Investing with Continuum, explained.
A plain-English guide for people who have never invested in a startup: what deal-by-deal investing means, how an SPV works, what carry is, and the risks, stated straight. No pitch.
Informational only - not investment advice, and not an offer or invitation to invest. Early-stage investing is high risk: capital is at risk and returns, if any, take years.
From first look to invested, in four steps.
Say you're interested
Two minutes on the form below. It lands as an email to the team - nothing commits you to anything.
Self-certify
UK rules require it. The team helps you work out which statement fits - the helper below shows you the shape of it.
See the documents
When a deal fits, you receive the full deal documents to review in your own time. Questions are welcome - straight answers, no chase.
Commit on Sydecar
Our SPVs are administered by Sydecar. You receive an invitation, then review and sign the subscription documents and fund the investment in your Sydecar account. Your confirmation, documents and tax forms stay there. No money ever moves through this website.
Which statement fits you?
UK rules limit offers like these to certified high-net-worth or sophisticated investors. Pick what applies - general information, not advice.
Tell us you're interested
Thirty seconds. This opens your email app with everything filled in - review it, then press send. A person replies, not a sequence.
What is Continuum?
A venture firm that backs frontier technology companies at the very start - pre-seed to Series A. Instead of a traditional fund, it raises money deal by deal, so investors choose each company individually.
What does “deal by deal” mean?
When the partners decide to back a company, they set up a dedicated vehicle for that one investment and investors choose whether to take part. There is no standing commitment: every deal is its own decision.
What is an SPV?
A special purpose vehicle - a small company set up to hold one single investment. Your money goes into the SPV, the SPV buys shares in the startup, and you own a slice of the SPV proportional to your cheque.
Why not invest in the startup directly?
Startups rarely want many small names on their shareholder register, and direct deals often require very large minimums. One SPV appears as a single shareholder while pooling many investors behind it.
How is this different from a fund?
In a fund you commit a large sum for about ten years and the managers choose everything. Deal by deal, you see each company on its own merits and decide each time. The trade-off: spreading your money across deals is your job, not the fund's.
What is carry?
The share of profits the organisers keep for finding and managing the deal - typically around 20% of profits across SPVs generally, paid only after investors get their own money back. No profit, no carry. Each deal's exact terms are in its own documents.
What are the risks?
The honest picture: many startups fail and return nothing, money is locked up for years with usually no way out early, and any single deal is concentrated in one company. Only money you can genuinely afford to lose belongs here.
How long is my money locked up?
Typically 7 to 10 years, if the investment returns anything at all. There is usually no way to sell out early.
Who can invest?
Under UK rules, offers like these can only go to people who self-certify as high-net-worth or sophisticated investors. That process happens directly with the Continuum team, never through the website.
How do I start?
Email belal@continuumvc.com and say you would like to hear about future deals. The team will explain how it works from there. There is no obligation, and nothing is ever committed through the website.
Isn't allocation in these rounds hard to get?
Genuinely hard. In the most sought-after rounds, founders choose their investors and allocations typically go to institutions and existing insiders. Continuum's relationships are the way in: they are how allocation is sought in rounds that are otherwise closed to individual investors. Access is never promised - every deal is limited - but this is the door.
How does funding work?
Through Sydecar, which administers our SPVs. Once you are invited to a deal, you sign the subscription documents in your Sydecar account and fund it there, following the payment instructions Sydecar shows you. After the deal closes, your confirmation and documents live in that account. One rule worth remembering: Continuum will never ask you to send money by email, through this website, a messaging app, or a link - if anyone does, it is not us.
Informational only - not investment advice, and not an offer. Please do not share confidential information here.