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We say it a lot, but the key thing to consider when investing in startups is diversification. Startup returns follow a power law distribution: a small number of the overall population accounts for the lion’s share of returns, which we’ve previously covered in more detail in our white paper, The Science of Startup Investing.
Below is a list of our top 20 performers: the companies we’ve co-invested in alongside our network of angel investors that have seen the most significant growth in their valuation to date. As you can see, it’s quite a mix, and shows you just how much diversification matters, both in terms of portfolio size (the Access EIS Fund builds portfolios of 30+ companies), and in terms of sector diversity.
So, read on to find out which of our portfolio companies have seen the most significant growth since our initial investments, and a little more about the sectors they belong to.
1. R.A.D®
Growth: 1,172%
When Ben Massey founded R.A.D (Rally Against Destruction) in 2021, he wasn't just launching another sneaker brand; he was building a community for the "functional fitness" athlete. Tired of the sterile, corporate feel of major sportswear giants, Massey blended a "solarpunk" aesthetic with elite-level performance engineering. Their flagship shoe, the R.A.D® ONE, became a viral sensation in the CrossFit and gym community, often selling out within minutes of a "drop."
Looking forward, R.A.D is transitioning from an online cult favourite to a global lifestyle brand. Having conquered the gym floor, they are now expanding into apparel and physical "brand hubs" in key cities like London and Los Angeles.
Sector Analysis: Performance Activewear
The specialised activewear sector has seen a massive "flight to quality." Consumers are increasingly moving away from "fast fashion" gym wear toward durable, technically superior products. The global functional fitness market is currently growing at a CAGR of 9.2%, but niche, community-led brands are outperforming the wider market by capturing high levels of consumer loyalty and recurring revenue.
Growth: 1,163%
Nivoda is the story of how data can transform one of the world's most traditional and opaque industries: the diamond trade. Founded by David Sutton and Andre Woons, Nivoda built a B2B marketplace that acts as the "operating system" for jewellery retailers. Before Nivoda, a small jeweller in London would have to call multiple suppliers across the globe to find a specific stone; now, they can browse thousands of verified diamonds and gemstones with live pricing and integrated logistics.
In late 2025, the company secured a landmark $60 million facility to provide trade credit (more on this in our recent article), effectively becoming a fintech giant for the jewellery sector. Their future lies in becoming the "everything store" for jewellers, expanding into lab-grown diamonds and luxury watches.
Sector analysis: B2B supply chain fintech
Supply chain digitisation is a trillion-dollar opportunity. In the jewellery sector specifically, the move from offline to online sourcing is accelerating. The global B2B e-commerce market is projected to reach $36 trillion by 2028, and platforms like Nivoda that integrate payments and logistics into the marketplace are seeing the highest margins.
Growth: 924%
Rob Wallis and Sam Hunt started MOTH (Mix of Total Happiness) with a simple realisation: most canned cocktails were terrible. In 2021, they set out to put bar-quality ingredients—real craft spirits and fresh botanicals—into a portable can. MOTH didn't just join the "Ready to Drink" (RTD) category; they redefined the premium end of it.
After becoming the fastest-growing premium RTD brand in the UK, MOTH is now making an aggressive and well-funded push into the US market. With a recent £4.6 million raise, they are targeting the American "picnic and party" culture, aiming to be the global standard for high-end canned cocktails. Listen to our interview with Moth founder, Rob Walis, here
Sector analysis: premium RTD cocktails
The RTD spirits category has been the "star performer" of the alcohol industry for the last three years. While traditional beer and wine sales have flattened, the premium RTD segment is growing at over 13% annually. Consumers are increasingly trading "volume for value," choosing one high-quality, bar-grade cocktail over multiple low-quality alternatives.
Growth: 628%
A spin-out from the University of Cambridge, Porotech is solving the hardware bottleneck for the future of the internet: Augmented Reality (AR). While companies like Apple and Meta have the software, they need tiny, ultra-bright displays that can be seen in daylight. Porotech’s "PoroGaN" technology allows for full-colour microLED displays to be built on a single material, a breakthrough that was previously thought impossible.
