Steven Bartlett has launched an $100m (£81m) Flight Story Fund to “accelerate the next generation of European unicorns”.
The Flight Story Fund will invest between £810,000 ($1m) and £8.1m ($10m) in high-growth companies across six emerging sectors: blockchain, biotech, health and wellbeing, commerce, technology and space.
The launch has been timed to “exploit the dislocation and disruption in the economy,” Flight Story said.
The current economic climate, driven by high inflation and increasing interest rates, has contributed to VC investors being more cautious with their capital compared to 2021 with investment in UK companies falling by a third.
In addition to capital, founders backed by the fund will receive marketing and communications support from Flight Story – Bartlett’s marketing consultancy firm.
Bartlett, popularly known for his appearance on Dragons’ Den and podcast series Secrets of a CEO, said: “Throughout the last decade, I developed an immense network of the most successful entrepreneurs in Europe.
“Flight Story Fund connects the founders to the investment and tools they need to catapult them through their growth trajectory to accelerate their timeline to unicorn status. I’ve been on the journey myself and now I am helping other skilled founders succeed in the same way.
>See also: Who are the UK’s next unicorns?
“The launch of the Flight Story Fund is an invitation to Europe’s best entrepreneurs from Europe’s best companies.”
Bartlett previously listed social media company Social Chain on the Dusseldorf stock exchange in 2019 at a valuation in excess of £486m ($600m) before co-founding Web3 development platform thirdweb and Flight Story.
The investor’s previous investments include Huel, Vivino, Isar Aerospace and over 20 companies and smaller investments made on Dragons’ Den.
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