Each member of the Nurture Ventures team has first hand experience with start-ups, SME’s, global organisations & investment companies.
Over the past 20 years we’ve all been involved in raising finance, evaluating investment propositions, scaling businesses and eventually exiting. We’ve seen the highs & lows (with the scars & war stories to prove it) but remain passionate about working with innovative, positive attitude entrepreneurs. Our functional capabilities include business strategy, corporate finance, investment readiness, sales, marketing, accounting, operations, M&A, brand, licensing, research & development (R&D), innovation and value proposition development.
Jeff Bartlett
Jeff gained an Engineering Degree before embarking on a career in the IT industry with roles in marketing, sales, product management & customer services. He was the catalyst for the rapid growth & exit of an number of SME’s before becoming the global head of marketing for Cap Gemini’s Life Sciences practice. The past decade has seen him help dozens of innovative start-ups & SME’s with their business plans, sales & marketing, value proposition, investment readiness and strategic plans. Jeff splits his time between his native South Wales & Bristol. His passion is helping innovative businesses to realize their dreams with his clarity of thought, boundless energy & broad business experience.
Leo Dunne
Leo has spent over 30 years providing or arranging funding for businesses and helping them achieve their growth plans. He started his career with a major high street bank before moving into the world of early stage investments, firstly with a venture capital fund, then a private investment fund (“family office”) and then as the manager of a leading business angel network. He has been involved in the completion of over 120 investment transactions achieving a 25% exit rate. With particular experience in value-creation, he is an expert helping businesses create value, in positioning companies for exits, developing succession plans and with assisting them understand and resource their funding needs. Leo has trained as a business coach, is a qualified executive mentor and experienced non-executive director. Leo is a member of the Association of Business Mentors where he co-chairs the Professional Standards and Ethics Committee.
Dr Chris Sheehan
Chris specialises in strategic business development, R&D, marketing and sales backed up with a wide range of operational experience. Chris has a background in healthcare across global markets, but has also delivered various coaching roles for SMEs, university spinouts and for senior managers in multinational corporations including Johnson & Johnson. He has worked with finance organisations to conduct due diligence and market research, advises many businesses across diverse sectors on how to establish marketing and business plans and uses his sales management experience to help streamline demand generation and sales effectiveness. He has strong regional connections in the UK, especially in Wales (e.g. at the Life Sciences Hub) and has a wide network of healthcare industry executives.