London's Sprout turns up $1 million to connect those in the know to its curated VC funds

London's Sprout has raised $1 million in pre-seed funds. The marketplace that puts LP funds in the same convention as retail investors, has subscriptions available to Speedinvest, G Squared and Episode 1 Ventures, in a rare chance for lone non-traditional LPs to get involved.

Private market specialists Jonny Blausten, Daniel Lehmann joined Rich Abrahams, a founding member of PwC's scale up incubator,  PwC Raise Ventures , to start up the company in late 2021.

Abrahams, appointed Sprout's chief investment officer earlier this month, explained: "By the time most private investors have heard of the most exciting companies, they've already been backed by the best VCs, meaning that the opportunity to invest in them has gone.

"That needs to change. More people should be able to invest in top-tier venture capital funds, and Sprout is making that possible.”

Sprout's platform enables investors to invest anywhere from £5,000 in assets including a roster of reputable VC funds. The team is serious about giving lone investors more options for diversifying their assets, particularly brokering entry to private markets

So far the team have managed to facilitate millions of pounds worth of investment, and at least 500 private investors elected to join Sprout's community.

The business model neatly addresses the gap from traditional VC fund investments to retail. As steep minimum thresholds are the norm in VC fundraising, that has put funds out of reach for many single investors including both angels of high net worth, but also professional investors working in a unitary capacity.

Sprout's pre-seed round is backed by unspecified family offices and angel investors, though it has specified that Latin America's leading agent of private market placements is involved, along with certain early backers of Wise, Pipe and Betway.

Oliver Holle, Speedinvest CEO and managing partner, said: "Sprout is solving an important challenge for both private investors and the venture capital industry. It is an important and timely offering.

"We strongly support Sprout’s mission to provide access to funds like Speedinvest for private investors who have not previously been able to invest in the asset class. We have enjoyed working with Sprout’s experienced and professional team and we are excited to see them grow in the coming years.”