London-based seed fund Pact has stepped out for its first outing, armed with a solid £30 million. According to the trio of female partners, Tong Gu, Reem Mobassaleh Wyndham, and Monik Pham, the new fund is the first of its kind in the UK, that is, founded by three female partners.
Pact is aimed at supporting early-stage startups across Europe, with a heavy focus placed on those working in the fields of economic inclusion, personal and professional well-being, and climate solutions. Seed investment tickets are expected to range between £1 million and £1.5 million.
“Our thesis stems from our passion for improving the future. These areas are full of commercial opportunities within global markets we’ve invested in across our careers,” commented founding partner Tong Gu. “We’re launching a dedicated vehicle based on our experiences and understanding of the early-stage founder journey. We want to build long-term pacts with our portfolio and help them change the world.”
With an economic downturn staring us in the face, it’s easy to look at the “now” and lament the layoffs, but as history has shown us, it’s exactly these downturns when some of the greatest brands in history have been founded. Likewise, with long-time players such as Index Ventures amassing huge sums of money to support early-stage startups, it’s refreshing to see that there’s still room on the pitch for first-time-out funds to have a go. Particularly those founded by females and focusing on areas that are critically important to a younger/newer generation.
Before forming Pact, Tong Gu was an investor at ADV and a former founder. She was co-founder and COO at Qisense, a data analytics startup in Shanghai, enabling economic participation for independent brand owners, which she helped grow to 40 people and exited.
Reem Mobassaleh Wyndham was also an investor for ADV focused on financial inclusion investments and previously worked as Vice President, Technology for Abu Dhabi’s Mubadala. She is also a former founder, having built the luxury brand R.Y.M. Jewelry in Dubai.
Monik Pham is an operator and entrepreneur who was part of the founding team of the early-stage fund Fuel Ventures, was an investor at Penfold, and launched several social enterprises in Africa and India.
Pact’s LPs include a woman who needs no introduction, Anne Hathaway, as well as Campden Hill Capital, Google’s Head of AI, Jeff Dean, Yeming Wang, the former head of EMEA of Alibaba, Naspers COO Fahd Beg, Keith Teare, the founding shareholder of TechCrunch, retired CEO at T. Rowe Price Global, Todd Ruppert, and venture partner at Greenspring Associates, Tilo Bonow, CEO of PIABO.
To date, Pact led the investment round in Growth Kitchen, a London-based startup that also saw Gorillas co-founder Ronny Shibley on the cap table.
“We invest where we can add value. Through our diverse experience across 12 countries, we can provide our founders with the intellectual, social and financial capital to help boost their global reach and impact,” concludes Mobassaleh Wyndham.
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