Simon Acland has spent 30 years investing in young technology businesses. Much of his venture capital career he spent at Quester, which he helped to build into one of the UK’s most active early stage technology investors. Seven of the companies that he has backed achieved public listings on the London Stock Exchange, AIM, Nasdaq or Easdaq, including two companies which reached the FTSE 250; many others have been successfully sold.
Since Quester’s sale in 2007, Simon has been an active business angel investor. He currently chairs GAS portfolio company Naturemetrics and sits on the board of Powervault. He also sits on the boards of the Satellite Applications Catapult and Triple Point Income VCT (which has investments primarily in renewable energy and vertical farming) as well as acting as an advisor to the Triple Point Impact EIS Fund. He is a member of the investment committee of the Angel CoFund since its foundation by the British Business Bank. He has just stepped down after ten years as a Trustee and Vice Chair of Plantlife, the UK’s main wild plant conservation charity.
His book Angels, Dragons and Vultures – how to tame your investors…and not lose your company is regarded as one of the most helpful guides for entrepreneurs to the venture capital world.