FAQ

What is Embryo's selection criteria?

Stage: We invest at seed and pre-seed stage and look at products across pre-launch, launched (pre-revenue) and revenue generating phases.

Geography: We focus on the UK market. In exceptional cases, we will consider opportunities in other geographies when there is a compelling context for positive impact in the UK and beyond.

Investment Themes: The future of Health, Cities and Living.

Sector: Our core verticals across the themes of the future Health, Cities and Living spans a broad range of industries in which we invest. We focus on Consumer, Materials, Healthcare and Life Sciences and Frontier Tech.

We do not invest in the industry categories of Energy & Utilities, Real Estate or Telecoms & Media, and we utilise negative or exclusionary screening of companies engaged in activities deemed unethical within sub-categories across the industries that we invest in.

Founders: We team with mission-driven and globally ambitious founders. We look for laser focused strategy and strong competitive advantage in the operational team, technology and timing.

Investment: At Embryo Ventures we back ventures on a case by case basis as a first investor or alongside institutional investors. As we are not currently operating as a venture capital fund we have no time constraints for capital deployment and our operating model allows us to move with unique speed and agility.

SEIS/EIS: We participate in SEIS/EIS eligible opportunities where applicable for UK-based startups.

What is seed stage?

We define seed stage as any funding pre-Series A.

What is the process following pitch deck submission?

A disciplined investment process coupled with a focus on relationships guides our due-diligence approach, allowing us to make investments fast and founder friendly. Our process means that we can deploy capital exceptionally fast.

If we are interested we will contact you directly for an introductory face-to-face meeting or call to dive deeper into your business proposition and establish our fit as an investor.

Due to the volume of opportunities we are presented with, unfortunately we cannot provide feedback to individual ventures pitching to us.

What is Embryo's Entrepreneur community?

A powerful curated community of over 100 and growing visionary founders, operating across verticals and from locations worldwide that are committed to supporting fellow entrepreneurs.

What can I expect from the community?

• Active connection to a network of mission-driven founders so you can expand networks, share insight and opportunities.
• Access to the Embryo Portal to discover startups operating in your space for new insight and collaborations opportunities.
• Access E14, our circular for entrepreneurs to keep you abreast on news from our community, wider innovation ecosystem and provide you with a platform to attract your next beta testers.
• Access to exclusive drop-in sessions and mentors.
• Your startup can be selected to showcase in our innovation discovery portfolio that can unlock new growth opportunities for you through our partner network.

Are all applications successful?

No. Every application is carefully reviewed and we only accept founders that we see potential in and that are a strong fit for the community. We endevour to communicate the outcome of applications within 2 weeks.

Can I reapply?

Yes. We accept new applications, but recommend that these are only made if your application is markedly different to your initial one, otherwise you can expect the same outcome.

Does Embryo invest into community startups?

Yes. We invested into startups in our community in 2019, 2020, 2021 and 2022, and we look to continue to do so. With our community hosting the most exceptional entrepreneurs, we naturally consider our community's startups for investment.

How much does it cost to join the community?

There is no membership fee to join our community. We believe in capitalising on our position to foster sharing of knowledge and connection to excel the greatest ideas. The only thing we request is strong engagement and a willingness to support other founders in the same way that you expect to be supported.