Don’t invest unless you’re prepared to lose all your money.

These are high-risk investments and you are unlikely to be protected if something goes wrong.

Risk summary for non-readily realisable securities which are shares:

Last updated: 15 April 2024 | Estimated reading time: 2 min

Due to the potential for losses, the Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) considers this investment to be high risk!

What are the key risks?

1. You could lose all the money you invest

If the business you invest in fails, you are likely to lose 100% of the money you invested. Most start-up businesses fail.

2. You are unlikely to be protected if something goes wrong

The business offering this investment is not regulated by the FCA. Protection from the Financial Services Compensation Scheme (FSCS) only considers claims against failed regulated firms. Learn more about FSCS protection here.

Protection from the Financial Ombudsman Service (FOS) does not cover poor investment performance. If you have a complaint against an FCA-regulated firm, FOS may be able to consider it. Learn more about FOS protection here.

3. You won’t get your money back quickly

Even if the business you invest in is successful, it may take several years to get your money back. You are unlikely to be able to sell your investment early. The most likely way to get your money back is if the business is bought by another business or lists its shares on an exchange such as the London Stock Exchange. These events are not common. If you are investing in a start-up business, you should not expect to get your money back through dividends. Start-up businesses rarely pay these.

4. Don’t put all your eggs in one basket

Putting all your money into a single business or type of investment, for example, is risky. Spreading your money across different investments makes you less dependent on anyone to do well. A good rule of thumb is not to invest more than 10% of your money in high-risk investments. Read more about it here.

5. The value of your investment can be reduced

The percentage of the business that you own will decrease if the business issues more shares. This could mean that the value of your investment reduces, depending on how much the business grows. Most start-up businesses issue multiple rounds of shares. These new shares could have additional rights that your shares don’t have, such as the right to receive a fixed dividend, which could further reduce your chances of getting a return on your investment. If you are interested in learning more about how to protect yourself, visit the FCA’s website here.

Please find the PDF version here.

The Fuel Ventures Funds' Portfolio of companies

Some of the most exciting Vertical AI, Software & FinTech companies

Converts existing industrial cameras into an intelligent monitoring layer helping heavy industry operators improve safety, operations and inspections in real time.

B2B2C proptech integrating with all home-buying stakeholders to deliver a digital, accelerated, lower-risk transaction alongside existing property professionals' systems.

AI-native infrastructure for bid teams — drafts entire proposals 75% faster with 15% higher scores, built for complex tenders and RFPs.

Online platform dedicated to women's reproductive health — virtual consultations with accredited specialist practitioners for midwifery, pelvic health, mental health and breastfeeding.

AI-first healthcare SuperApp — anticipates and addresses health issues before they become significant, combining wearable integration with personalised health management plans.

24-hour finance solution for Asian SME eCommerce merchants selling on Western platforms — SaaS tool helping lenders identify opportunities and a marketplace to connect both sides.

System of AI record — automatically captures every prompt, seed and workflow so creative teams can find, reproduce and prove the provenance of their AI-generated assets at scale.

AI agent for lenders and brokers — automates the entire front and middle office, cutting lead-to-offer times by 95%, reducing costs 5-10x and improving throughput 10-20x.

AI knowledge assistant that helps you get smarter, faster — captures anything on the web, auto-organises it and resurfaces it right when you need it.

Platform for visualising and managing strategic objectives and programme transformation — fresh approach to complex challenges with instant collaboration, clarity and control.

Helps companies champion GDPR compliance and build a privacy culture — intuitive data privacy management software reducing breach risks and building customer relationships.

Control layer for enterprise payment management — modular, provider-agnostic infrastructure giving global businesses complete visibility, flexibility and cost efficiency across their entire payment stack.

AI-native operating system and insights engine powering sustainable growth and resilient supply chains for food and drink manufacturers.

AI tool delivering rapid planning guidance — analyses complex legislation and past decisions to give site-specific answers for property development projects.

Technology-driven content engine for large organisations — platform giving brands flexibility and cost efficiency to create content at scale globally.

Deep-tech enabling the machining industry to reach the best part, faster and first time — unique digital twin and AI technology bypassing costly iterative manufacturing processes.

Customer experience platform for brokers and insurers — delivers live engagement and retention intelligence so brokers can anticipate client needs and strengthen relationships.

Platform connecting capital-constrained banks to investors — transforms the capital relief transaction market through intelligent standardisation, AI and blockchain.

AI copilot for industrial robot downtime management — combines robot sensor logs with computer vision to detect issues earlier and resolve them faster.

Takes a project-first approach to DIY — links creator content to exactly the right products and sells them in one click, with expert design and project planning services.

Culture-first platform giving enterprise organisations the proactive backbone of an inclusive, safe and high-functioning workforce championing a shared code of ethics and conduct.

Gen AI for the entire software development lifecycle — reduces weeks of work into minutes across all tools and roles, from code to specs to test plans.

B2B platform providing instant access to insights, data and information from public and proprietary databases — saves organisations weeks of manual effort and improves conversion rates.

Multi-agent AI system automating intelligence investigations — scans the surface, deep and dark web to identify digital footprints, collect information and output finished intelligence reports.

B2B FinTech automating financial analysis for banks and private equity using AI — detects, tags and organises financial data, with a rapidly expanding UK company database.

Go-to platform for families to plan, manage and fund their children's 20-year education journey into adulthood.

Applied intelligence platform for financial institutions to proactively identify, understand and support vulnerable customers through the analysis of financial behaviours.

AI-driven online marketplace redefining furniture and homeware shopping — aggregates thousands of products with personalised recommendations and trend curation.

Platform and community connecting businesses with workers — removes inefficiencies for young people to find well-paid flexible shifts and ends staff shortage cycles.

SaaS platform providing aggregated, inclusive patient health data insights to pharma research teams — incorporates gender and minority ethnic perspectives to accelerate drug discovery.

AI Partner Development Manager that finds the ideal referral partners in seconds and handles outreach, tracking and payouts end-to-end.

B2B eCommerce platform integrating seamlessly with existing online stores — enables a powerful B2B ordering experience with fast installation and built-in automation tools.

AI-powered spend strategy platform converting raw data and documents into actionable insights — automates analysis to drive smarter procurement, budgeting and supplier decisions.

Helps housing providers make smarter, data-driven decisions — provides clear insights into residents for better support, early risk identification and personalised communication.

Idle cash pays for subscriptions — uses income on idle cash and merchant discounts to cover users' subscription costs.

Transforms enterprise tech hiring with AI precision and human expertise — pre-vetted software developers and IT engineers delivered within 48 hours.

TEAM NOTABLE EXITS AND INVESTMENTS

Largest UK consumer website for money saving coupons and codes.

Everything you need to sell software and automate recurring billing operations.

Platform that helps event organisers shift unsold tickets, last minute, while passing on discounts to consumers.

Marketplace connecting students and parents with high-quality, pre-vetted tutors

iPad PoS Software that allows you to manage thousands of stores at a fraction of the cost.