Landscape: VC Firm Reviews & Insights

Many are familiar with Glassdoor, a platform enabling employees to anonymously share company evaluations. Now, an entrepreneur in the U.K. is tackling a similar concept, but focused on venture capitalists.

Landscape, a newly launched platform designed to help tech startup founders identify and secure investment opportunities, officially went live today. Created by CompSci alumnus Joe Perkins, the site aims to deliver candid feedback from entrepreneurs regarding their interactions with European VCs and accelerator programs. During its beta testing period, Landscape accumulated roughly 700 reviews and established 83 “Verified Partners” within the system. The initial focus will be on the U.K. and Europe, with plans for future expansion into the U.S. market.

Perkins has assembled an advisory team comprised of industry professionals. This group includes Alex Depledge MBE (founder and CEO of Resi), Eammon Carey (MD of Techstars London and partner at The Fund), Emma Sinclair MBE (co-founder of Enterprise Alumni), Hussein Kanji (partner at Hoxton Ventures) and Jon Bradford (partner at Dynamo Ventures).

Ada Ventures is also providing support for the platform. Partner “Check” Warner stated: “The venture capital and accelerator environment is frequently criticized for shortcomings, including a lack of inclusivity and questionable practices. While numerous organizations are working to improve these areas, data is crucial, and founders often feel disadvantaged during fundraising. Landscape’s platform offers vital transparency, creates a more equitable playing field, and encourages investors to demonstrate genuine, ongoing commitment rather than superficial gestures. Furthermore, it provides investors with valuable insights into how founders perceive their services, enabling them to refine their approach.”

Perkins conceived the idea earlier this year, amidst the height of the COVID-19 pandemic in the U.K., stemming from his own experiences securing funding for his educational technology company, Coursematch, in 2019. “During our fundraising process, we observed significant variations in the quality of engagement from different funds. One particular interaction with a London-based fund proved unproductive, and I thought to myself, “I wish there was a way to alert other founders!””, he explained. Coursematch ultimately received funding from the Ignite Accelerator and the Development Bank of Wales.

Reviews on the platform are submitted anonymously by founders, who assess VCs and accelerators across 12 criteria, including Approachability, Diversity, and Response Time. To provide context, founders are asked to share details about themselves and their business, as well as whether the firm they are reviewing ultimately invested in their startup. Landscape is available to founders at no cost, while VCs can access premium features through a paid subscription, which includes the ability to respond to reviews. Some may view this as potentially coercive, however, the opportunity to address feedback and understand areas for improvement could motivate positive change.

The platform’s launch may also indicate increasing competition within the U.K. venture capital landscape.

The core concept isn’t entirely new. Glassdoor, established in 2007, pioneered this approach for companies generally. It was acquired by the Japanese firm Recruit Holdings for US$1.2 billion in 2018. While primarily known as a platform for employee feedback on larger corporations, tech startups are also occasionally featured, both positively and negatively.

In the venture capital realm, Adeo Ressi, founder of The Founder Institute, launched TheFunded in 2007. This website allowed entrepreneurs to post anonymous reviews of venture capital firms and their procedures. It faced skepticism from VCs, and despite Ressi’s intention to maintain anonymity, his identity was eventually revealed. TheFunded ultimately failed to gain significant traction, likely due to the VC community’s tendency towards informal information sharing.

Landscape faces a similar challenge. TheFunded debuted in the expansive U.S. VC market. In contrast, Landscape is initially launching in the considerably smaller U.K. market.

Perkins shared with TechCrunch that the ecosystem has evolved sufficiently since TheFunded’s launch to support a platform like Landscape. He also stated that Landscape intends to expand internationally soon: “Our goal is to create a platform that empowers founders to conduct thorough due diligence on investors before accepting capital, while also providing investors with the insights they need to refine their services – an area that an increasing number of VCs are embracing. While a VC might be able to guess the identity of a reviewer, Landscape will never disclose this information explicitly.”

“The majority of founder feedback is published on the platform, though some responses are omitted to safeguard anonymity. To date, the 600 founders who have submitted reviews have not expressed concerns about this practice; however, Landscape will always allow founders to remove or modify their reviews at any time. Currently, a significant portion of reviews originate from founders within a fund’s portfolio, which may result in more favorable assessments. As we gather more feedback from a broader range of individuals who have engaged with firms, we can provide founders with more comprehensive information for their due diligence,” he added.

According to Landscape, the top 10 European VC Firms, as rated by its community (listed without ranking), with over five reviews each, are:

• 7percent Ventures
• Ada Ventures
• Ascension Ventures
• BACKED VC
• Connect Ventures
• Dynamo Ventures
• Episode 1 Ventures
• Kindred Capital
• Seedcamp
• Talis Capital

Further insights derived from nearly 700 reviews include:

• VCs receive the lowest scores on “Diversity” and “Beyond Money”.
•  Accelerators score lowest on Post Programme Support.
•  Female founders generally report feeling less supported by their investors compared to male founders.
•  Founders who were unsuccessful in securing funding provide lower ratings for VC “Response Time” than those who did.