Founder hacks · 04

Who to talk to for your first cheque.

20 accelerators, funds and angel groups backing UK pre-seed founders, with the cheque range, who each is for and who should skip it.

Showing all 20

Accelerators and programmes

Antler UK
London (full time, 4 to 6 days a week in person) · Idea to MVP or early team; pre-seed

£210k
£125k for 8.5% equity plus an £85k convertible note
£40k of the investment goes back to Antler as a programme fee (its UK terms blog, Aug 2025)

Best for
Full-time founders, with or without an idea, ready to team up in London.
Skip if
You can’t be in London full time for the residency, or have no UK right to work.
Approach
Application page, then partner interviews. Needs UK right to work.
Entrepreneur First
London (12 weeks), then San Francisco · Pre-team, pre-idea individuals; investment once a company is formed

Up to $250k
Once you form a company, plus an equity-free grant

Best for
Technical, early-career people who want to find a cofounder and an idea inside the programme.
Skip if
You already have a cofounder and a product direction.
Approach
Apply as an individual. No cofounder needed.
Founders Factory: Aviva Fintech
London and remote · Pre-seed to Series A

£50k
Cash investment, alongside four months of support

Best for
Fintech founders in insurance, wealth, property, asset management, cybersecurity or AI.
Skip if
Your product sits outside fintech. Its other programmes have their own sectors.
Approach
Online application.
Techstars London
London · Early-stage

$220k
$200k uncapped MFN SAFE plus $20k for at least 5% equity

Best for
Founders in any sector with a bold vision, ready for a full programme.
Skip if
You can’t commit to the programme (starts 8 March 2027).
Approach
Programme application. Closes 18 November 2026.
Y Combinator
San Francisco (any startup worldwide may apply) · Idea stage onward; about 40% of a batch is 'just an idea'

$500k
$125k for 7% plus a $375k uncapped MFN SAFE
£0 to approach

Best for
Founders with an idea they are excited about. Solo founders are accepted; cofounders are advised.
Skip if
You can’t relocate to San Francisco or set up a US, Canadian, Singapore or Cayman parent company.
Approach
Online application. On-time deadline 2 November 2026, 8pm PT.

Pre-seed and seed funds

Backed VC
Europe · Seed; leads early rounds

$500k to $5m
Average ticket

Best for
Founders in Europe building frontier technology.
Skip if
Your product is not frontier technology.
Approach
Contact page.
Concept Ventures
London; European fund · Pre-seed; 'you don't need traction'

Up to $1.5m
In first rounds

Best for
First-time or repeat founders at pre-seed, including those with no traction.
Skip if
Your company is already past pre-seed.
Approach
Pick the first-time or repeat-founder track.
Crane Venture Partners
London, with offices in San Francisco, New York, Singapore, Bangalore · Inception through seed

$500k to $3m
Initial cheque

Best for
Founders building foundational technology: AI infrastructure, security, healthcare or robotics.
Skip if
You are building a consumer app or a services business.
Approach
Contact page.

Range from unquote.com
Episode 1
London; invests across the UK and Europe · Pre-seed and seed; often the first institutional money

£250k to £2m
Leads take 10 to 20%

Best for
B2B software founders in the UK or Europe.
Skip if
You are not building B2B software, or have no UK or European base.
Approach
Submit your deck through the form, then a short intro meeting.
Fuel Ventures
London; UK-focused portfolio · Pre-seed to Series A

£150k to £250k
At pre-seed

Best for
UK technology founders at pre-seed.
Skip if
Your company is not technology-led, or has no UK link.
Approach
Submit Pitch page.

Range from sandbox.sifted.eu
Kindred Capital
London · Pre-seed and seed (roughly 70:30 per Sifted)

$200k to $3m
About £160k to £2.4m

Best for
Mission-driven founders happy to share in the fund through its co-owner model.
Skip if
You want a conventional investor relationship, without the co-owner model.
Approach
General enquiries only. No published route.

Range from uktech.news
Passion Capital
London; UK and Europe · Pre-seed and seed, occasional Series A; does not require product or customers

£400k to £500k
First cheque

Best for
Founders in AI, fintech or enterprise software, even before product or customers.
Skip if
You are outside the UK and Europe, or outside those sectors.
Approach
Pitch Us form.

Range from f4.fund
Seedcamp
London; Europe and Israel focus · Pre-product and pre-revenue to post-launch

$350k to $1.25m
First cheque

Best for
Founders in Europe or Israel, or with a distinctly European angle, from pre-product onwards.
Skip if
You have no European or Israeli link or angle.
Approach
Pitch Us form, then an intro call.
firstminute capital
London; primarily Europe · Pre-seed and seed, 'at inception'

£1m to £3m
Per ticket

Best for
AI and deep-tech founders in Europe.
Skip if
You are not building AI or deep tech.
Approach
“Let’s meet” form.

Angel groups

Angel Academe
UK · Early revenue/traction; priced rounds (not ASA or SAFE)

£70k to £350k
Typically attracted from its angels
Costs you: a 5% success fee on money raised through it

Best for
Female founders, or teams with a female cofounder who owns at least 20% of the founder equity, with a working product and traction.
Skip if
No female founder owns at least 20% of the founder equity, or you have no working product yet.
Approach
Online application, then a weekly screening call. Pitches are 10 minutes.
Cambridge Angels
Cambridge and UK · Pre-seed to seed (vendor guide)

£150k to £1.5m
Per round
£0 to approach

Best for
UK early-stage founders who want a no-charge angel route.
Skip if
You want a London-only investor base.
Approach
Apply on its site. Free office hours available.

Range from ellty.com
Enterprise 100
London (London Business School angel club) · Early-stage with early traction

£150k to £2m
Round size; members invest individually
£0 to approach

Best for
Founders with early traction and a disruptive model or proprietary technology.
Skip if
You have no traction yet.
Approach
Apply before the next pitch event. Six to eight companies pitch for ten minutes.
Angel Investment Network
UK and global · Any stage

Set by each investor
Pitch listing from £179 a month
Costs you: pitch listing from £179 a month

Best for
Founders who want a pitch listed in front of a wide investor pool.
Skip if
You want a route with no listing cost.
Approach
Create a profile and choose a listing tier.
Angels Den
UK · Early-stage

Not stated
Costs you: a 5% origination fee on funds raised, plus about 2% where a syndicate vehicle is used

Best for
Early-stage UK founders raising through an investor network.
Skip if
You want a route with no success-linked fee.
Approach
Apply through its site; fees are set out in the Founder Terms.
Angel CoFund
UK · Early-stage UK SMEs, any sector

£100k to £1m
Co-invests alongside a lead syndicate
Costs you: typically about £4,500 of legal costs

Best for
Founders already raising with an angel syndicate and a lead investor.
Skip if
You have no angel syndicate yet.
Approach
Through your lead angel syndicate.

With Cady

Have your agent fundraise for you.

Your agent researches the investors who fit, drafts each approach and prepares your raise materials. You approve what goes out.

Create account

See what it can already do.

You, to Claude or ChatGPT

Shortlist the investors here who fit a pre-seed London software company. Draft each approach, send nothing without my approval, and keep a follow-up date for each.

Cady keeps the record

The shortlist and the reason for each
Every approach and its status
A follow-up date for each investor

Cady is not an investor or a broker. Checked against official pages on 11 October 2026. Ranges from the press are cited. Spotted a change?