In this program, we become co-investors selected projects or startups by converting up to 50% of our development costs or a prescribed pound amount in equity (whichever is lowest). The acquisition of shares in the business is at net present value. These shares must be subscribed prior to or at the time of our involvement. The remaining 50% of our fees are still applicable and can be paid by either an investor or the founding team (outside investment seasons).
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We can exit the project on your next investment round.

With the cofounder program, we support you for up to 12 months with:
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• Technical and/or strategic co-founder,
• Business plan evaluation and validation,
• Business process modeling,
• Business advisors and board member,
• Design and build of an effective and scalable MVP,
• Marketing strategy for the product or service launch,
• Execution of marketing plan and calendar,
• Investment of up to £50,000 or 50% of development costs in sweat equity,
• Access to our network and real-time communication channels,
• Business setup or expansion to the United Kingdom or Brazil.

To qualify for our cofounder program you must be able to demonstrate you are a specialist in the sector your project relates to and have gone through some minimal research.

You must:

• Have or willing to build a digital product or service,
• Be willing to give equity for up to £50,000,
• Articulate clearly what is the problem you are trying to solve,
• Be able to pinpoint the market your product/service relates to,
• Be able to quantify the value you will be bringing to your customers,
• Have clearly defined your customer’s persona,
• Have some understanding of the legal regulations you need to comply with (sector),
• Have financial projections for at least 14 months considering the development period,
• Have a business valuation and be able to explain the method used for the valuation,

Only applicable if an investment season is closed:
• Have an investor or a co-founder able to finance at least 50% of the product development,

Only applicable if investment season is open:
• Match the investment season requirements.

During an investment season, your project must match the specific requirements of that season. These requirements are set by the pool of investors or corporates sponsoring the season.
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Submitting an application during a season is FREE.
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Stage 1: Submit your application
• We will begin to review applications the day after the season closes.
• We will shortlist projects once we have reviewed all applications (around 14 days after season closure).

Stage 2: Shortlisted projects
• Will be contacted for a virtual presentation with the SVB team,
• Timeframe: 20 minutes presentation + 20-30 minutes Q &A,
• Projects moving forward will be contacted (timeline TBD).

Stage 3: Second presentation with investors
• Timeframe: 20 minutes presentation + 15-20 minutes Q &A,
• Projects moving forward will be contacted (timeline TBD).

Stage 4: Finalists will be contacted
• To discuss in-depth development plans and requirements to estimate development costs,
• To attend event and present their project in front of all other finalists, investors and SVB’s co-founder team (15 minutes to impress),
• Results will be announced the same day or the following day.

Stage 5: Negotiations, due diligence and agreement.

You can submit your application to join our cofounder program if a season is closed.

Make sure you do answer yes to all qualification questions before starting. 

There is a fee of £200 (VAT included) to submit your application.

This is to ensure we remain focused on the startups we are working with and to filter incomplete applications or projects that are not investment-ready.

The fee is non-refundable and does not guarantee your project will be accepted .
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If your project is not investment ready or at too early stages we have other ways to help you. Visit for more information .

• Stage 1: Payment of fee.
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• Stage 2:  Submit application.
• Internal evaluation and revision of the information submitted (2-3 working days).

• Stage 3: If the project qualifies and proves to be solid.
• We will invite you to present your project via a virtual meeting (45 minutes presentation + 30-45 minutes Q &A).

• Stage 4: Decision (2-3 working days).

• Stage 5: Negotiations, due diligence and agreement.