Startup Investing

Most people think startup investing is about being smarter — it's not, it's about being earlier.

Let’s be honest from the start.

Start‑up investing is risky. It should only ever be a small part of a well‑balanced portfolio, and it should be money you fully expect to either: not see again, or not touch for 5–10 years, possibly more.

I’ve had some great exits over the years but they took time. There were long stretches where I questioned whether I’d made the right call. I’ve also lost money and seen genuinely good companies fail.

That’s just part of the game.

Everything I share here is based on my own experience. None of the companies mentioned have had any input into this, haven’t seen it before publication, and haven’t paid for a single word.

The only person who has signed it off is my boss (my wife)😂

This isn’t investment advice — it’s just how I think about start‑ups and why I invest the way I do.

I talk a lot about something I call information imbalance.

It’s not insider knowledge. It’s not clever tricks.

It’s simply being early to something:

Social media plays a part here — but you have to be selective.

Who you choose to watch and listen to matters. I deliberately follow people who:

Trust is built over time.

If someone is constantly promoting everything, it’s noise. If they’re thoughtful, consistent, and clearly aligned with what they share, that’s signal.

That early context — combined with real-world experience — is what builds conviction.

Heights is probably the best example of how all this clicked for me.

I was listening to Diary of a CEO right back in the early days — yes, I listened to them all from the start. At the time, it was nowhere near as big as it is now.

Back then, I was working in a mental health trust and, like a lot of people, dealing with burnout and my own struggles in the background. Some of the conversations Steven Bartlett was having really hit home.

Then Dan Murray from Heights came on.

The conversation around mental performance, burnout, and long‑term health landed at exactly the right time for me. As he was talking, he mentioned Heights, so I did what most people do — I googled it and bought some.

This was a few years ago now, and I was hooked pretty quickly.

At that point, I’d dabbled in start‑ups but nothing serious. Most of my money was still in the stock market.

Then an email landed.

Heights were raising money. If you were interested, here’s where to go: Republic Europe (formerly Seeders).

My wife and I talked it through. We had disposable income, good savings, and a solid financial base. We agreed it made sense.

So in 2024, we made our first serious start-up investment. We’d dabbled before, but this was the first time we really committed with conviction‑up investment

I won’t lie — getting the investment certificate in November 2024 felt brilliant. And to this day, I still take Heights daily and happily buy more of the products they’ve since launched.

So how does this link back to information imbalance?

When I first listened to that episode, Diary of a CEO wasn’t the giant platform it is today. I’d listened early. I trusted Dan as a founder. I used the product. Friends used it and loved it too.

Through that, I learned where the business really was.

It’s still one of the best pitches I’ve seen — and I genuinely believe I was early then, and still am now.

Dan is also one of the best communicators in this space. I’ve taken a lot from that into what I’m building next.

I mainly invest through:

Neither platform is perfect, but both give people like me access to opportunities I simply wouldn’t have had before.

They make the process clear and simple, and they handle a lot of the heavy lifting in the background, including documentation needed for things like EIS and SEIS.

For anyone newer to this space, these schemes are designed to support early‑stage UK businesses and come with tax reliefs that can help offset some of the risk.

As a very simple example: if you invest £1,000 into a qualifying SEIS or EIS opportunity, you can receive up to £500 back in tax relief. In effect, you’ve bought £1,000 worth of shares for £500.

If you’re a higher‑rate taxpayer that relief works by reducing your income tax bill for the year (it doesn’t change the risk, but it can materially soften the downside).

Another thing I genuinely like is access.

You’re often able to interact directly with founders and CEOs, and you get monthly or yearly updates on progress.

I’ll admit — I probably ask too many questions. They’re likely sick of me by now.

If I come across other platforms worth using, I’ll share them — but these two are where I mostly operate, alongside the odd direct investment.

This bit is important.

Before I made any meaningful start‑up investments:

I could afford to lose the money.

That’s where I believe you need to be, and it’s a position I still maintain today.

