Jasper Smith, Founder of Vala Capital
Jasper is an entrepreneur who has founded and invested in over 40 companies in the media, technology and engineering sectors, generating a number of highly successful exits along the way. Jasper started the World Ocean Trust in 1987 and is now a trustee at the Arksen Foundation. At Vala Capital, Jasper has overall responsibility for the Vala EIS Portfolio deal flow and mentoring services.
What is the most rewarding aspect of your role?
Having been an investor and an entrepreneur all of my life, I get to share the learnings from my successes and challenges for the benefit of others on a daily basis and help companies achieve their best growth potential.
What's keeping you up at night?
We’re using the earth’s resources faster than we can replenish them. Business must do better – it has enormous power and has the opportunity to create a ‘new normal’ which creates profit for people and the planet.
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"We put our heart and soul into supporting
and empowering founders."
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What makes your firm stand out?
We put our heart and soul into supporting and empowering founders. So we look for entrepreneurs with a vision that we can truly get excited about and we want investors to share in that excitement too.
What is the one thing that you would like advisers/investors to know about your firm?
We build long‐lasting relationships because we know that continued support can often mean the difference between success and failure.
What’s one thing you'd like to change about the sector?
The EIS industry is arguably quite disparate and we feel it would be of help for Advisers and Investors for there to be some consolidation and, preferably, a platform that provides whole of market intelligence whilst also facilitating the full investment journey.
What recent investment opportunity has caught your eye and why?
Impact Investing in its simplest form; “doing well by doing good” – achieving the UN’s Sustainable Development Goals is expected to open $12 trillion of market opportunities.
What's a recent quote/headline that has made you stop and think?
“Never stop because you are afraid – you are never so likely to be wrong.”
What character trait helps you succeed in your role?
Listening, empathy, reason, enthusiasm, appreciation, pragmatism, ambition!
About Vala Capital
