Bajela launches her own fund

Yvonne Bajela, a veteran VC who spent more than a decade at LocalGlobe and Impact X Capital Partners, announced her own fund, Evertrue, on Tuesday.

Fund closes at seventeen million dollars

Evertrue officially closed an oversubscribed seventeen million dollar Fund I, exceeding Bajela's initial target of around thirteen million dollars.

Why Bajela started her own fund

After backing founders at other firms, including those behind fintech Wise, insurance company Marshmellow, and robotaxi Mooves, Bajela wanted independence to act on her own convictions.

“After more than a decade backing founders who bet everything on their ideas, it felt like time to make a bet of my own.”

Focus and investment strategy

Evertrue will focus on early-stage investing across the U.K. and Europe, with an average check size of around three hundred fifty thousand pounds and plans to back at least twenty companies over three years.

AI boom created the right moment

Bajela said the AI boom helped her realize it was time to launch her own fund, democratizing the ability to build companies and creating new opportunities for early-stage investors.

“The ability to build has been democratized. But the ability to build something enduring remains rare.”

U.K. startup scene momentum

King's Cross is one of the world's top AI hubs, while companies like Revolut, Synthesia, ElevenLabs, and Bezos-backed CuspAI are redefining what it means to scale in the U.K. market.

Tough market for emerging fund managers

In the U.S., capital concentrates at the top among established firms. The U.K. is rosier: emerging fund managers raised seven point four billion dollars through September, already surpassing the six point two billion they raised…

Fundraising challenges and rejections

Bajela said fundraising was a grind. The hardest rejections came after months of conversations and significant time invested, only for the answer to ultimately be no.

“They were the ones that came after months of conversations and significant time invested, only for the answer to ultimately be no.”

Fund backing and strategic sizing

Evertrue secured five institutional backers including the British Business Bank and Basecamp. Bajela turned down additional investors rather than expand the fund, viewing size as strategic, not a success measure.

“Fund size is a strategic decision, not a measure of success in itself.”

Investment focus and founder criteria

Evertrue will invest mainly in AI and fintech. Bajela seeks founders with unique insight into problems, unusual execution ability, and ambition to build something much bigger than their initial product.