Landscape Aims to Bring Transparency to Venture Capital with Founder Reviews
Inspired by Glassdoor’s model for employee feedback, a new platform called Landscape is stepping into the venture capital (VC) space. Founded by U.K. entrepreneur Joe Perkins, Landscape allows startup founders to anonymously review their experiences with European VCs and accelerators—creating much-needed transparency in an often-opaque industry.
Why Landscape Matters
Launched officially today after a successful beta phase, Landscape has already amassed 700+ reviews and onboarded 83 Verified Partners. The platform aims to level the playing field for founders by providing candid insights into investor behavior, from approachability to diversity efforts.
Perkins, a CompSci graduate, conceived the idea after his own frustrating fundraising journey for his edtech startup, Coursematch, in 2019.
“We had one interaction with a London-based fund that was a total time-waster. I wished there was a way to warn other founders,” he told TechCrunch.
Industry Backing and Advisory Support
Landscape isn’t going it alone. The platform has assembled an all-star advisory board, including:
- Alex Depledge MBE (Founder/CEO of Resi)
- Eamonn Carey (MD of Techstars London)
- Emma Sinclair MBE (Co-founder of Enterprise Alumni)
- Hussein Kanji (Partner at Hoxton Ventures)
- Jon Bradford (Partner at Dynamo Ventures)
Ada Ventures, an institutional VC, has also endorsed the platform. Partner Check Warner emphasized its potential to drive accountability:
“Founders often feel powerless during fundraising. Landscape’s transparency means investors must take sustained action—not just pay lip service.”
How It Works
Founders anonymously rate VCs and accelerators across 12 key metrics, including:
- Approachability
- Diversity & Inclusion
- Response Time
- Post-Program Support (for accelerators)
To ensure credibility, reviewers must provide context about their startup and funding outcomes. While founders use Landscape for free, VCs can opt for a paid subscription to respond to reviews and access analytics—a feature some might see as controversial but could incentivize improvement.
Challenges and Precedents
Landscape isn’t the first to tackle VC transparency. TheFunded, launched in 2007 by Adeo Ressi, faced skepticism and never gained traction. Perkins believes the ecosystem is now ready:
“The VC world has matured. Landscape provides investors with actionable insights to improve—something many are now open to.”
Key Insights from Early Data
Based on nearly 700 reviews, Landscape reveals:
- VCs score lowest on Diversity and ‘Beyond Money’ support (e.g., mentorship, network access).
- Accelerators struggle with Post-Program Support.
- Female founders report feeling less supported than male peers.
- Rejected founders rate ‘Response Time’ worse than those who secured funding.
Top 10 European VCs (Unranked, 5+ Reviews)
- 7percent Ventures
- Ada Ventures
- Ascension Ventures
- BACKED VC
- Connect Ventures
- Dynamo Ventures
- Episode 1 Ventures
- Kindred Capital
- Seedcamp
- Talis Capital
The Road Ahead
Landscape plans to expand beyond the U.K. and Europe, targeting the U.S. market soon. For now, it’s focused on building a trusted repository of founder feedback—one that could reshape how VCs engage with startups.
“Success means founders can vet investors upfront, while VCs gain the insights to evolve,” says Perkins.
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