3
Total investments
2
Early stage
0
Mid stage
0
Late stage
27y
Years active
Portfolio
2 investments · sorted by recency
All investments
Early stage
Mid stage
Late stage
Start Up Investor
2004
Founded by Simon Mottram in London in 2004, Rapha makes the world’s finest cycling clothing. For 15 years, our products have redefined comfort, performance, and style for cyclists from absolute beginners through to WorldTour professionals.
Born from a love of the sport, Rapha regularly organises and sponsors unique rides and events. The Rapha Cycling Club was founded in 2015 to bring cyclists together, and today there are already more than 17,000 members worldwide. Our 21 Clubhouses across Europe, North America and Asia have become hubs for RCC members and local cyclists, offering a café space and stocking the latest products.
Rapha is proud to have worked with the sport's best athletes from its earliest days. First, as title sponsor to the British UCI Continental team Rapha-Condor from 2005 to 2012, then as clothing supplier to Team Sky from 2012 to 2016. We continue to work at the top tiers of professional cycling with the women’s UCI WorldTour team CANYON//SRAM since 2016, and, after publishing a two-year study on the state of the sport titled the Rapha Roadmap, we have returned to the men’s WorldTour with EF Education First Pro Cycling from 2019.
Start Up Investor and Advisory Board Member
1999
NET-A-PORTER launched in June 2000 and has since established itself as the world’s premier online luxury fashion destination. A pioneer of innovation; NET-A-PORTER speaks to a global monthly audience of six million female luxury consumers, fans and followers via the weekly shoppable digital magazine THE EDIT, PORTER Magazine, the game-changing luxury fashion magazine that combines the intimacy of print with a state-of-the-art digital shopping experience. NET-A-PORTER is presented in the style of a fashion magazine, renowned for its unparalleled edit comprising more than 450 of the world’s most coveted designer brands, including Gucci, Saint Laurent, Givenchy, Valentino, Dolce & Gabbana, and Stella McCartney, and over 200 specialist beauty brands. NET-A-PORTER champions unparalleled customer service – offering express worldwide shipping to more than 170 countries (including same-day delivery to Manhattan, London and Hong Kong and next-day delivery to the UK, US, Germany, France, Australia and Singapore), a seamless shopping experience across mobile, tablet, desktop, email and telephone, luxurious packaging, easy returns and a multi-lingual customer care and personal shopping team that are available 24/7, 365 days a year.
Experience · 4 entries
All (4)
Investments (3)
Founder (1)
2004
Start Up Investor
2004
Founded by Simon Mottram in London in 2004, Rapha makes the world’s finest cycling clothing. For 15 years, our products have redefined comfort, performance, and style for cyclists from absolute beginners through to WorldTour professionals.
Born from a love of the sport, Rapha regularly organises and sponsors unique rides and events. The Rapha Cycling Club was founded in 2015 to bring cyclists together, and today there are already more than 17,000 members worldwide. Our 21 Clubhouses across Europe, North America and Asia have become hubs for RCC members and local cyclists, offering a café space and stocking the latest products.
Rapha is proud to have worked with the sport's best athletes from its earliest days. First, as title sponsor to the British UCI Continental team Rapha-Condor from 2005 to 2012, then as clothing supplier to Team Sky from 2012 to 2016. We continue to work at the top tiers of professional cycling with the women’s UCI WorldTour team CANYON//SRAM since 2016, and, after publishing a two-year study on the state of the sport titled the Rapha Roadmap, we have returned to the men’s WorldTour with EF Education First Pro Cycling from 2019.
2001
Joint founder
Nov 2001
‘Research that helps brands grow’ is the simple expression of everything we do.
We love this unfussy articulation of our work. While we use cutting-edge quantitative, qualitative and data analysis techniques on a daily basis, these are the means to an end. The important thing is what happens next; our role is to distil and interpret findings into stories and recommendations that are clear, smart and aid decision making.
In terms of the projects and research we work on, we think of them as distinct but interlinked branches: we explore, nurture, evaluate and interrogate.
1999
I
Investing in Brands
Angel Investor
Dec 1999
Start Up Investor and Advisory Board Member
1999
NET-A-PORTER launched in June 2000 and has since established itself as the world’s premier online luxury fashion destination. A pioneer of innovation; NET-A-PORTER speaks to a global monthly audience of six million female luxury consumers, fans and followers via the weekly shoppable digital magazine THE EDIT, PORTER Magazine, the game-changing luxury fashion magazine that combines the intimacy of print with a state-of-the-art digital shopping experience. NET-A-PORTER is presented in the style of a fashion magazine, renowned for its unparalleled edit comprising more than 450 of the world’s most coveted designer brands, including Gucci, Saint Laurent, Givenchy, Valentino, Dolce & Gabbana, and Stella McCartney, and over 200 specialist beauty brands. NET-A-PORTER champions unparalleled customer service – offering express worldwide shipping to more than 170 countries (including same-day delivery to Manhattan, London and Hong Kong and next-day delivery to the UK, US, Germany, France, Australia and Singapore), a seamless shopping experience across mobile, tablet, desktop, email and telephone, luxurious packaging, easy returns and a multi-lingual customer care and personal shopping team that are available 24/7, 365 days a year.
Investment activity
1999–2004 · 3 investments
Recent (last 2 years)Earlier
