Insights
A knowledge library for people building companies.
Venture building, strategy, product, growth and investment - organised around the seven stages we use to build companies, and written by the team doing the building.
Featured · Venture Building
Why GCV Labs exists: building better businesses, not just funding them
Why GCV Labs exists, how our seven-stage venture builder model works in practice, and how AI is changing the way we create and scale companies.
Craig Peterson27 September 202612 min read
50 articles published, 143 planned across 11 topics and the seven stages of the Venture Builder Process.
By stage
The seven stages, as a knowledge framework
The same process we use to build companies organises what we publish. Start where your venture is.
01
Ideate
Find opportunities worth building a company around.
Explore02
Evaluate
Validate the opportunity before you build the business.
Explore03
Create
Turn a validated opportunity into a company.
Explore04
Incubate
Build something real and prove it works.
Explore05
Launch
Take the product to market and find repeatable demand.
Explore06
Accelerate
Build the engine that turns demand into growth.
Explore07
Scale
Build a durable company, not just a growing one.
ExploreNewsletter
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Frameworks and lessons from active venture builds.
By topic
11 topics we write about
Venture Building
How companies are systematically created by venture builders, and how that model differs from incubators, accelerators and funds.
ExploreIdeation & Opportunity
Where credible venture opportunities come from, and how to separate an interesting idea from a buildable business.
ExploreStartup Strategy & Validation
Testing whether a market, a customer problem and a commercial model hold up before significant resources are committed.
ExploreProduct & Technology
Designing and building products and platforms that customers use and that can carry a business as it grows.
ExploreGo-to-Market
Getting a product into the market and finding repeatable demand for it.
ExploreGrowth & Scale
Turning early traction into a growth engine, then turning a growth engine into a durable company.
ExploreFunding & Investment
How ventures are funded stage by stage, and what investors are actually assessing at each point.
ExploreInvesting in Ventures
How investors evaluate, access and build a position in early-stage, venture-built companies - including the UK's SEIS and EIS schemes.
ExploreCorporate Venture Building
How established businesses create new ventures, products and services outside their existing operating model.
ExploreFounders & Teams
The people question - founding teams, early hires, leadership and how teams change as a company grows.
ExploreBuild Stories
First-hand accounts of ventures GCV Labs has created, co-founded and scaled.
ExploreNewsletter
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Frameworks and lessons from active venture builds.
For investors
Investing in venture-built companies
A dedicated series for investors: what the venture builder model changes about early-stage risk, how SEIS and EIS work, how to assess a young company, and where GCV Invest fits alongside GCV Labs.
Investing
Why invest in venture-built companies?
What a venture-built company looks like from an investor's side of the table, and which early-stage risks the model removes - and which it does not.
Craig Peterson4 March 20267 min read
Investing
Assessing risk in early-stage companies: an investor's checklist
The six-lens diligence framework we use when assessing an early-stage company, and the questions under each that reliably surface the real risk.
Craig Peterson25 March 20266 min read
Investing
Building an early-stage investment portfolio
Position sizing, spread, pacing, follow-on capital and the role of SEIS and EIS in constructing an early-stage portfolio you can actually hold.
Craig Peterson1 April 20266 min read
Investing
How GCV Labs and GCV Invest work together
Build and fund are two distinct capabilities in the Growth Capital Ventures ecosystem. Here is where the boundary sits and why it exists.
Craig Peterson18 March 20265 min read
Investing
SEIS and EIS explained for early-stage investors
A plain-English guide to SEIS and EIS: the reliefs, the limits, the conditions, the risk-to-capital test, and the questions to ask before you rely on either.
Craig Peterson11 March 20268 min read
SEIS
What is SEIS? A plain-English guide for investors
What SEIS is, which reliefs it carries, who it is designed for, and the conditions attached to every one of them.
Craig Peterson11 September 20264 min read
SEIS
SEIS vs EIS: which scheme applies, and when
A side-by-side comparison of the two venture capital schemes, and how a single funding round can use both in sequence.
Craig Peterson11 September 20263 min read
SEIS
Who can invest under SEIS: eligibility and the connection rules
The investor-side conditions: UK tax liability, the 30% interest test, the employee rule, and what counts as being connected to the company.
Craig Peterson11 September 20263 min read
SEIS
SEIS income tax relief: how the 50% works in practice
How the 50% relief is calculated, what caps it, and what happens when your tax liability is smaller than your entitlement.
Craig Peterson11 September 20263 min read
SEIS
SEIS loss relief: what happens when a company fails
How the net loss is calculated, the choice between setting it against income or gains, and what it means for the real downside on an SEIS position.
Craig Peterson11 September 20262 min read
SEIS
SEIS capital gains: exemption and reinvestment relief
Disposal relief and reinvestment relief explained, including the conditions on each and how they interact with income tax relief.
Craig Peterson11 September 20262 min read
SEIS
SEIS carry back: claiming against last year's tax
What carry back does, when it is worth using, the limits that still apply, and how to elect for it.
Craig Peterson11 September 20262 min read
SEIS
SEIS limits: company caps, investor limits and the allowance
Every SEIS threshold in one table, what each one is measured against, and what happens when a company outgrows them.