We worked hard to get there. We cut back, reduced holidays, and reined in spending because we had clear goals — including starting a family.

While start‑ups are risky, we wanted all personal risk off the table first.

Only then did this make sense.

This is something I’ll be covering in much more detail in future articles — how we structured our finances, reduced personal risk, and built the foundation that made start-up investing feel sensible rather than stressful.

After Heights, I came across EBAR.

This one was simple for me.

It solved a problem I’d experienced countless times: long queues and poor experiences trying to get a decent pint at busy venues.

I’m an Everton fan. I loved Goodison Park, but waiting ages for a drink, only to get a poorly poured pint, was part of the deal.

EBAR ticked so many boxes. It solved a real problem, improved the experience, and helped venues operate better.

The full‑circle moment came when I went to the first game at the new Hill Dickinson Stadium and saw the integrated EBAR system in action.

I’ve used it ever since.

And yes — it pours a perfect pint of Guinness. Here’s a picture of it in action

I’m a big tech nerd.

I love how technology quietly improves everyday life. I’m back into coding, using AI, and constantly experimenting.

I’ve bounced between Apple and Android more times than I can count. I’m back with Google for now — but it’s rare to see a brand genuinely respected by both ecosystems.

That’s what drew me to Mous.

Mous has a formal partnership with Google through the Made for Google programme, working directly with Google’s teams to build certified, well-integrated products for Pixel devices. At the same time, their cases and accessories are fully compatible with Apple’s ecosystem, including MagSafe for iPhone.

In short, Mous operates credibly across both platforms — formally aligned with Google, fully compatible with Apple’s ecosystem, and with connections at the very top of the industry — something very few accessory brands manage to do well.

We’ve all dropped our phones. Most of us have smashed one beyond repair.

Mous builds genuinely high‑quality products, has strong technical credibility, and a clear roadmap beyond phone cases. That combination is what led me to invest.

A bonus people don’t talk about enough? Investor perks - and honestly, Mous offer some of the best i've seen. Yes, I absolutely use them.

This one was done through Republic Europe as well, but in a very different way.

The investment was via a Mirror Note — an unsecured debt instrument designed to mirror the economic outcome of investing in SpaceX, without owning direct equity.

I’ll be honest — I love space!

On our honeymoon, while exploring Florida, my wife surprised me with a visit to the Kennedy Space Center, which gave this one a bit of personal meaning for me.

I’m also a huge admirer of Elon Musk’s work from a purely business and innovation perspective. This isn’t political.

Whether it’s Tesla, SpaceX, and beyond, the thread is the same: solving big, interconnected problems.

So when the opportunity came up to get early exposure to a company that could one day be worth trillions, it felt like a risk worth taking.

This is probably the biggest takeaway.

Get out. Try things. Pay attention.

Notice where people are frustrated. Where time is wasted. Where experiences are broken.

Ask yourself:

You don’t always have to be the one building the solution.

Sometimes the smartest move is backing the people who already are.

I’m more than happy to piggyback on a great idea. That’s not weakness — it’s recognising good work and supporting it quietly in the background.

What I’ve shared here is just a snapshot of my start-up investing journey so far.

I have other interests I’m actively leaning into — particularly green tech and companies that deliver genuinely high‑quality, differentiated experiences.

As AI and automation continue to drive huge change, I’m increasingly drawn to businesses that have something harder to replicate:

In a world where a lot becomes automated, uniqueness matters more than ever.

That’s why I’m also drawn to experience-led businesses.

Things like:

These are things AI can support, but it can’t replace. They’re human, sensory, and rooted in real experience.

That thinking is shaping what’s next for me — and what I’m building under Beyond Arc.

I’ll share more on that as it evolves.

Nothing flashy. Nothing clever. Just paying attention a little earlier than most.

That’s it for this week. If something here made you think differently, forward it to someone who needs to hear it.

Adam Thorpe

Founder, Beyond Arc

beyondarc.co.uk · LinkedIn