As part of the Cosmic Conversations series, we’re catching up with VCs across the UK to unpick what actually helps early-stage startups grow, raise, and scale. This time, I sat down with Ollie from Concept Ventures.
Concept is known for being one of the earliest backers in the game and they’re often the first institutional cheque in, placing bets on pre-seed B2B tech startups across the UK and Europe. And when I say bets, I mean it. These are usually companies with no product, no customers, just an idea and a team.
So, how do you know who to back when there’s so little to go on? Ollie broke it down.
What does Concept Ventures actually look for?
“We’re people-first,” says Ollie. “Before anything else, we’re backing founding teams with conviction.”
There are three main founder “archetypes” Concept tends to invest in:
- Repeat founders – the ones who’ve built, exited, or crashed a startup and are itching to go again.
- Ex-operators – folks who’ve had senior stints at places like Palantir or Google, now building their own thing.
- Academic founders – think PhDs and researchers, often coming out of universities with a deep technical edge and a fresh appetite for building something real.
It’s not about sectors or shiny pitch decks. It’s about the people.
What’s changed in UK venture over the last few years?
According to Ollie, the bar’s rising — in a good way.
“There’s been a tide that’s lifted all boats. More talent, more capital, and more international funds setting up shop in the UK. It’s busy, but it’s good busy.”
He points out that Brexit — for all its chaos — has helped the UK carve out a more favourable position on AI regulation, giving early-stage companies a bit of an edge compared to the rest of Europe.
That said, Germany and France aren’t slacking. Ollie called out Paris-based unicorns like Mistral and Hugging Face as signs that top-tier tech is cropping up all over the continent.
Graduation rate: What happens after that first cheque?
If you’re investing this early, you expect a lot of things not to work out. But Concept is seeing about 50–60% of its portfolio companies “graduate” — meaning they go on to raise seed or Series A rounds — and that number’s only going up.
But it’s not about rushing.
“Graduation is useful as a measure, but only if it’s the right size round, at the right time, with the right partner,” Ollie says.
He’s also seeing more pre-emptive rounds — bigger funds swooping in earlier to grab a piece of promising companies before they even start formally raising. So while speed matters, alignment matters more.
Why founder-led sales is a massive deal
There’s a bit of a myth that technical founders can’t sell. Ollie disagrees.
“Some of the best technical founders are the best sellers. They just need to do it their own way.”
The real issue isn’t whether someone’s commercial or not. It’s whether they’re listening to what customers are actually saying. You don’t get product-market fit by building quietly in a vacuum. You get there by getting your product out into the world, getting rejected, and figuring out why.
Concept likes founders who show they can sell — not just the product, but also the vision, the company, the hiring pitch. Because at this stage, the founder is the sales team.
Can VCs really help?
Founders often get frustrated with VCs who write the cheque then vanish. Ollie admits there’s only so much time in the day — especially when funds are juggling dozens of portfolio companies.
But his view is pretty clear: the best founders don’t need hand-holding.
“We’re looking for people who will figure things out. People who don’t need constant instruction, but use the network, know when to ask for help, and are resourceful.”
That said, he points to examples like Eleven Labs — a Concept-backed company that’s seen meteoric growth — where strong operational processes made a huge difference, especially post-product-market fit.
The personality traits that matter most
You can’t predict what’s going to go wrong in a startup — but stuff will break. Ollie says he’s always on the lookout for resilience, adaptability, and teams that actually want to work together.
“We don’t back random co-founders who met last month and are working remotely. That relationship needs to be battle-tested. Founding a company is lonely, even with co-founders. You need a team that gels.”
Team dynamics, he reckons, are just as crucial as experience — maybe even more so.
GTM signals that stand out
So what kind of go-to-market (GTM) approach gets a VC’s attention?
For Ollie, it’s not about inbound versus outbound. It’s about whether the founder has put serious thought into how they’re going to reach the people who will pay for the product. Repeatable systems, even small ones, matter more than one-off wins.
He also flagged a growing trend of companies blending B2C and B2B — getting early traction with consumers that helps unlock enterprise deals later. It’s something he’s seen more in the wake of companies like Eleven Labs and sees as a potential edge in today’s market.
When should you stop doing founder-led sales?
Short answer: later than you think.
“Founders often want to hand off sales as soon as they raise. But if the motion’s not repeatable yet, hiring a salesperson just makes the whole thing messier.”
His advice? Keep selling yourself until you really understand the process — and start mapping out what the ideal sales hire looks like six months before you actually make that move.
Hiring too early, especially for commercial roles, can be a huge waste of time and money. Worse, it can kill momentum. And in early-stage land, momentum is everything.
About Ollie
Since joining Concept, Olly has led their ‘Play’ vertical, also focusing on Marketplace, Vertical SaaS and AI. In addition to investing, he looks after the post-investment processes and network, and leads Concept’s Marketing & Branding efforts. He is a Fulham Season-Ticket holder, Apex Legends player and active Angel/Crypto investor since 2016.
He has worked closely with Waypoint, Spectinga, and Eleven Labs, serving as a Board Observer.