Steven Bartlett, entrepreneur, public speaker, author and host of Europe’s most downloaded podcast: ‘The Diary of a CEO’ and BBC Dragons’ Den, today announced the launch of his new $100M Flight Story Fund, with the mission of accelerating the next generation of European Unicorns.
Capital markets, and in particular private equity, took a huge hit in 2022. The launch of the Flight Story Fund has been timed to exploit the dislocation and disruption in the economy. The fund will be investing in companies in the best position to navigate the next decade and require investment and expertise to scale their businesses, those that are focussed on innovation in rapidly emerging sectors.
Th fund will be targeting individual investments between $1M-$10M in high-growth companies in six emerging categories: blockchain, biotech, health & wellbeing, commerce, technology and space – and must have the potential to become Europe’s next Unicorn. Businesses backed by the Fund will have access to a high level of expertise and a strong network of contacts.
At the age of 27, Bartlett IPO’d his social media company Social Chain which had a market valuation in excess of $600M – he resigned as CEO a few years later. He now has a decent network (thanks to his podcast The Diary Of A CEO) and the tools at his fingertips to help great companies succeed. As the co-founder of Web3 development platform thirdweb and the innovative marketing and consulting company Flight Story, his investments will have access to the people, processes and technology to help them capitalise on and put them at the forefront of the evolving landscape in which they operate.
Bartlett is already an investor, having built a private equity portfolio including investments in Huel, Vivino, Isar Aerospace and 20+ other private companies and smaller investments made in the BBC’s Dragons’ Den. The launch of the Flight Story Fund is a natural next step in his investor journey.
The Flight Story Fund claims to have a clear and unique mission – “bring together the most successful entrepreneurs in Europe under one fund and combine their expertise, experience and capital to support the next cohort of great European entrepreneurs”.