Watching Gary Barlow crooning ‘Have a little patience’ last summer at Blenheim Palace, was a poignant moment for me.   

Patience is not a virtue I was blessed with at birth. But this past year, patience has played a key role in my life; the kind of patience that lives with daily, unexpected, building complications, the kind of patience that laughs through our grandson pushing boundaries and the kind of patience that deploys funding into the start-up ecosystem for systemic change, not quick returns.  

Since Jan 2025, I’ve had the pleasure of managing the portfolio and co-leading investment on the Growth Impact Fund as Head of Investment (Maternity Cover); deploying funds through a patient capital lens. Patient capital’s not a term you hear banded about readily or comfortably within the venture investment ecosystem; it’s never associated with the dopamine related headlines that 10x growth, ‘unicorn’ status or huge exits/acquisitions make. 

And yet the reality is that patient capital forms the foundation for many entrepreneurs and their businesses. The first £1 that contributes to those dopamine-hit headlines all those years later. The £1 that plays the long, patient game. 

For those lucky enough to be well connected or affluent, patient capital comes in the form of ‘friends and family’ or angel investment in those early, ‘we think there’s something here, but we need a bit more time’ stages. For these entrepreneurs, friends and family demonstrate their loyalty by putting their money on the table, and/or connecting the entrepreneur to others in their network (angels) able to put even more money on the table.  

On the flipside, for those without the affluence or connections but with the same conviction that ‘there’s something there’ and leadership potential, that patient capital is hard to come by. Evidence shows that asking investors to take a punt on an unknown, especially if you’re female, of ethnic origin or lower education, is a tireless and almost impossible task. 

• The 2026 Rise Report identified a £310bn untapped opportunity for female entrepreneurs to scale businesses 
• Social Mobility Ventures 2025 Report identified ‘access’ as the key barrier to state educated founders successfully scaling businesses 
• British Business Bank reported that 20% of Ethnic Minority-led businesses were discouraged from applying for finance in 2021, compared to 8% of White-led businesses 

This is EXACTLY why the Growth Impact Fund exists. 

Why the Growth Impact Fund’s exists: 

GIF exists to offer patient capital in those early stages to those with the potential to drive significant economic and social growth in the UK economy, but who simply don’t have access to the cash to give them time to validate their potential to lead and scale. 

The Growth Impact Fund sees Founders with the lived experience of the problems their solving, as a superpower waiting to be tapped. The team take risks on these Founders whether they’re solo and/or unproven, recognising potential where other investors don’t. They invest the time and energy to educate these Founders on the empowerment of investment, building trust and removing fear. They put in the effort to uplift the capabilities and connections within the business, readying them for scale post investment. They open their networks generously to these Founders, connecting them to previously hidden knowledge, and customer and funding opportunities. 

• ‘GIF stepped in at a time when we were navigating real challenges; opening up their network to help get our retail strategy off the ground.’ Mona Shah MBE, MD Harry Specters 
• ‘I valued the team’s insights on our go to market plans and product strategy, opening doors to further advisors who were able to support.’ Daniel Botcherby, CEO Kalda 
• ‘GIF has added value to us through relevant introductions, sharing expertise on strategy/marketing/go-to-market.’ Ren Yi Hoo, Founder Lightning Reach 
• ‘GIF have been instrumental in opening doors, connecting me with a highly relevant mentor at exactly the right stage of our growth. Their support goes far beyond capital deployment.’ Julian Hall, Founder and CEO, Ultra Education 

What patient capital means at the Growth Impact Fund: 

It’s playing the long game.  

It’s listening actively and acutely for what the founders don’t know yet they need to tell you. 

It’s working harder to justify your decisions because you can’t simply point to a 10x model. 

It’s building solid commercial foundations that enable greater, future risk taking. 

It’s growth, but not at all costs. 

And you might be surprised to hear that it’s also not always patient by design. 

It’s daring to care when challenge is required. 

It’s saying no fast, and yes faster. 

It’s opening doors without hesitation. 

It’s rolling up sleeves, to make things happen. 

It’s delivering at pace, because time is still money. 

Because even the most patient capital still expects a positive return. 

In fact, as the greatest of the risk takers, patient capital really deserves the greatest return. It’s why the Seed Enterprise Investment Scheme (SEIS) and Enterprise Investment Scheme (EIS) were set up; tax relief for individual investors willing to take the risk at an early stage. But for patient capital investors like the Growth Impact Fund, we’re reliant on institutional or philanthropically minded investors willing to play the long game and drive the systemic change within a landscape previously hardwired to be naturally impatient with its entrepreneurs.   

With patient capital having a moment, with angel syndicates and British Business Bank promoting early-stage funding, at the very least, patient capital deserves greater recognition for the role it plays in the start-up landscape. Just as we all cite that teacher, mentor or carer who set us on the right life track, shouldn’t patient investors deserve recognition for being the foundational cheerleader for every entrepreneur? Shouldn’t we reset the narrative around patient capital? Why don’t we hold patient capital investors like the Growth Impact Fund up as the catalysts for change that they are? 

With the entrepreneurial landscape forecast to grow in direct correlation to the evolving work environment, we need more patient investors to write those first checks, to offer those entrepreneurs guidance on their scaling journey, to co-parent more sustainable employment and growth in the world vs the type of impatient capital that champions 10x growth at all cost, leaving burnout, unemployment and broken dreams in its wake. 

For me, the Growth Impact Fund; its team, allies and portfolio have reset my perception of patience. As an investor this past year, I’ve learned that there are times to be patient and times to be impatient, whilst also reinforcing, that there’s no time like the present to get started. 😊 

What if investors could have a little more patience, as the great Gary Barlow sings, and patient capital could have a louder, prouder billing?

Reframing the role for patient capital in the investment system: 

• For all the founders reading this, go seek out the patient capital. Consciously build solid foundations in your business before you push too hard on that growth engine. But don’t assume patient capital = low challenge or low expectation. Investors all share high ambition for growth and impact in the world. They’ll still want progress and revenue. 
• To investors, don’t fear patience in your capital but recognise it as the rocket ship it is, the fuel to untap the potential in founders solving some of society’s biggest problems. The fuel to create role models for future generations. The fuel to drive long term economic prosperity and positive societal change, if you invest in the long game. 
• To the patient capital champions in this space; let’s give patient capital the rebrand it needs. It may not always be positioned as glamorous as VC or record breaking as IPOs, but in whatever form it shows up in, it’s a critical piece of every successful business’ journey. Let’s give it the credit and attention it deserves. 

The “Growth Impact Fund” is managed by Big Issue Invest Fund Management Ltd (BIIFM). BIIFM is the alternative investment fund manager (“AIFM”) of the Fund and is authorised and regulated by the Financial Conduct Authority (FRN: 610618) as a “small authorised UK AIFM” in accordance with article 3(2) of the AIFMD to manage unregulated AIFs. The fund is addressed to professional investors only. Please note that: past performance cannot be relied on as a guide to future performance. The capital of Investors in the Fund is at risk. Any target is not a predictor, projection or guarantee of future performance.