International
Office Hours 4.0

Building bridges between international founders and UK investors

To be announced

Waiting List For IOH 4.0

To play, press and hold the enter key. To stop, release the enter key.

Previously supported by:

Welcoming Early Stage Founders in the UK

International Office Hours (IOH) builds a bridge linking early-stage startups, either based in or relocating to the UK, with leading investors within the local ecosystem.

IOH is a unique opportunity for informal one-on-one sessions with some of the top VC players in the UK's investment community. It's a perfect chance to expand your investor network, receive feedback, and directly address your questions with industry experts.

For VCs, this is a fantastic way to meet yet-to-be-discovered, frequently overlooked, and often underrepresented founders.

Anchor 1

What is the Goal?

Please read carefully!

International Founders Open Office Hours is about building bridges. We strongly advise against treating this as a purely fundraising opportunity.

It is a way for you to obtain feedback on your product, advice as to specific issues you may have, inside track into the UK's markets and build contacts with your potential future investors. All of it with some of the biggest names in UK's early stage investments scene.

We are welcoming founders from all countries and social-economic backgrounds.

Apply

Great, so whats next?

01

Have a clear idea of what you want to get out of the International Office Hours

02

Apply by filling in this form

03

We match you with one of the amazing participating investors who have experience in your sector

04

You receive a calendar link for your 30 min meeting with full instructions

Waiting List For IOH 4.0

International Office Hours in numbers since 2022:

632

Startups applied

100+

Investors participated

700+

1-2-1 meetings organised

72+

Countries of origin

24%

Female founders

90%

Pre-seed, Seed-stage startups

48%

Founders need help with Network / Introductions

40%

of startups are registred in the Companies House

£900K

The average round size for startups participating in Office Hours

A VC and want to join us?

We have some amazing VCs supporting this initiative. Please, apply below if you would like to join us

Apply

Our Partners and Friends

We want to thank our amazing partners and friends for supporting this initiative!

Testimonials

Alex Hood, Manager (Solicitor) at Fragomen

"The International Office Hours 3.0 programme was brilliantly delivered and connected hundreds of start-ups, entrepreneurs and investors in a unique way. At Fragomen we really enjoyed partnering with the Blue Lake team throughout the programme, and we are already making connections with many of the international founders who attended the programme."

Feedback

What do founders say about Office Hours?

‘Great initiative. [Investor] is full-of-warmth investor, with an immigrant story herself from her dad's side, and thus she wants to give back. We talked the same language, given that [Investor] is actively looking at the carbon markets, and looking at potential investments. We will connect afterwards, where she will share a list of potential pre-seed climate investors.'

'[Investor] was very helpful. I told him briefly about [Startup] and explained the fundraising challenges we were experiencing. He helped me better understand what angel investors are looking for and key metrics we need to work on. '

'[Investor] was great, giving incredibly useful advice, enthusiastically listening and giving honest answers. I did appreciate a lot talking with him, and he gave me a lot to think about. I would very happily do it again!'

'I asked [Investor] about how VC works, what investors look for and how they make their money. I think this is important for navigating the fundraising landscape. [Investor] and I spoke about female fundraising and female founders and I'm going to join him at an event he is offering next month. '