What we look for
At Concept, we back founders at the very beginning - often before there’s a product, revenue, or even a name on Companies House. That means our criteria are less about spreadsheets and more about people. We don’t wait for consensus; we make high-conviction bets on ambition, resilience, and raw potential.
Our single most important criterion is you - the founder. We look for obsession, grit, and clarity of thought. Whether it’s your first company or your fifth, we want to understand why you can’t not build this business. We’ve said yes to teams who met at school, to founders who fled wars, to those fired from their last job but unwilling to stand still. Your story, drive, and superpower matter more to us than traction or polish.
What we value in founders:
We invest at pre-seed because this is where the leap happens - the moment when conviction outweighs evidence. At this stage, we know there won’t be a perfect business plan or a tidy data room. Instead, we look for raw ingredients: a big, ambitious vision and a founder brave enough to jump first.
We’re sector-agnostic, but we want founders chasing global opportunities. The best pre-seed ideas often look unconventional, but they share one thing: the possibility of building something huge. Whether you’re tackling AI, climate, consumer, defence, or robotics, what matters is your ability to see what others don’t yet see.
We pay close attention to the dynamics between co-founders. Pre-seed companies are forged in uncertainty, so trust, alignment, and complementary strengths are essential. We’ll want to see that you can weather pivots, disagreements, and near-misses together.
5. Early Signs of Momentum
While we don’t require traction, we do look for sparks of momentum: an early prototype, a first user story, or a bold insight others have overlooked. These signals, however small, often reveal the depth of your conviction and the potential to scale.
Our criteria are simple but uncompromising: founders with conviction and teams with the resilience to go the distance. Pre-seed is not a placeholder - it’s the point. And when we find those qualities, we go all in.