Plugging ‘ The True Equity Gap ’ for Technology Start-Ups is our USP , says Rosemont Group CEO Freddie Achom
Rosemont Group Capital Partners , the London based seed and early stage venture capitalist firm last year announced its intention to invest in as many as 20 start-up and early stage technology companies . Its target was to do so within 2 years , with a primary investment focus on consumer Internet , digital content , advertising , marketing , and commerce . To some this would seem like a tough or near impossible possible task given the precariousness of the investment sector at present , particularly for a reasonably small firm . The group invests capital through direct equity investments , convertible loan / notes , options , warrants or preferred shares and invests on its own or with co-investment partners . So far the firm has achieved some enviable success and insists there is more to come in the very near future .
“ The focus of the fund is to back innovative technology ventures with potential for exponential growth , providing seed funding for start-ups . Why start-ups and especially at the widely considered riskier seed level , some may ask ? This is where we feel we can add the greatest strategic value and see potential for greater financial return ,” says Rosemont Group ’ s CEO , the Nigerian-born British Investment Entrepreneur , Freddie Achom . “ We are still relatively young within the space and continue to accrue experience with every investment we make , this is achieved by working closely with the founders we invest in and believe in 1000 per cent .”
Unusually Rosemont Group ’ s business model is to adopt an element from ‘ accelerators ’, which apply less standard sizes of investment and offer greater executional assistance to digital SME ' s . The tech investment sector In the UK has seen the launch of programmes such as Seedcamp achieve good level of success , emulating those of US based accelerators like YCombinator , Betaworks , Techstars and LaunchBox to name a few . However , typically these programmes have served to increase the flow of new start-ups rather than specifically addressing the funding gap that Achom believes exists . With a strategy to target what Achom calls ‘ the true equity gap ’, generally businesses seeking less than 1 million pounds in financial capital and as little as 50 thousand pounds , the group has achieved good success so far . Given the unique characteristics of early stage Internet companies , Rosemont Group carefully screens and evaluates them prior to investment , then accelerates and maximises their portfolio companies ’ executional prospects by working directly with them . “ We specifically target early stage businesses which fall within or often below the conventional equity gap , accelerate the growth of these companies and create sustainable businesses as well as a proven investment model ,” says Achom .
Last year alone Rosemont Group has seen one of its portfolio companies , social media management tech start-up JustGo , acquired by Tunecore , one of the leading digital music distribution and publishing administration providers in the US . Achom was pleased with the transaction but remained tight-lipped about the details of the deal , only saying ‘ it was a liquidity event so we are happy investors .”