With massive investment from Foxconn, the company is moving into "mass production" mode. They are no longer just a research lab; they are a critical supplier for the next generation of smart glasses and AI-integrated wearables.
Sector analysis: microLED & semiconductors
The MicroLED market is currently the "holy grail" of display technology. It is projected to grow from a nascent sector into a $25 billion market by 2030. As "spatial computing" replaces mobile screens, companies that own the underlying semiconductor IP—like Porotech—occupy a high-moat position in the global supply chain.
Growth: 449%
Founded in 2020 by Tess Cosad and George Thomas, Béa Fertility was created to disrupt a fertility market that has long been defined by "all-or-nothing" options: timed intercourse or expensive, invasive IVF. Cosad’s vision was to bridge this gap by modernising an evidence-based but overlooked clinical method—Intracervical Insemination (ICI)—for the at-home user. Their signature medical device allows individuals to perform clinical-grade insemination in the privacy of their own home, offering a non-invasive "primary care" step that can increase pregnancy chances by up to 50% for those under 30.
Sector analysis: Femtech & reproductive diagnostics
The FemTech sector has transitioned from a niche category of "wellness apps" into a mature, industrialised pillar of the global healthcare economy, valued at approximately $59.51 billion in 2026. Within this sector, reproductive health and at-home diagnostics are the primary drivers of growth, seeing an 18% CAGR.
Growth: 375%
Founded by clinicians Dr Thuria Wenbar and Dr Oskar Wendowski, Evaro is the tech layer that allows retailers to become pharmacies. By using AI to automate the consultation and prescription process for minor ailments, Evaro allows businesses to integrate healthcare services into their existing apps with a single line of code.
Evaro reached profitability in 2024 and is currently scaling its "NHS arm" to help reduce the burden on local GPs. Their future involves expanding into the £5.6 billion UK e-pharmacy market, positioning themselves as the "digital gateway" for primary care.
Sector analysis: digital health & E-pharmacy
Digital health has moved from "video calls with doctors" to "asynchronous automated care." The global e-pharmacy market is growing at a CAGR of 16%, driven by an ageing population and a systemic shift toward self-care for minor conditions. Platforms that can navigate the complex regulatory environment while offering a seamless user experience are the primary beneficiaries of this shift.
Growth: 363%
Themis was born from the need to fight financial crime with better data. Their platform allows financial institutions to instantly map out the "connective tissue" between entities, identifying potential money laundering or sanctions risks in seconds. In a world where financial regulations change daily, Themis provides the "compliance shield" that banks and fintechs need to survive.
They are currently expanding their AI "investigator" tools, which can proactively search for hidden links in the dark web and offshore registries, making them an essential partner for the world's largest banks.
Sector analysis: RegTech (regulatory technology)
RegTech is no longer a "nice to have" for financial services; it is a mandatory spend. Global spending on regulatory compliance is expected to exceed $200 billion by 2026. As governments crack down on financial crime and environmental social governance (ESG) reporting, software that automates this burden is seeing explosive growth.
Growth: 351%
Jove recognised that the traditional insurance industry was built for 20th-century employment, not the modern "gig economy." For a freelance consultant or a small tech team, buying insurance is often a slow, manual process. Jove built a digital-first platform that embeds insurance into the tools that contractors already use, like recruitment platforms and project management software.
Having raised a successful seed round, Jove is now looking toward "borderless insurance," allowing freelancers to maintain their cover as they work for clients across different jurisdictions.
Sector analysis: Insurtech for the "alternative workforce"
The freelance and contractor economy is growing three times faster than traditional employment. However, only 15% of freelancers have adequate professional insurance. Insurtech is a massive growth segment within fintech, with the digital insurance market expected to grow at a CAGR of 25% through 2028.
