• SuperSeed is a London based seed-stage venture capital firm investing in startups focusing on business and industrial automation. The firm has now completed the first closing at £31m of its Fund II, which will target a final close of £50m.
• The firm was started in 2018 by Partners Dan Bowyer and Mads Jensen, both ex-founders with multiple exits, who passionately believe that venture capital investors need to better support early-stage entrepreneurs.
• The partners launched their first fund in 2019 and have since invested in 15 B2B startups.
• The SuperSeed model is designed to support technical founders in commercialising B2B offerings to help them develop better sales playbooks. A startup’s ability to sell is existential.
• SuperSeed invests in startups that transform how business works. Growth in business automation is enormous, recently accelerated by Covid. Next-generation technologies such as 5G, quantum computing, AI and blockchain accelerate this. At the same time, they help businesses secure vital supply chains and find new ways to manage, manufacture and sell.
• SuperSeed will invest in 30-35 B2B software companies over the next 3-4 years, helping them kick-start sales and building the foundation for global market reach.
• SuperSeed Fund II is an Enterprise Capital Fund with a cornerstone investment from the British Business Bank’s Enterprise Capital Fund programme.

LONDON – February 4th 2022

SuperSeed, a venture capital firm investing in the future of business automation, today announces it has completed the first closing of its new fund at £31m, targeting a final close of £50m. The fund will invest between £500k and £1.5m in 30-35 startups and focus on companies based in the UK or looking to use the UK as a springboard for global expansion.

Europe continues to develop world-class technology, and the European startup ecosystem has exploded over the last decade. However, far too often, European startups are outfought by their American counterparts, and the venture ecosystem needs to do more to support them.

This was why SuperSeed was created. The founders believe that startups are the primary engine of positive change. With venture capital supplying the fuel, European venture capital firms can and should play a much more supportive role at the delicate early stages.

The opportunity for smart business transformation is bigger than ever. Recent research from McKinsey shows that 66% of large companies are piloting new automation processes, and WEF found that 80% of business leaders are considering ‘speeding up’ their automation processes following the pandemic.

Mads Jensen, Founder and Managing Partner at SuperSeed, says

“Technological innovation is the foundation to unlocking human progress. In simple terms – tech will save us! But tangible benefits can only be achieved when the technology is commercially viable and successfully deployed in the hands of real users. Unfortunately, when it comes to marketing and sales, the Americans have historically had an edge on us here in Europe, and we have to do better if we want to compete on the world stage. 

“At SuperSeed, we play a highly active role in helping early-stage founders create powerful go-to-market strategies. We provide best practice on how to build a successful B2B startup and work with founders to build out their team, craft processes, and truly accelerate the journey from Seed to Series A.”

Dan Bowyer, Founder and Partner at SuperSeed says,

“I have quite a lofty take on what automation really is. To me, it’s the technological bedrock that will enable us to keep the promises we’ve made to the climate, our planet and children. On the surface, it helps businesses lower costs and create efficiencies; great, that’s a massive tick. But underneath, it’s a lot more than that.

“So our thinking when we started the fund was – how do we enable as many smart startups as possible to make it AND have a meaningful impact?

“It’s well known that most startups fail, which is mostly due to a lack of product-market fit. In other words, to succeed, it’s imperative to find and focus on the right customers while filtering out faster horses. All the while avoiding the natural tendency to get sucked into polishing the product, thinking if it’s better, they will come. As entrepreneurs, we’ve experienced the allure!

“How can you fastest get to product-market fit? Our experience as founders is that the process of selling is crucial to finding and expediting this journey. This is what Mads and I learned the hard way and want to pay forwards. In simple terms: “sales solve all problems”.”

SuperSeed’s Partners share the view that there is a multi-decade long opportunity to help companies automate business and manufacturing processes.

Mads Jensen says, “In business and especially manufacturing, there’s so much that automation can improve. This is why we expect it to be one of the biggest long term economic trends, even without the natural accelerant of a pandemic. Software lies at the heart of this opportunity. Except for the most sophisticated manufacturers like Boeing and Rolls Royce, around 80 percent of manufacturers still use equipment that isn’t ‘smart’, or connected to the internet.” This is a great opportunity to invest in automation. 

In this area also lies one of the biggest opportunities to address  climate change:

“It’s easy to miss how crucial business automation is to solving some of the biggest challenges humanity faces. We are not going to stop consuming but must be much more mindful about how we make the things we consume. Automation opens up huge sustainability opportunities: from the application of smarter materials to the way we reuse and recycle post-consumption. From picking and packing to putting on the table. From hiring to managing to paying, or finding to buying to delivering. I could go on and on, but the fundamental challenge is how we bring global communities up to the Western standard of living without destroying the planet. We must therefore be much more efficient in the way we make, distribute and recycle things – automation is the only answer.”

Ken Cooper, Managing Director, Venture Solutions, British Business Bank, says, “The British Business Bank’s Enterprise Capital Funds programme is key in helping to develop and maintain effective venture capital provision in the UK, lowering the barriers to entry for emerging fund managers and for those targeting under-served areas of the market. Our cornerstone commitment to SuperSeed’s fund will help them to provide successful finance and support to early-stage, high-potential entrepreneurs and businesses.”

Andrew Thomas, Founder and CEO of SuperSeed portfolio company Kleene, says, “SuperSeed stood out to us for their drive and passion for our space. We’ve found their support to be invaluable, providing a robust and intelligent input to strategy based on their deep experience of how to build SaaS companies.”

Daghan Cam, Founder and CEO of SuperSeed portfolio company Ai Build says: “Having SuperSeed as our lead investor was a game-changer for Ai Build. Their team truly understands the challenges faced by first-time technical founders, and they are always there to help us overcome setbacks and figure out how to progress faster. We consider them an invaluable part of our team.”

Amy Read, CEO and Co-Founder at SuperSeed portfolio company Techsembly, says: “From the first call I had with SuperSeed, I knew they were the VC I wanted to work with. Straightforward, down to earth honest advice and support. With SuperSeed, there is no gender bias; they value you for who you are and what they believe you can deliver. I know they’re always at the end of the phone if there’s anything I need, and most importantly, that they have my back.”

Since its first fund launched in 2019, Superseed has invested in 15 companies, including AI Build, Integrated Finance, Kleene and Duel.

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Contact

Ben Goldsmith

ben@goldsmithcomms.com

+44(0)7788295321

About Superseed

Dan Bowyer and Mads Jensen are both life-long entrepreneurs and operators. In 2018 they founded SuperSeed to help the next generation of technical founders build great companies.