Craig Peterson11 September 20262 min read
SEIS
The SEIS three-year holding period and how relief is withdrawn
The qualifying period, the events that trigger withdrawal or reduction of relief, and who has to tell HMRC.
Craig Peterson11 September 20263 min read
SEIS
Advance assurance and the SEIS3 certificate
What advance assurance is worth, how the compliance process works, and when you can expect the SEIS3 that lets you claim.
Craig Peterson11 September 20262 min read
SEIS
How to claim SEIS relief on your tax return, step by step
What you need before you start, where each figure goes, the deadlines that apply, and what to keep on file.
Craig Peterson11 September 20263 min read
SEIS
Building an SEIS portfolio: spread, pacing and position size
A practical framework for constructing an SEIS portfolio: how many holdings, how large, over how long, and what to keep in reserve.
Craig Peterson11 September 20263 min read
Investing
What is EIS? A plain-English guide for investors
What EIS is, the four reliefs it carries, which companies qualify, and where it sits relative to SEIS.
Craig Peterson12 September 20268 min read
Investing
Who can invest under EIS: eligibility and the connection rules
The eligibility tests: UK tax liability, the 30% holding limit, employment and directorship, and the two-years-before, three-years-after connection window.
Craig Peterson20 September 20263 min read
Investing
EIS qualifying companies: which businesses are eligible
Permanent establishment, independence, employee and asset limits, the seven-year age rule, the qualifying business activity test and the list of excluded trades.
Craig Peterson20 September 20263 min read
Investing
EIS income tax relief: how the 30% works in practice
The calculation, the caps, carry back, and the conditions that have to hold for three years.
Craig Peterson12 September 20262 min read
Investing
EIS capital gains: exemption and deferral relief
How disposal exemption and deferral relief differ, the conditions for each, the reinvestment window, and when the deferred gain comes back into charge.
Craig Peterson20 September 20262 min read
Investing
EIS loss relief: what happens when the company fails
The net amount at risk, the choice between income and gains, worked numbers at each tax rate, and the time limits for claiming.
Craig Peterson20 September 20262 min read
Investing
EIS carry back: claiming relief against last year's tax
What carry back does, the limits that still apply, the situations where it is worth using, and how the election is made.
Craig Peterson20 September 20262 min read
Investing
EIS limits and rules: what companies and investors must meet
Company caps, gross asset tests, age limits, connection rules and the three-year holding period, with the figures that changed in April 2026.
Craig Peterson12 September 20262 min read
Investing
The EIS three-year holding period and how relief is withdrawn
When the clock starts, what counts as a disposal, how withdrawal is calculated, and the company-side events that break the period.
Craig Peterson20 September 20262 min read
Investing
EIS advance assurance and the EIS3 certificate
What advance assurance is worth, the EIS1 to EIS2 to EIS3 sequence, the four-month trading rule, and what to check on the certificate.
Craig Peterson20 September 20262 min read
Investing
How to claim EIS relief, step by step
The EIS3 certificate, the self assessment boxes, claiming through PAYE, carry back and the five-year time limit.
Craig Peterson12 September 20262 min read
Investing
The risks of EIS and SEIS investing
Company failure, illiquidity, dilution, withdrawal of relief, valuation uncertainty, concentration and rule change - with what each one means in practice.
Craig Peterson20 September 20263 min read
Two tax schemes come up constantly in early-stage investing. Both have their own guide library: SEIS explained for investors and EIS explained for investors. For what the venture builder model itself changes, read the venture builder advantage for investors.
All articles
The library, from first principles to deep-dives
Venture Building
What is a venture builder?
A venture builder creates companies. It is not an incubator, an accelerator or a fund - it is an operating model for turning opportunities into businesses, and understanding that difference matters before you choose who to build with.
Craig Peterson16 April 20246 min read
Read the articleVenture Building
We don't just invest in companies. We help build them.
Venture builders create companies, not just back them. Here is how the GCV Labs model works and what it changes about early-stage company creation.
Craig Peterson12 September 20264 min read
Read the articleInvesting
Why invest in venture-built companies?
What a venture-built company looks like from an investor's side of the table, and which early-stage risks the model removes - and which it does not.
Craig Peterson4 March 20267 min read
Read the articleInvestment
Venture builder vs venture capital: what actually differs
Both models want valuable companies. They differ in when they engage, what they contribute and where the work sits - and confusing the two leads founders and corporates to expect the wrong things from each.
Craig Peterson11 June 20245 min read
Read the articleVenture Building
Venture builder vs venture studio: is there a difference?
The two terms usually describe the same activity. Where they diverge, and the four questions that tell you what a studio or builder really does.
Craig Peterson12 September 20263 min read
Read the articleVenture Building
Venture builder vs accelerator vs incubator
Three models, three engagement points. What each contributes, how each ends, and how to work out which fits the stage you are actually at.
Craig Peterson12 September 20263 min read
Read the articleInvestment
Capital alone doesn't build great companies
Funding is a necessary input into company building. On its own it is rarely the constraint that decides whether a venture works - and treating it as the main event is one of the most common mistakes in early-stage company creation.