Growth: 302%
Formerly operating as Wild Hydrogen, Equisera rebranded in early 2026 to reflect its evolution from a single-fuel startup into a broad, system-led technology platform. Founded in 2022 by James Milner and inventor Mark Wickham, the company was born from a realisation that while renewable electricity is scaling, the "molecular" energy needed for heavy industry and heating remains stubbornly reliant on fossil fuels.
At the heart of Equisera is the Rising Pressure Reformer (RiPR)—a patented technology that converts wet biogenic waste into clean gas using supercritical water. Unlike traditional methods, RiPR is flexible; it can be "tuned" to produce biomethane for immediate grid injection or high-purity hydrogen as infrastructure matures. With its pilot plant going live in Summer 2026, Equisera is moving from demonstration to commercial readiness, offering a circular energy system that is not just carbon-neutral, but potentially carbon-negative by capturing CO2 and producing biochar as a byproduct.
Sector Analysis: Climate Tech & Circular Energy
The energy transition is entering a critical new phase where "decarbonising the molecules" is as important as scaling the "electrons." While renewable electricity is the focus of most headlines, roughly 80% of global energy demand still depends on gas and liquid fuels.
The Climate Tech sector is currently seeing exponential growth, with the global market projected to reach $100 billion+ by 2030. In 2026, investor interest has shifted toward "hard-to-abate" sectors—like heavy manufacturing and national gas networks—where technologies like Equisera’s RiPR provide a pragmatic, fossil-competitive pathway to net zero. This "circular energy" model is particularly attractive because it addresses two problems at once: the global waste crisis and the urgent need for reliable, non-intermittent clean fuel.
Growth: 258%
Seema and Alastair Johnson founded Nuggets to solve the fundamental flaw of the internet: the storage of personal data in centralised "honeypots." Nuggets uses decentralised ID technology to allow users to pay and verify their identity without ever handing over their personal details to a merchant.
In 2026, Nuggets is finding a new and massive use case: AI Trust. As the internet becomes flooded with deepfakes and AI agents, Nuggets provides the "verified human" layer that allows platforms to distinguish between real people and bots.
Sector analysis: cybersecurity & decentralised identity
Consumer trust is at an all-time low following a decade of massive data breaches. The Cybersecurity market is shifting toward "Zero Trust" architectures. The Decentralised Identity (DID) market is one of the fastest-growing niches in tech, projected to reach $10 billion by 2027.
Growth: 248%
Lab 1 is the "early warning system" for the corporate world. Their intelligence platform constantly scours the dark web and leaked databases to find a company's compromised data before it is used in a major cyberattack.
They are currently scaling their "supply chain risk" tool. A major company might have perfect security, but if their small legal firm is hacked, they are at risk. Lab 1 maps out these hidden connections, protecting the entire corporate ecosystem.
Sector Analysis: Threat Intelligence
The average cost of a data breach has now exceeded $4.5 million. Threat intelligence—proactively finding vulnerabilities rather than just reacting to hacks—is the top priority for Chief Information Security Officers (CISOs) in 2026. This sector is growing at 14% CAGR.
Growth: 233%
Stampfree is digitising the most physical of industries: the post. Founded in 2018, they developed an AI-driven "digital stamp" that allows users to send parcels and letters without ever needing to print a label or buy a physical stamp. By simply writing a code on the parcel and scanning it with a phone, the user can pay and track their mail.
The company is currently partnering with global postal carriers and major e-commerce retailers who want to make the "returns process" as frictionless as possible. Their future is in the "return-less" and "label-less" revolution of logistics.
Sector Analysis: Digital Logistics & Last-Mile Innovation
E-commerce returns are a $600 billion headache for retailers. Any technology that reduces the friction of returning items—like label-less shipping—is seeing rapid adoption. The logistics tech sector is expanding as carriers seek to automate the "first mile" of the delivery process to save on operational costs.
