Partner Insight: Vala Capital's Jasper Smith and Paddy Willis have brought together a unique set of entrepreneurial experiences in order to provide new businesses - and investors - with the support they require to succeed
It is often said that the investors behind the EIS sector today are every bit as dynamic and nimble as the high-growth businesses the funds are in place to support.
For the founders of Vala Capital, this somewhat apt description goes a step further and embodies the very discipline behind the group's investment philosophy.
The group's formation has brought together a unique set of entrepreneurial experiences in founders Jasper Smith and Paddy Willis, both of whom have been investing in companies both singularly and collectively for several years.
Together, Smith and Willis have joined forces to create an investment firm that plays to their strengths as entrepreneurial investors, who can actively assist in building a diversified portfolio of high-growth companies that will be able to provide fruitful returns for investors on exit.
Indeed, the group's latest offering, the Vala EIS Portfolio, aims to provide new businesses with not just investment capital that will help support their future growth, but the team also offers a full mentoring and support service to assist them in their journey to success. In doing so, the portfolio aims to return to investors 2X the amount invested net of fees.
"We are investors but like to believe that first of all we are entrepreneurs," explains Smith.
"And we believe the hard work and tough lessons we have learned along the way as a team of seasoned and successful entrepreneurs puts us in a strong position to find and nurture the best investee companies."
Willis agrees, adding: "Being a serial entrepreneur is a bit like giving birth - you only remember the good things, otherwise you'd never come back to try again. But we want to take the shock and stress out of starting a company, and actively help businesses to succeed."
Vala intends to cast its net far and wide in order to collar the best opportunities for its EIS portfolio.
To read the full interview and learn more about Vala Capital's entrepreneurial approach to tax efficient investing, click here to see the full Spotlight - Tax Efficient Investing guide.
