This is us
We are Draper Esprit. We develop and invest in disruptive, high growth technology companies and are one of the most active venture capital firms in Europe.
Inventors and visionaries find new ways for the world to work, we back them.
We are proud to build with companies like...
2006
Year founded
£1bn
Equivalent Fund size
125
Number of investments
£5bn
Total value of exits
20
Average number of deals per year
Our successful investment strategy has remained the same for 20 years
We seek out the most promising high growth technology companies in Europe with global potential and find a way to invest and bring our skills to the company to help execute on that potential.
View our portfolioWe like to build a stake in the businesses we back over time, taking the long-term view. We invest at Series A (£2-3m+), but 70% of our capital is for growth stage rounds (Series B+). If an opportunity to acquire an equity stake in a high growth technology company presents itself, we will selectively invest.
For seed investments (companies raising less than £2-3m) we make approx. 200+ seed investments a year through our partner fund of funds program, where we are LP’s in 20+ of Europe’s most amazing seed funds.
The European VC market can be fragmented. So to ensure we can offer Europe’s best companies the financial firepower to take on the world, we’ve built our funding model creatively.
Our multi-fund platform - publicly listed Draper Esprit Plc, our EIS fund and the Draper Esprit VCT - allows us flexibility to deploy capital in the most effective way. For entrepreneurs, this experience is seamless - they focus on building whilst one Draper Esprit partner delivers capital and experience.
Like any VC fund, the heart of the business is our group of 11 experienced partners.
Many of our partners are ex-entrepreneurs themselves. As non-executive board members of their management teams, they help with strategy, finance, hiring, international expansion and other key issues for global growth.
The partners are supported by our internal support teams; one team is our research, deal execution and marketing group and the other our finance, funding and operations group.
The team of partners and our portfolio companies are also supported by the globalDraper Venture Network, headquartered in Silicon Valley but with partners across the globe, with additional business development resources available to any partner or portfolio company in many regions.
Our beliefs
Collaboration
We're a team of teams, it's always a group effort
Transparency
Our company is so into being transparent, we're publicly listed. What do you want to know?
Inclusivity
We're working to ensure not just our portfolio and investment strategies are inclusive - but also our people and our communities
Long-sighted
We think at least 5 years ahead, and our listed model means we invest for longer than other VC's.
