Informa Plc (LON: INF), the International Exhibitions, Events, Information Services and Scholarly Research Group, announces the launch of Informa Ventures, a founder-friendly venture capital fund that makes early stage investments in the Knowledge & Information economy.
Informa Ventures offers capital, access to markets, mentorship and expertise to entrepreneurs and founding teams. It focuses on start-ups whose products and services are based on content, intelligence and connections, and where founders have clear vision of how disruption and innovation will challenge and shape these markets.
“We love it when a founding team is passionate about what they do, has ambitious goals and makes us think differently about our businesses,” said Richard Stanton, Managing Partner, Informa Ventures. “Our investment focus is on start-ups that operate in the global market for information services, and who foresee and can seize on commercial opportunities that arise from the adoption of new technologies and changes in human behavior and business practices.”
Informa Ventures makes Seed and Series A investments based on the potential of the product or service, the strength of the team and a clearly articulated vision of what success looks like to the founding team. Founders are expected to have exemplary knowledge of their customers and markets, a defined use for the capital and clear, measurable KPIs.
“The ever-smarter use of data and technology is changing information services products, the way they are delivered, and customer behavior and expectations. We’re pleased to be able to support start-ups operating in our markets and to help accelerate their work, while participating in what’s just around the corner for the industry,” said Alex Roth, Director of Strategy and Business Planning, Informa.
