Family office Fund, FIGR Ventures aims to support mission driven consumer product innovation

FIGR Ventures, a newly established family office fund, has launched to invest in early-stage, mission-driven businesses.

FIGR will invest long-term capital, typically at Pre-Seed and Seed stages, in businesses with the potential to drive positive environmental or social changes in consumer behaviour.

Founded by Fiona Humphries (Managing Director) and Ellie Craig (Portfolio Director) and backed by a UK-based private family office, FIGR’s mission was borne out of the co-founders’ mutual passion for consumer products and mutual concern for the increasing harm being caused by the consumption of those products. 

FIGR plans to make 5-6 investments each year, intentionally keeping the portfolio size small to allow its lean team to provide hands-on support to founders.

The fund will typically invest ticket sizes of £200k to £300k, and will provide patient capital to support businesses with the potential to drive long-term change. Making real change involves taking risks, so FIGR is open to leading rounds and funding first-time founders.

FIGR’s co-founders have identified three ways in which businesses can drive positive change in the consumer sector:

• “Switchers” providing alternatives to environmentally or socially harmful consumer goods. FIGR will seek out companies creating high-quality, guilt-free products people actually want to use, from sustainable skincare and cleaning products to ethical jewellery and food.

• “Enablers” developing the tools consumers and businesses need to make more sustainable and ethical choices.
  The fund will back founders developing technologies, materials and processes making it easier for all of us to do better, from AI-enabled sustainable shopping to eco-friendly packaging.

• “Solvers” creating groundbreaking solutions to unsolved problems affecting consumers’ lives, which could include education, healthcare, femtech and more.

According to Fiona Humphries, Managing Director of FIGR Ventures, the firm will be “looking at all prospective investments through the lens of their impact, and thinking about their potential to scale sustainably and profitably."

"We’re hoping to find amazing early-stage businesses and grow them from startups into market leaders.”

Ellie Craig, Portfolio Director of FIGR Ventures, added:

“At the early stages we’re focusing on, the founders are the most important part of our investment decisions. We’re backing brilliant people and empowering them to build great businesses.”

FIGR advisors include

• Nic Humphries, Senior Partner and Executive  Chair of Hg,

• Richard Chapple, Co-Founder of The Growth Foundation,

• Richard Johnson Jason Richards, Head of Portfolio Technology at Hg, and 

• Dan Casey, Senior Strategy & Operations Manager at Revolut.

Lead image: Fiona Humphries, Managing Director at FIGR Ventures and Ellie Craig, Portfolio Director at FIGR Ventures. Photo: uncredited.