Wherever you are, we can operate.
You’re responsible for the economic development of a region: jobs, growth, the next generation of companies that will employ people. You’ve seen accelerator programs launch with grant money, run for a few cohorts, and fade. You’ve also seen the best local founders take their first round from outside the region and move their company to where the capital is.
“Our grant funding has fuelled a grassroots venture community that has secured tens of millions in investment for South Yorkshire companies. Uniquely, the founders are now collaborating to grow our region’s economy and support others.”— Paul Johnson, South Yorkshire Mayoral Combined Authority (SYMCA)
Venture.Community is built as a regional model, with operations localised to the geography they serve. The structure is consistent: a Fellowship of operators who back founders in their region, Angels and Investors who participate on fair terms, Specialists matched to the work, and a community that supports the whole project.
The difference for a Local Authority is structural. The Society takes no equity from the companies it accelerates, and the Fellow who backs each company has their own capital in the round, which means they’re as committed to the company succeeding in your region as you are. Founders get connected to international capital and customers, but the companies stay based where the founder wants to build, which tends to be where they came from. The community has built structural answers to the failure modes that kill most startups: founders running out of energy, lack of strategic market focus and fit, no access to networks for capital and traction.
Practically, founders we back in your region build their companies in your region. The companies stay based locally as they grow. Over time, the model compounds: founders who came through bring other founders in, and the region gets a structure that creates companies rather than just attracts them.
Local Authority engagement with Venture.Community runs as a partnership. A region launching the model needs a Local Authority that will convene the founder community, host events, and stay engaged through political cycles, working alongside a regional Champion who runs the program day-to-day. Some Local Authorities also contribute infrastructure: meeting space, event funding, or seed capital to the first cohort.
The Society is structured to persist: mutually owned, with no shareholders and no exit. Funds contributed by a Local Authority stay with the work of promoting enterprise in the region they came from.
Venture.Community is scaling across the UK and building presence in four further countries. We’re open to launching in new countries, territories, and cities where there’s appetite to develop the model. You can talk to the Local Authority partners we’ve worked with so far; we’ll connect you.
Tell us about your region and we'll explore how we can work together.
Partnering with Venture.Community in your region
Not-for-profit, but for the profit of the members. And the success of the founders they back.
