Founders Capital

What Founders Capital does

Founders Capital, operating as FC Group Holding Ltd (CRN: 14797242), is a UK-based technology-enabled investment community and private market access platform founded in 2023 by Richard Hadler. It provides FCA-regulated (FRN:1048998), deal-by-deal investing access to sophisticated investors, family offices, and operators across pre-seed through pre-IPO stages in Europe and the United States. The proprietary platform at app.founders-capital.com supports member onboarding, deal browsing, SPV/nominee structuring, and investor reporting.

The platform's core differentiator is its curated community model: members are vetted and approved before accessing opportunities, with the company emphasising transparency, autonomy, and alignment through co-investment of its own capital in every deal. Deal sourcing combines proprietary AI tools with founder networks, Y Combinator relationships, and secondary broker/family office connections, with all early-stage opportunities scored and reviewed by an internal investment committee. The venture partner bench—including James Watt (BrewDog) and Dan Honeywell (Zedsen, 48 patents)—provides sector-specific expertise.

Revenue is generated through one-time deal access fees covering legal and operational costs, plus performance carry on successful exits, with no annual management fees. The company has deployed $20M+ across 60+ portfolio companies and serves 250+ active members (70% engagement). It maintains a London headquarters and a Dubai regional office, and offers S/EIS-compatible structures providing up to 50% income tax relief for UK taxpayers.

Name

Founders Capital

Legal name

FC Group Holding Ltd

Website

https://www.founders-capital.com/

Company type

Private

Founded year

2023

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

1–10 employees

Short description

Founders Capital is an FCA-regulated, community-powered private market platform that gives vetted investors, operators, and family offices deal-by-deal access to pre-seed through pre-IPO opportunities across Europe and the United States.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Private Market Investment Platform

NAICS

Portfolio Management and Investment Advice (523940), Other Investment Pools and Funds (5259)

SIC

Investment Advice (6282)

akta.pro primary industry

Early-Stage Venture Capital (Series A/B) (FSANAAAB)

akta.pro secondary industries

Early-Stage Venture Capital (Pre-Seed/Seed) (FSANAAAA), Late-Stage Venture Capital (Series C+) (FSANAAAC)

Keywords

• Private market investing
• Venture capital syndicate
• Deal-by-deal investing
• Startup investment platform
• Angel investing community

Headquarters

HQ city

London

HQ country

United Kingdom

HQ region

Europe

Offices2 records

Markets served

GTM type

B2B and B2C

Offering type

Services

Cost components

Personnel, Operations, Technology or R&D, Marketing or Sales

Revenue model

1. Deal Access Fees: One-time access fee per deal charged to cover legal and operational costs. No annual management fees.
2. Performance Carry: Carry on profits generated from successful exits. FC invests its own capital alongside members in every deal.

Pricing tiers

Go-to-market motion2 records

Distribution channels3 records

Marketing channels5 records

Core offering

Founders Capital operates a community-powered investment platform that provides curated private market access to sophisticated investors, family offices, and operators. Members invest deal-by-deal across pre-seed to pre-IPO stages through SPVs and nominee vehicles, with proprietary AI-powered deal sourcing and full transparency on each investment.

Product overview

Founders Capital operates as a single unified platform that provides curated private market access to sophisticated investors. The platform enables deal-by-deal investing across three stages: Early-stage (Pre-Seed to Series A including Y Combinator startups), Mid-stage (Series A to B), and Late-stage (Pre-IPO secondary opportunities). Members access opportunities via a secure online platform where each deal includes detailed memos, full documentation, and streamlined investment processes structured through SPVs or nominee vehicles. The platform also offers educational resources including guides on S/EIS investing, late-stage investing, and portfolio diversification.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Brands

• JetPack: A sister consumer brand micro fund co-led by James Watt, founder of BrewDog, for breakout consumer brands.

