Johnny Clifford
14 Mar 2026Lovable $400M, Revolut Licensed, EF $200M, GRITCULT Joins
EF Partner Johnny Clifford on Talent Investing
EF partner Johnny Clifford explains that EF is a company with a venture capital business model, investing off its balance sheet in people pre-team and pre-idea. He covers what EF looks for in founders, how the $200M is deployed including the Bridge residency in the Bay Area, the UK's ambition gap versus San Francisco, and portfolio growth to $16B with Cleo at $350M ARR and PolyAI among Europe's fastest growers.
13 Mar 2026Lovable $400M, Revolut Licensed, EF $200M, GRITCULT Joins
EF Partner Johnny Clifford on Talent Investing
EF partner Johnny Clifford explains why EF is 'a company with a venture capital business model,' investing off its balance sheet rather than running a traditional fund. He covers what EF looks for in pre-founder talent, why $130M of the raise goes to the management company, the SF 'Bridge' residency, and the remaining ambition gap between UK and US ecosystems. He also details portfolio milestones: Cleo at $350M ARR, five unicorns, top funds backing EF teams straight out, and demo-day cohorts now averaging a couple hundred thousand in revenue.