Full Membership

Apply for Full Membership

Full Members are the Fellows, Specialists and Founders who build Venture.Community. They pledge to contribute to the community, and in return they help shape it: Fellows pick the companies we support, and Fellows and Specialists can be paid to accelerate them.

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What it means to be a Full Member

Full Membership has three honorific roles. Each one carries postnominal letters once it is approved.

Fellows

FVS, Fellow of the Venture Society

Experienced entrepreneurs who pick the companies we support. Supported Companies go through our super-accelerator with the backing of the community. Fellows invest their time and money as the non-consensus gateway to selected start-ups doing valuable, scalable ventures. Many go on to serve as NEDs or Chairs of Supported Companies on commercial terms.

Specialists

SVS, Specialist of the Venture Society

Experienced portfolio experts who work alongside Supported Companies during acceleration. Many pick up longer-term commercial relationships from that work.

Founders

MVS, Member of the Venture Society

Community members who have pledged their support and are actively building companies. A Founder may lead a Supported Company, but doesn't have to.

Two paths for Founders

Apply for Acceleration

For founders who want our super-accelerator behind their company: a Fellow who has done this before, a community of entrepreneurs to call on, and investment aligned with the work. If your company joins a cohort, you sign the Full Member Pledge as part of joining.

Apply for Acceleration →

Pledge with an Associated Company

Mostly for later-stage founders. Sign the pledge and add your company as an Associated Company to get access to the mutual benefits of the community: the library of resources and benefits contributed by members, and the option to buy co-working membership. An Associated Company costs £300 a year.

Membership works both ways. By pledging you're also committing to contribute, and to help others the way the community helps you.

What Full Members get

Unique events for Full Members, such as the Fellows' Forum.
Paid work accelerating our Supported Companies: Fellows and Specialists can be paid by the society, by purchase order, to provide acceleration and support to Supported Companies.
Fellows choose which companies we support.
Your postnominal letters (FVS, SVS or MVS) shown wherever you appear on our platforms.

What's in the pledge

The pledge is how Full Members align our values, commitment and culture, so that everyone joins ready to contribute to the community and the society. In summary, you pledge to:

Contribute £10,000 of value to the society, in kind (services or goods that support the society, its members and acceleration) or by investing in the society's share capital for as long as you're a Full Member, or 3 years, whichever is longer. That investment may be SEIS or EIS claimable. The pledge is non-binding and has no time limit: some members have already met it, and others work towards it over a year or longer. The elected board can withdraw Full Membership if there's no progress towards it.
Put forward your best investments for acceleration, and help select suitable, high-potential companies in your areas of expertise.
Support companies and co-operatives entering acceleration and after it, and invest where you think it is right.
Support other members and entrepreneurs to achieve their goals.
Provide quality services and support, and use your network for the community where appropriate. This work may be paid for by the society by purchase order.
Not compete with the society's aims: for example, don't charge for fundraising introductions or investor marketing without an agreement with the board.
Act with integrity and co-operative values, with fairness in ongoing work with startups, and set aside biases so that equality, equity and solidarity happen in practice.
Take part in the society: its democratic process, occasional free participation in the monthly events, and open sharing of diligence under the hold-harmless policy.

Read the full pledge

Full Members of Venture.Community® are Individuals committed to a career in building ventures, or supporting the building of ventures, they commit to support each other and the aims of the Society. Full Members work to support the entrepreneurial community and other society members to strengthen each other as well as our communal endeavours. We invite those who exhibit experience, pedigree or promise in the profession to join us and work collaboratively towards the Society’s goals. Full Members are recognised to have contributed £10,000 of value to the society’s aims, but Full Membership can be recognised by the board on the basis of pledging this value on a non-binding, non-time-limited basis. However Full Membership can be withdrawn by the elected board on the basis of a lack of progress towards this value at their discretion (reverting to a lower membership level). Application for Full Membership starts with this pledge to contribute value to the community, which some have already met, and others will strive to meet over a year or longer. The next procedure is that this pledge is then ratified by our board making you a Full Member of our society — this is not guaranteed and you may be asked for references — ideally from our society’s Fellowship. Our membership committee will determine the level of Full Membership awarded — Founder, Specialist or Fellow.

The aim of this pledge is to align our values, commitment and culture, and ensure that new Full Members join in a state of contributing to the greater good of the community and the society.

1. I pledge to invest or contribute (in kind) £10k of value to the Society:
- By providing services or goods in kind to support the Society, its Members and acceleration activities, or providing in-kind services to support its community activities
- By investing into the Society’s share capital for so long as I am a Full Member or for 3 years — whichever is longer. (Note this may be SEIS or EIS claimable)
2. I pledge to put forward my best investments for acceleration and to help select companies within areas of interest and expertise that are suitable for venture and have a high potential upside and return.
3. I pledge to support and, where I deem appropriate invest, in companies and co-operatives entering acceleration to enable the effective operation of the society’s acceleration processes and contribute to the entrepreneurial community.
4. I pledge to support and, where I deem appropriate invest, in companies and co-operatives after acceleration to contribute to the entrepreneurial community by investing in and supporting others.
5. I pledge to support other Members and Entrepreneurs in the society, helping them achieve their goals and thrive.
6. I shall not solicit services that compete with the Society’s aims, such as charging for external fund raising introductions or investor marketing services, without an appropriate agreement with the Society’s board. The board’s current policy is to collaborate with this activity by FCA regulated organisations associated with Fellowship Members for rounds greater than £5m (i.e. out of the scope of the Society’s activity).
7. I pledge to provide quality services and/or support for others, and leverage (where appropriate and responsible) my network to the benefit of the community and the startups being accelerated. This support may be paid for by the society in line with our activities by means of purchase order.
8. I pledge to act with integrity and in line with international co-operative values.
- Self-help, Self-responsibility, Democracy, Equality, Equity, Solidarity, Honesty, Openness, Social Responsibility.
9. I pledge to operate with a high sense of fairness for ongoing services to startups outside of acceleration to ensure a long-term win-win with other Members and promote a constructive and trustworthy community in which professional relationships can fail gracefully and constructively.
10. I pledge to contribute to the democratic process of the Society.
11. I pledge to contribute to the Society’s open entrepreneurial education, through occasional voluntary and free participation in the monthly events to support others and the community.
12. I pledge to be open in sharing diligence with other members in line with the Society’s hold harmless policy. I understand that this policy enables the sharing of information between members for the good of all, and that it also means I must make my own judgement and cannot hold others liable.
13. I pledge to recognise and set aside the biases and stereotypes I carry, in myself and in how I see others, so that equality, equity and solidarity are delivered in practice and not merely professed. I will keep widening who I count as one of us, meeting every member and entrepreneur on their character, contribution and potential alone.

Who petitions the board of their local Venture.Community to grant them Full Membership in the society.

How it works

Sign the pledgeYour next step
It takes a few minutes. You'll need to be a Community Member first (£10 a year), with your region set on your profile.
Sign the pledge now
Have a call with our team
We'll help you put your application together and answer your questions. You'll get a link to book it as soon as you've signed.
Approval
Your local board approves your Full Membership and your role: Fellow, Specialist or Founder. Specialists and Founders are also sponsored by a Fellow at this stage.

Questions? Talk to us first