Products and services

• Founders Capital Platform Technology-enabled investment platform providing curated, deal-by-deal private market access from pre-seed through pre-IPO for sophisticated investors, family offices, and operators across Europe and the USA. Each deal includes detailed memos, full documentation, and a streamlined investment process structured through SPVs or nominee vehicles.
• JetPack Sister consumer brand micro fund co-led by Venture Partner James Watt (founder of BrewDog). FC selectively backs breakout consumer brands through this partnership.

Quantifiable outcome

• Up to 50% income tax relief through S/EIS schemes
• +2 more outcomes

Named customers17 records

Segments5 records

Ideal customer profiles5 records

Technology focussed Yes

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Feature1 record

Partnerships

One partnership is on record.

• JetPackcoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerJetPack is FC's sister consumer brand micro fund co-led by Venture Partner James Watt (founder of BrewDog). FC selectively backs breakout consumer brands through this partnership.

Scale indicators4 records

Recent moves6 records

Expansion highlights5 records

Direct peers

• Wefunder: Wefunder is a US-based Regulation Crowdfunding and Regulation D platform giving retail and accredited investors access to startup equity. It competes with FC for individual investors seeking low-minimum, transparent deal-by-deal private market exposure.
• OurCrowd: OurCrowd is an Israel-based global venture investing platform with a curated community of individual and institutional investors, offering deal-by-deal access alongside managed funds. Its community model and global deal sourcing overlap significantly with Founders Capital's positioning.
• SyndicateRoom: SyndicateRoom is a UK FCA-regulated angel investment platform offering access to EIS-qualifying startup rounds with co-investment alongside professional lead investors. It is a direct competitor for UK-based sophisticated angel investors, with similar minimum ticket sizes and curated deal flow.
• Crowdcube: Crowdcube is a UK FCA-regulated equity crowdfunding platform enabling individual investors to back early-stage and growth-stage companies alongside professional VCs. It competes with FC in the UK retail/sophisticated investor segment, particularly for deal-by-deal private market access.
• Republic (formerly Seedrs): Republic acquired Seedrs in 2022, creating a transatlantic private investment platform offering retail and accredited access to startups, secondaries, and pre-IPO opportunities via SPVs. It directly competes with Founders Capital for sophisticated individual investors seeking curated deal flow.
• AngelList (AngelList Venture / AngelList Roll): AngelList is the largest US-based platform for syndicated angel investing and rolling VC funds, offering SPV creation, deal-by-deal investing, and carry economics. It is the most direct global competitor to Founders Capital's community-powered, deal-by-deal private market access model.

Broad incumbents

• Octopus Ventures: Octopus Ventures is one of the UK's largest VCs, managing multi-stage funds and offering EIS-qualifying portfolios. It is a broader incumbent competing for UK sophisticated investor capital, particularly through its tax-wrapper products that overlap with FC's S/EIS angle.
• Sequoia Scout: Sequoia Capital's Scout program enables outside deal-by-deal investing alongside the firm, with carry economics for scouts. While a program rather than a standalone platform, it represents the gold-standard model FC's deal-by-deal syndicate structure emulates at smaller scale.

Emerging players

• Moonfire Ventures: Moonfire is a London-based early-stage VC investing across European pre-seed and seed with a data-driven, AI-augmented sourcing approach. It overlaps with FC's early-stage sourcing strategy and competes for the same European founder-led deal flow.
• Carta (Secondaries / Syndicates): Carta operates cap table management, secondary market liquidity, and increasingly syndicate/SPV tooling for private markets. While broader than a pure investing platform, its secondary market and SPV infrastructure are increasingly competitive with FC's late-stage secondary offering.

Market position

Strengths5 records

Weaknesses5 records

Competitive moat4 records

Key risks6 records

Key highlights7 records

Customer concentration

• LinkedInlinkedin.com/company/founders-capital-uk

Compliance1 record

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles9 records

Funding overview

Funding rounds

Investors

Funding detail is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

M&A

Investments6 records

M&A and investment is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

Frequently asked questions about Founders Capital