Doing venture differently by planting seeds across the North
Is the GC Angels model a taste of more to come from the Burnham heartlands?
Hello Rainmakers,
If you want an example of how an active state can support growing businesses, very much the language of incoming Prime Minister Andy Burnham, then look no further than how the GC Angels works.
Funded by the Growth Company, the assets sit on the balance sheet of the not-for-profit business support hub that delivers business support programmes. And its leader, Marc Shirman, wants to span the North.
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The founding mission of GC Angels was to was to address the innovation finance gap and enhance Greater Manchester’s seed investment ecosystem. To do that, in 2023, the Growth Company hired Marc Shirman as head of equity investments. Since then he’s set about building a new direction for the service for scale up businesses right across the North.
Shirman brings more than 20 years’ experience to the team, having previously managed equity funds as co-head of Muzinich Private Capital Strategies where he raised their maiden UK fund, and in launching the Manchester office of transatlantic venture capital investor Beringea. He also acts as an advisor to Northern Gritstone helping build a more integrated and effective northern start-up ecosystem.
From his vantage point at GC Angels, he sees a seed and pre-seed market that is “very buoyant”, full of innovative companies but starved of the right kind of capital. Traditional investors, he says, have “de-risked and looked to more mature companies”, chasing scale-ups with £1m-plus revenues and clear paths to profitability. That leaves a dangerous gap for founders who are “not quite at the market yet” but have exhausted friends, family and their own credit.