Growth: 224%
Founded in London in 2019 by serial entrepreneur Roei Samuel (who previously founded RealSport), Connectd was born out of frustration with the "closed-door" nature of venture capital. Samuel’s vision was to replace the "who you know" culture with a "what you’ve achieved" framework, creating a transparent, data-driven ecosystem that connects founders, investors, and advisors. The platform not only simplifies the investment process but also provides startups with the tools to manage reporting and source fractional leadership.
Sector Analysis: Private Market Transparency & Founder-Tech
The private equity and venture capital markets have historically relied on opaque, personal networks, which often create barriers for diverse talent and "non-traditional" founders. However, the sector is currently undergoing a massive shift toward "Founder-Tech"—software designed to professionalise and digitise the startup-investor relationship. As data transparency becomes a requirement rather than a luxury for modern investors, platforms that aggregate and verify performance metrics are seeing significant growth, helping to democratise access to capital for a new generation of entrepreneurs.
14. Inploi
Growth: 223%
Inploi is fixing the "broken" recruitment process for large employers. Most corporate careers websites are slow, hard to use on mobile, and lead to high "drop-off" rates for candidates. Inploi provides a SaaS platform that wraps around a company's existing systems, providing a modern, "consumer-grade" application experience that doubles their conversion rate of high-quality applicants.
Working with brands like wagamama and ASOS, Inploi is now expanding its AI "chatbot" capabilities to automate the initial screening of candidates, allowing HR teams to focus on the human side of hiring.
Sector Analysis: HR Tech & Talent Acquisition
The "War for Talent" has become a "War for Efficiency." Companies are no longer just looking for more applicants; they are looking for a better experience to attract the best ones. The Talent Acquisition software market is growing at CAGR of 8%, with a specific focus on "mobile-first" and "frictionless" application tools.
Growth: 196%
MPowder is a pioneer in "Femtech," focusing specifically on the menopause. For decades, menopause was a "silent" market, despite affecting half the population. MPowder creates data-led nutritional supplements and provides a community platform to help women manage their symptoms at different stages of the transition.
They are currently expanding their range into high-street retailers and are developing a "symptom-tracking" app that uses AI to recommend specific lifestyle and nutritional changes, moving closer to a "personalised medicine" model.
Sector Analysis: Femtech (Female Technology)
Femtech is finally receiving the investment it deserves. The market is projected to reach $103 billion by 2030. Menopause care is the fastest-growing niche within this sector, as "Gen X" and "Millennial" women demand better products and more transparent information than previous generations.
Growth: 190%
Founded in 2021 by Rashid Aliyev, Stackt was born from a personal pain point shared by almost every urban renter: the sheer friction of moving and storage. Having relocated seven times in ten years while living in London, Aliyev noticed that while industries like food and retail had been transformed by "one-click" digital services, urban logistics remained stuck in a static, manual past.
Stackt disrupts this by offering a fully digital, doorstep-to-doorstep experience. Through a proprietary AI-driven algorithm, the platform calculates quotes in seconds by accounting for parking, floor levels, traffic, and item dimensions. Movers collect items directly from the customer, photograph them for a "digital wardrobe" catalog, and transport them to secure facilities. Customers can then request specific items (like a box of winter clothes or a set of skis) for retrieval within 24 hours, with the app automatically adjusting storage costs as inventory changes.
Sector Analysis: On-Demand Storage & PropTech
The UK self-storage industry reached a record annual turnover of £940 million in early 2026, driven by a housing market squeeze that has forced residents into smaller high-density apartments. However, the sector is currently undergoing a massive shift from traditional "self-serve" models toward tech-enabled, on-demand services.
As of 2025, the UK recorded its highest rate of space growth in five years (7.2% YoY), yet it remains significantly under-penetrated compared to markets like the US. This creates a fertile environment for "Logitech" (Logistics Technology) firms like Stackt that use operational efficiency and granular micro-market data to offer more affordable, flexible solutions than legacy warehouse operators.
