risk investments. Read more about it here.
5. The value of your investment can be reduced
The percentage of the business that you own will decrease if the business issues more shares. This could mean that the value of your investment reduces, depending on how much the business grows. Most start-up businesses issue multiple rounds of shares. These new shares could have additional rights that your shares don’t have, such as the right to receive a fixed dividend, which could further reduce your chances of getting a return on your investment. If you are interested in learning more about how to protect yourself, visit the FCA’s website here.
Please find the PDF version here.