Diversity is at the core of Simsan’s mission

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The idea

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The Simsan Ventures Fund 1 is a £30 million venture capital fund for tech investments championing early stage FinTech and Deep Tech startups with diversity at their core. Simsan prioritises businesses that have, or are working on, building intellectual property and that are led by bold and progressive entrepreneurs.

With general partners Sahil and Sagar Chopra at the helm, the team at Simsan Ventures wield their industry experience and varied expertise to seek out the best startup talent with innovative and ground-breaking business ideas.

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The challenge

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7startup worked with Simsan to identify gaps in the venture capital world. We found that BAME and female founders, especially those who do not come from financially privileged backgrounds, are the least represented and supported of all startup founders. In general, underrepresented startup founders rely less on funding and more on grants.

Despite this, the most successful high-growth companies today are led by inclusive teams with women or BAME leaders. And yet very little venture capital invests in diversity.

These interruptive barriers demotivate already underrepresented entrepreneurs from taking the leap into founding a startup, which ultimately leads to a cycle of diversity deficiency in the industry.

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Simsan to the rescue

This is where superhero Simsan swoops in to help. Favouring those from disadvantaged backgrounds who might struggle to secure investment elsewhere, Simsan levels the playing field in the tech ecosystem and encourages those from disadvantaged backgrounds to shine and prosper.

When exploring the market, the 7startup and Simsan teams also acknowledged that investable, long-term sectors such as FinTech and Deep Tech are deeply underrepresented in the UK, EU, and India. This is why Simsan has set out to resolve the gaps in the venture capital funds in these areas, reserving their expertise and guidance only for those often forgotten by other VC funds.

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Mission setbacks

Simsan are no stranger to their own challenges and setbacks in the industry, either. Similar to the diversity problem faced by startup founders, there is also a lack of inclusion amongst fund managers in the UK. This has caused scepticism towards both the team at Simsan and their mission.

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The progress

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In fact, Simsan’s progressive and pioneering perspective in diversifying investments for founders from less advantaged backgrounds means that the venture capital fund is going from strength to strength.

7startup worked collaboratively with Simsan on the branding and strategy and Simsan’s average funding amount is forecasted to be £400,000, with only the boldest and most formidable companies to receive follow-on funds. And since conceptualising the fund, the team at Simsan have been pleased to note that, on average, teams of diverse founders create more financial prosperity and are more innovative, meaning that this venture capital fund is really proving the critics wrong.

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The future

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Simsan aims to invest in over 30 companies over the next 4 years and to encourage diverse entrepreneurship in the UK and beyond. Further to this, Simsan has just appointed our expert team at 7startup as their due diligence partner.

Unlike the 17% of VCs who do not use financial metrics in their investment decisions, investors and VC funds who collaborate with a long-term due diligence partner show that they are dedicated to thoroughly-planned and responsible investments (via Harvard Business).

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Simsan understand responsible investing

It also shows that they’re committed to finding the right startups to invest in and will only provide capital for those that are a suitable match for them. Leaving nothing to guesswork, 7startup’s curated due diligence process carefully screens and analyses startup businesses to ensure that their due diligence partner will invest in only the strongest and most suited applicants.

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Don’t forget to follow Simsan on LinkedIn to stay tuned!

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Tags: Startup funding, venture capital, scaleups, fundraising, pitch deck review, OKRs, equity research, Simsan Ventures, due diligence

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