Entrepreneur First
London talent-investor programme backing individuals into deep-tech companies before they form; co-founded by Matt Clifford.
Last refreshed: 22 April 2026 · Appears in 1 active topic
Can a pre-seed talent programme shape the UK's next generation of deep-tech founders?
Timeline for Entrepreneur First
Mentioned in: Rivan raises £25m for Europe's biggest SNG plant
UK Startups and Innovation- What is Entrepreneur First and how does it work?
- Entrepreneur First is a talent-investor programme co-founded in 2011 by Matt Clifford and Alice Bentinck. It recruits individuals before they have a co-founder or idea, matches them into founding pairs during cohort programmes, and backs resulting companies at pre-seed.
- What companies has Entrepreneur First produced?
- EF's portfolio includes Magic Pony Technology (acquired by Twitter in 2016), Cleo (consumer fintech), and Tractable (AI for insurance claims), among many others across its global cohorts.
- Who founded Entrepreneur First?
- Entrepreneur First was co-founded in London in 2011 by Matt Clifford and Alice Bentinck. Clifford serves as CEO; he also co-chairs the UK Government's Advanced Research and Invention Agency (ARIA).
- How is Entrepreneur First different from a startup accelerator?
- Unlike accelerators such as Y Combinator that back existing founding teams, EF recruits talented individuals before they have a co-founder, then matches them into pairs. It operates at the pre-ideation stage, making it a feeder into conventional accelerators rather than a competitor.
Background
Entrepreneur First's co-founder Matt Clifford was named as an angel investor in Rivan's £25m Project Steadfast round on 20 April 2026, Europe's largest planned synthetic natural gas facility. Clifford's cross-sector angel activity reflects EF's broader thesis that the UK's next wave of consequential companies will emerge at the intersection of hard science, energy, and software.
Entrepreneur First (EF) was co-founded in 2011 by Matt Clifford and Alice Bentinck in London. Unlike a conventional accelerator, EF recruits talented individuals before they have a co-founder or business idea, matches them into founding pairs during intensive cohort programmes, and backs the resulting companies at pre-seed stage. The portfolio includes Magic Pony Technology (acquired by Twitter in 2016), Cleo (consumer fintech), and Tractable (AI for insurance claims). EF has run cohorts in London, Paris, Berlin, Singapore, and Bangalore.
EF's pre-seed model is distinctive in the European ecosystem. By operating at the individual level before company formation, it targets a stage that traditional venture capital cannot reach, making it an important pipeline for UK deep-tech. Clifford's dual role as EF CEO and government ARIA co-chair positions the programme at the intersection of private-sector talent development and public-sector research strategy.