Launching 2025: The Canopy Fund
Providing liquidity for Founders with projects of meaning.
Funding for Founders from the Community
Every year we see 60 to 100 Founders go through the Demo Night experience, many of whom want to raise funds within 12 months of being on the stage. Over the years we've aligned with some great investors to find reliable options for our Founders and now it's time to take the next step.
In 2025 we plan to launch and operate our first fund. It will be housed in the UK and take advantage of the SEIS (Seed Enterprise Investment Scheme) legislation there.
Our goal is two fold. Firstly, we want to create a dedicated funding channel for demo night. Every month we will look to cut a cheque from the fund for one of the startups that take the stage.
Secondly, we want to create a vehicle for the community to invest in projects that they believe are amazing, and for the rewards of that success to be shared within the community.
By operating in the UK under this specific legislation we are looking to bring the minimum investment into the fund down to £2000 (two thousand pounds) and if you are a UK tax resident you will receive tax breaks on the investment in the year you make it and relief on the return from the fund when it happens.
Democratising the investment in this way will bring 'being an LP' into reach for a large portion of the community.
If you're interested to know more about this fund as we put it together then please register your interest today.
Our goal is to have at least 500 registrations before launching the fund. We've set this goal to prove that this idea is something the community believes adds value.
Should we launch? Should we do something different? Guide us and help shape the future of funding for the community.
As we draft things up we see the primary elements of the investment thesis to be
- All investments will be selected from Demo Night events
- Our fund will co-invest with at least one other fund (or angel)
- All investments must be eligible for SEIS tax relief (this is not just UK entities. Startups can be registered elsewhere but then form a presence in the UK to be eligible)
- A Member of the Canopy In Residence Team will join the board of any startups that receive investments from the fund
- We want to invest early, and where possible be the first cheque
- Every investment made by the fund should be in a startup that is making a positive difference to the world. Ideally aligned to at least one of the Sustainable Development Goals. We intend to invest more in ideas that address 3+ of this goals.
As we evolve this thesis we will do so with the maximum participation of the Founders, Entrepreneurs and Innovators within the community to reach a place where we are doing something truly special and unique. Leveraging the elements of the community that bring us extra wisdom and depth in the investment. For example involving the In Residence Team as Non Executives on the board of each startup that we fund is a way of bringing our best wisdom to help the Founders thrive.
If we do this right we hope to see
- 10 to 15 Founders receive funding from Canopy each year
- 100s of members of the community benefit from the exits and upside of those companies succeeding
- Founders from outside of our existing networks coming to Canopy to seek investment and that increasing our strength through diversity in the community.
Register your interest
The journey to a fund starts today. Tell us if you're interested in seeing this happen & we can involve you along the way as we build things out.
Our aspiration is to build this fund for the community and to build it in the way the community needs it to be built.
We will launch in 2025 if the community wants it to happen.