Haatch Partners with Loughborough University to Launch New Venture Investor Network
We are delighted to announce our partnership with Loughborough University to launch the Loughborough Venture Investor Network (LVIN), a new initiative connecting high-potential startups and spinouts from the University’s entrepreneurial ecosystem with alumni and other affiliated investors.
The Network will create a dedicated route for credible Loughborough-linked ventures to access the early-stage capital and support they need to grow, while giving the University’s alumni and supporters an opportunity to engage directly with the next generation of innovative businesses.
What is the Loughborough Venture Investor Network?
Loughborough University already supports founders through a range of entrepreneurial and innovation programmes, providing access to expertise, mentoring and professional networks. LVIN has been created to complement this existing support by addressing one of the most difficult challenges facing early-stage businesses: securing their first external investment.
Investors can apply to join the Network and will receive a curated selection of investment opportunities each quarter. These businesses will be reviewed by an expert Nomination Panel to ensure that the opportunities presented to members have been critically assessed and are considered investible.
Members can then indicate which businesses they are interested in supporting. Where there is sufficient investor interest, funds will be deployed through Haatch, as an FCA-regulated alternative investment fund manager specialising in pre-seed and seed-stage investment. Haatch will manage the deployed capital and provide investors with ongoing portfolio reporting through its investor platform.
Why This Matters
Innovative startups and university spinouts often find it particularly difficult to raise capital during the earliest stages of their development. Even businesses with significant growth potential can struggle to secure the funding required to validate their products, enter new markets and build the foundations for scale.
At the same time, universities have extensive communities of alumni and supporters who may be interested in backing emerging businesses but lack an effective way to discover, assess and invest in those opportunities.
LVIN is designed to bring these two groups together. By combining Loughborough University’s entrepreneurial ecosystem with Haatch’s experience in identifying, assessing and supporting early-stage businesses, the Network will provide a structured bridge between promising founders and prospective investors.
The initiative also offers alumni and supporters the opportunity to contribute more than capital. Through their professional experience, sector knowledge and networks, members can help emerging founders navigate the challenges of building and scaling a successful business.
Professor Nick Jennings, Vice-Chancellor of Loughborough University, said:“The launch of LVIN and our partnership with Haatch is incredibly exciting. It is integral to us being able to drive forward an inclusive, innovation-led community at Loughborough – something which is a key priority in our Strategy. We are passionate about nurturing emerging businesses, and being able to connect early-stage founders with alumni and University supporters will accelerate both growth for the businesses and the development of the University’s innovation ecosystem.”
Why We Are Excited
At Haatch, we know that the first cheque can be the hardest for a founder to raise. We also know that there is no shortage of ambitious entrepreneurs emerging from the UK’s universities, nor of experienced alumni who would be willing to support them if the right connections and investment infrastructure were in place.
LVIN brings these elements together in a thoughtful and practical way: credible opportunities from within the Loughborough community, an engaged network of potential investors, robust assessment before opportunities are presented, and professional support after an investment has been made.
As an operator-led investor, we believe early-stage founders benefit from access not only to funding, but also to the experience, relationships and hands-on support required to turn an innovative idea into a scalable business. We are excited to bring that approach to the Loughborough ecosystem and to help its founders build the next generation of successful companies.
Jonathan Keeling, Partner at Haatch, commented:“The hardest money to raise is the first cheque, and it’s usually raised in a closed room. Universities like Loughborough are producing exactly the kind of founders who should be in that room, and there’s a community of alumni who would genuinely back them if anyone made the introduction properly.
“That’s all LVIN is: a way of connecting the two, with real diligence in between and real support after the money lands. We’re not here to be another fund on a list. We’re here because this is how early-stage investing should have worked all along.”
The launch of LVIN marks the beginning of an exciting long-term partnership. Together, Haatch and Loughborough University aim to unlock more early-stage investment, accelerate the development of innovative businesses and strengthen Loughborough’s position as a leading hub for entrepreneurship and innovation.
The Network will create a dedicated route for credible Loughborough-linked ventures to access the early-stage capital and support they need to grow, while giving the University’s alumni and supporters an opportunity to engage directly with the next generation of innovative businesses.
What is the Loughborough Venture Investor Network?
Loughborough University already supports founders through a range of entrepreneurial and innovation programmes, providing access to expertise, mentoring and professional networks. LVIN has been created to complement this existing support by addressing one of the most difficult challenges facing early-stage businesses: securing their first external investment.
Investors can apply to join the Network and will receive a curated selection of investment opportunities each quarter. These businesses will be reviewed by an expert Nomination Panel to ensure that the opportunities presented to members have been critically assessed and are considered investible.
Members can then indicate which businesses they are interested in supporting. Where there is sufficient investor interest, funds will be deployed through Haatch, as an FCA-regulated alternative investment fund manager specialising in pre-seed and seed-stage investment. Haatch will manage the deployed capital and provide investors with ongoing portfolio reporting through its investor platform.
Why This Matters
Innovative startups and university spinouts often find it particularly difficult to raise capital during the earliest stages of their development. Even businesses with significant growth potential can struggle to secure the funding required to validate their products, enter new markets and build the foundations for scale.
At the same time, universities have extensive communities of alumni and supporters who may be interested in backing emerging businesses but lack an effective way to discover, assess and invest in those opportunities.
LVIN is designed to bring these two groups together. By combining Loughborough University’s entrepreneurial ecosystem with Haatch’s experience in identifying, assessing and supporting early-stage businesses, the Network will provide a structured bridge between promising founders and prospective investors.
The initiative also offers alumni and supporters the opportunity to contribute more than capital. Through their professional experience, sector knowledge and networks, members can help emerging founders navigate the challenges of building and scaling a successful business.
Professor Nick Jennings, Vice-Chancellor of Loughborough University, said:“The launch of LVIN and our partnership with Haatch is incredibly exciting. It is integral to us being able to drive forward an inclusive, innovation-led community at Loughborough – something which is a key priority in our Strategy. We are passionate about nurturing emerging businesses, and being able to connect early-stage founders with alumni and University supporters will accelerate both growth for the businesses and the development of the University’s innovation ecosystem.”
Why We Are Excited
At Haatch, we know that the first cheque can be the hardest for a founder to raise. We also know that there is no shortage of ambitious entrepreneurs emerging from the UK’s universities, nor of experienced alumni who would be willing to support them if the right connections and investment infrastructure were in place.
LVIN brings these elements together in a thoughtful and practical way: credible opportunities from within the Loughborough community, an engaged network of potential investors, robust assessment before opportunities are presented, and professional support after an investment has been made.
As an operator-led investor, we believe early-stage founders benefit from access not only to funding, but also to the experience, relationships and hands-on support required to turn an innovative idea into a scalable business. We are excited to bring that approach to the Loughborough ecosystem and to help its founders build the next generation of successful companies.
Jonathan Keeling, Partner at Haatch, commented:“The hardest money to raise is the first cheque, and it’s usually raised in a closed room. Universities like Loughborough are producing exactly the kind of founders who should be in that room, and there’s a community of alumni who would genuinely back them if anyone made the introduction properly.
“That’s all LVIN is: a way of connecting the two, with real diligence in between and real support after the money lands. We’re not here to be another fund on a list. We’re here because this is how early-stage investing should have worked all along.”
The launch of LVIN marks the beginning of an exciting long-term partnership. Together, Haatch and Loughborough University aim to unlock more early-stage investment, accelerate the development of innovative businesses and strengthen Loughborough’s position as a leading hub for entrepreneurship and innovation.
By
Jonathan Keeling
Partner
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