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

The fund was founded by Fiona Humphries (managing director) and Ellie Craig (portfolio director), and is backed by a UK-based private family office.

It will seek to exclusively invest in businesses with the potential to drive positive environmental or social changes in consumer behaviour.

FIGR plans to make five to six investments each year, intentionally keeping the portfolio size small with the aim of allowing its team to provide hands-on support to business founders.

The fund will typically invest ticket sizes of between £200,000 and £300,000, and will provide patient capital to support businesses with the potential to drive long-term change.

It added that the fund was open to leading rounds and funding first-time founders.

FIGR’s co-founders stated that they identified three ways in which businesses can drive positive change in the consumer sector, and the fund will therefore invest in those three categories.

The categories were ‘switchers’ providing alternatives to environmentally or socially harmful consumer goods, ‘enablers’ developing tools consumers and businesses need to make more sustainable and ethical choices, and ‘solvers’ creating solutions to unsolved problems affecting consumers’ lives.

Humphries will lead on strategy, operations, driving the due diligence process and making final investment decisions.

Meanwhile, Craig will be responsible for identifying and assessing investment opportunities, and act as the main point of contact for all prospective and portfolio founders.

“We started FIGR because we believe the best way to drive positive environmental and social change is to combine charitable grants with investments into high-potential, impactful businesses,” said Humphries

“We’ll 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.”

Craig stated: “We’re really excited to partner with ambitious founders and provide tailored support to help them to grow their businesses.

“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.”

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