GCV Labs / Venture Builder
We create, launch and scale startups that transform industries.
From idea to scale, GCV Labs combines strategy, talent, technology, capital and growth expertise to build ambitious companies with the potential to transform industries.
What is a venture builder?
A better way to build startups.
Great businesses rarely emerge from an idea alone. They require the right opportunity, the right people, the right product, the right technology, the right capital and an effective route to market.
GCV Labs brings those capabilities together within one venture builder. We systematically identify opportunities, validate them, build the business around them and provide the resources required to launch, accelerate and scale.
The value chain
- 01IdeaOpportunities identified from real market gaps.
- 02ValidationEvidence gathered before capital is committed.
- 03BusinessThe model, economics and route to market defined.
- 04ProductProposition and technology built in-house.
- 05CapitalFunding staged against evidence, round by round.
- 06GrowthLaunch, customer acquisition and acceleration.
- 07ScaleThe resources and support to expand and mature.
The Venture Builder Process
Seven stages, from idea to scale.
A structured approach to creating, launching and scaling high-growth businesses, with capital staged against evidence at every stage.
01
Ideate
We generate ideas where technology or regulatory change creates opportunities for disruption.
02
Evaluate
We test whether an opportunity solves a genuine problem and assess its market potential.
03
Create
We form the project team, define the proposition and create the venture's foundations.
04
Incubate
We turn the validated proposition into a minimum viable product, ready for market.
05
Launch
We take the product to market and pursue product/market fit with real customers.
06
Accelerate
Once proven, we build the commercial marketing and sales engine for repeatable, scalable growth.
07
Scale
We build the team, infrastructure and capabilities to create sustained enterprise value.
Why GCV Labs
Everything a startup needs.
Built around one venture.
Strategy
We define the opportunity, the proposition and the business model, and set the route to value creation before anything is built.
Talent
We assemble multidisciplinary teams around each venture - strategy, product, design, marketing, sales and finance.
Brand & product
We create the brands, products and experiences customers want to use, and iterate them against real market feedback.
Technology
We architect and build scalable technology platforms, engineered to support each venture from MVP through to exit.
Go-to-market
We create the commercial engine - positioning, sales and marketing - required to acquire, convert and retain customers.
Capital
We provide access to investment throughout the company's development, with capital at every stage.
Growth
We use data, metrics and disciplined execution to accelerate growth and compound enterprise value creation.
Exit
We prepare each venture for a successful exit or independent future, realising value for the founders and investors behind it.
The GCV ecosystem
More than a venture builder.
GCV Labs operates within the wider Growth Capital Ventures ecosystem, bringing together venture building capability and access to an established private investor network.
GCV Labs
Build
GCV Labs creates and develops high-quality ventures — from opportunity identification through to scale.
Ventures
Grow
Each venture is supported by strategy, people, product, technology and growth capability throughout its development.
GCV Invest
Fund
GCV Invest provides qualifying investors with access to carefully selected investment opportunities. Investment activity is separate from the operational venture builder.
Who we build with
Building ambitious ventures with ambitious people.
01
We build our own ideas
GCV Spinouts
We identify opportunities where technology, changing markets or regulation can create significant value, then validate the opportunity, develop the proposition, assemble the team and build the company from the ground up.
02
We build with founders
Founder Partnerships
We partner with exceptional founders and domain experts who have insight, ambition and the potential to build category-defining businesses, bringing the venture building infrastructure around them.
03
We build with industry
Corporate Venture Building
We work with established businesses to identify, create and launch new products, services and ventures — from opportunity identification and validation through to product development, launch and scale.
Portfolio
Companies we've helped build.
Intelligence Fusion
SaaS · Threat intelligence & geopolitical risk
Co-founded with Michael McCabe and built through the full GCV Labs venture build process — from idea and proof of concept to launch and scale. Funded first by the GCV Invest network, then institutional investors as the business proved product-market fit and its revenue model. Acquired by Sigma7 and now operating as S7 One.
n-gage.io
SaaS · Attractions management
An attractions management platform with a powerful, highly customisable visitor-facing app, co-founded with Bryan Hoare. Now in its growth phase, with clients including Longleat Safari Park, Knowsley Safari Park and Jimmy's Farm.
Business Finance Market
Fintech · Commercial finance
A GCV Labs portfolio company with two brands: Finance Nation, the FCA-authorised commercial finance brokerage, and Xova, the commercial broker SaaS platform - piloted and used by Finance Nation, and built to be licensed to other commercial brokers, initially in the UK and then globally.
Valius Global
Marketplace · SME M&A
Valius is a modern digital marketplace connecting business owners with serious, verified buyers. The platform showcases over 1,000 UK businesses across a wide range of sectors. Smart matching helps buyers discover opportunities. End-to-end tools and support streamline the journey from discovery through to completion.
The team
Operators. Investors. Builders.
Successful ventures require more than capital. Our team brings together experience spanning entrepreneurship, investment, strategy, technology, product, marketing, sales, finance and operations.
- Entrepreneurship
- Investment
- Strategy
- Technology
- Product
- Marketing
- Sales
- Finance
- Operations
Insights
Thinking on venture building.
Scale
Building enterprise value, not just revenue
Two companies with identical revenue can be worth very different amounts. The difference is what the revenue is attached to — and most of it is decided before the scale stage begins.
ReadGrowth
The metrics that matter: CAC, LTV and payback
Growth metrics are usually presented after the fact to explain what happened. Used properly, CAC, LTV and payback are decision tools that tell you how much growth you can afford and when.
ReadGo-to-market
What product-market fit actually looks like
Product-market fit is described as a feeling and measured as a guess. It is more useful to treat it as a set of observable conditions — and to know which ones you have not met yet.
ReadWhat could we build together?
Whether you have identified an opportunity, are building an ambitious venture or want to explore how our venture builder model works, start a conversation with GCV Labs.