Amusingly Form are a regulation focused VC, that openly admit the pandemic (we filmed this in Lockdown 3) has actually turned them off watching the news, especially BoBo’s 5 pm Death update.
On the team itself, Leo and Patrick met at the CBI which sparked their interest in setting up the first Fund in the UK / Europe, focused on Regulation, many years later. Think Tusk Ventures in the US, but with a few other twist and shakes!
Their approach Is to look at investing at both the "regulatory frontier" or where "soft regulation" has the potential to give birth to new areas, like Open Banking.
Patrick highlights his belief that the current desire to start businesses appears to have declined slightly due to the Pandemic and they have seen slightly less dealflow in the last year. He pinpoints this is the impact of a fear of change and lack of human contact but has high hopes for a nice confident summer, to spark optimism and a new wave of risk-taking.
On other notes, the recent budget shows further evidence that the UK Government is taking a very active and interested role in the continuing evolution of the UK Digital Tech Ecosystem.
We also discuss price sensitivity around valuation and how this impacts a VC building out their portfolio, as well as the difficulties of raising money for a VC, and touch upon SPACS for the first time this year.
Net/net, it’s a really thoughtful session, where Patrick provides some really considered responses to help founders and funders navigate the challenges of the year ahead.