Growth: 185%
AppFactor is the "mechanic" for the world's old software. Many large enterprises are stuck using "legacy" code from ten or twenty years ago that is slow and expensive to maintain. AppFactor uses AI agents to automatically scan, "refactor," and modernise this code, allowing old systems to run on modern cloud infrastructure.
As AI becomes more sophisticated, AppFactor is moving toward "self-healing" software, where their AI agents can fix bugs and update security patches in real-time without human intervention.
Sector Analysis: Enterprise Software & Legacy Modernisation
The "Technical Debt" of the global corporate world is estimated to be over $1.5 trillion. Companies are desperate to move to the cloud, but their old software holds them back. The "Application Modernisation" market is growing at CAGR of 17% as firms prepare their data systems for the AI revolution.
Growth: 172%
CoGrammar is a global leader in "intensive EdTech." They run world-class coding bootcamps—often in partnership with top universities like Cambridge and Imperial—that take people from zero experience to being job-ready developers in months. What sets them apart is their "human-in-the-loop" mentoring, where every student's code is reviewed by a real person.
They are currently expanding their curriculum into AI Engineering and Data Science, recognising that the global demand for AI-literate workers is the next major wave of the EdTech boom.
Sector Analysis: EdTech & Professional Reskilling
The global "skills gap" is widening. Traditional degrees are often too slow to keep up with the pace of tech. The professional reskilling market is a $300 billion opportunity, with high-intensity bootcamps being the preferred choice for both individuals and corporate training departments.
Growth: 156%
Take Stock is part of the "Functional Food" revolution. They produce premium, long-life bone broths that are designed for health-conscious consumers. By focusing on high protein and high collagen content with no additives, they have moved bone broth from a "cooking ingredient" to a "wellness beverage."
Having secured listings in major retailers like Waitrose and Whole Foods, they are now developing a range of "functional soups" and concentrated shots, targeting the "on-the-go" health market.
Sector Analysis: Functional Foods & Wellness
The "Food as Medicine" trend is driving a massive shift in grocery habits. The global functional food market is growing at CAGR of 8.5%. Consumers are increasingly looking for "clean label" products that offer specific health benefits—like gut health or skin elasticity—beyond simple nutrition.
Growth: 147%
Mintago is an employee benefits platform that focuses on "Financial Wellbeing." They recognised that financial stress is the leading cause of employee absenteeism and low productivity. Mintago provides a platform where employees can manage their pensions, track their spending, and get financial coaching—all as a workplace benefit.
Their future is in "pension consolidation." By helping employees find and combine their "lost" pensions from old jobs, Mintago is helping to unlock billions of pounds in dormant wealth for the UK workforce.
Sector Analysis: Corporate Wellness & Employee Benefits
Employee benefits have moved beyond "free fruit and gym memberships." Financial wellbeing is now the #1 requested benefit by UK employees. This sector is a core part of the HR Tech market, which is seeing a shift toward "holistic" support for the workforce to improve retention.
How risky are EIS investments?
Venture capital is inherently high-risk. While the Enterprise Investment Scheme (EIS) offers significant tax reliefs—including 30% income tax relief and capital gains tax exemption—investors should only allocate capital they can afford to lose. Diversification across a minimum of 30–50 companies is our recommended strategy to mitigate individual company failure.
How does this compare to other funds?
Investors often compare over 40 UK EIS funds to find the right fit. While typical EIS funds may only invest in 10–15 companies, Access EIS builds a portfolio of 30+ companies to better capture the power law of returns. Independent Beauhurst research on active VC funds consistently places SyndicateRoom among the most active investors in the UK ecosystem.
The performance of these top 20 companies demonstrates the value of a data-driven, diversified approach. By co-investing with the UK's most successful super angels, Access EIS provides a systematic way to build a broad portfolio of high-growth startups.
To gain exposure to the next cohort of UK innovators before the tax year-end, consider the Access EIS fund.
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