Craig Peterson3 September 20245 min read
Read the articleBuild Stories
Inside a GCV Labs build: how a company actually gets created
What the seven stages look like in practice, told through Intelligence Fusion, n-gage.io, Business Finance Market, Valius Global and Quva.
Craig Peterson12 September 20263 min read
Read the articleFounders & Teams
What makes a founding team work in a venture-built company
How founding teams are formed in a venture builder, which hires come first, and how ownership shifts from the build team to the founders over time.
Craig Peterson12 September 20264 min read
Read the articleBuild Stories
From build to exit: what a venture builder contributes that capital alone cannot
Capital is necessary but it does not assemble a company. Intelligence Fusion shows what a venture builder contributes from idea through to acquisition.
Craig Peterson12 September 20264 min read
Read the articleBuild Stories
Why we built Quva: a venture builder creating its own technology
Quva started as the platform behind GCV Invest, then became its own brand and licensing model. Here is why a venture builder built its own technology.
Craig Peterson12 September 20263 min read
Read the articleStrategy
Validating an opportunity before you build
Evaluation is the cheapest stage of company creation and the one most often skipped. Here is what it should actually test - and why the decision to stop is one of the most valuable outcomes it can produce.
Craig Peterson22 January 20255 min read
Read the articleGrowth
Structuring a venture for scale
Scale is an outcome of structure. The decisions that determine whether a company can grow are usually taken long before growth begins - in how the commercial engine is designed, how performance is measured, and what the operating rhythm looks like.
Craig Peterson14 May 20255 min read
Read the articleInnovation
Corporate venture building that actually ships
Established businesses have the assets to create new ventures and the structures that most often prevent it. The fix is usually operating design, not ideas - and the goal is a launched company, not a workshop.
Craig Peterson7 October 20255 min read
Read the articleIdeation
Where startup opportunities actually come from
The four sources credible venture opportunities come from, and how to tell an observation about a market from a business worth building.
Craig Peterson10 February 20266 min read
Read the articleStrategy
How to size a market: TAM, SAM and SOM without fooling yourself
What TAM, SAM and SOM actually mean, how to calculate them bottom-up, and a worked example you can copy.
Craig Peterson4 March 20265 min read
Read the articleFounders
Building the founding team before you build the product
The four capabilities a founding team needs, how to structure equity and roles honestly, and what to settle before the first hire.
Craig Peterson8 April 20265 min read
Read the articleProduct
How to build an MVP that actually proves something
Define the question first, scope to the evidence, and read the result honestly. How we approach MVPs in the Incubate stage.
Craig Peterson12 May 20265 min read
Read the articleGo-to-market
What product-market fit actually looks like
Five observable signals of product-market fit, why revenue alone is not one of them, and what to do when you have some but not all.
Craig Peterson16 June 20265 min read
Read the articleGrowth
The metrics that matter: CAC, LTV and payback
How to calculate CAC, LTV and payback honestly, with a worked example and the ratios that actually drive decisions.
Craig Peterson14 July 20265 min read
Read the articleScale
Building enterprise value, not just revenue
The six components of enterprise value beyond revenue, and the decisions during Scale that make a company valuable rather than merely large.
Craig Peterson18 August 20265 min read
Read the articleInvesting
Assessing risk in early-stage companies: an investor's checklist
The six-lens diligence framework we use when assessing an early-stage company, and the questions under each that reliably surface the real risk.
Craig Peterson25 March 20266 min read
Read the articleInvesting
Building an early-stage investment portfolio
Position sizing, spread, pacing, follow-on capital and the role of SEIS and EIS in constructing an early-stage portfolio you can actually hold.
Craig Peterson1 April 20266 min read
Read the articleInvesting
How GCV Labs and GCV Invest work together
Build and fund are two distinct capabilities in the Growth Capital Ventures ecosystem. Here is where the boundary sits and why it exists.
Craig Peterson18 March 20265 min read
Read the articleInvesting
SEIS and EIS explained for early-stage investors
A plain-English guide to SEIS and EIS: the reliefs, the limits, the conditions, the risk-to-capital test, and the questions to ask before you rely on either.
Craig Peterson11 March 20268 min read
Read the articleSEIS
What is SEIS? A plain-English guide for investors
What SEIS is, which reliefs it carries, who it is designed for, and the conditions attached to every one of them.
Craig Peterson11 September 20264 min read
Read the articleSEIS
SEIS vs EIS: which scheme applies, and when
A side-by-side comparison of the two venture capital schemes, and how a single funding round can use both in sequence.
Craig Peterson11 September 20263 min read
Read the articleSEIS
Who can invest under SEIS: eligibility and the connection rules
The investor-side conditions: UK tax liability, the 30% interest test, the employee rule, and what counts as being connected to the company.
Craig Peterson11 September 20263 min read
Read the articleSEIS
SEIS income tax relief: how the 50% works in practice
How the 50% relief is calculated, what caps it, and what happens when your tax liability is smaller than your entitlement.
Craig Peterson11 September 20263 min read
Read the articleSEIS
SEIS loss relief: what happens when a company fails
How the net loss is calculated, the choice between setting it against income or gains, and what it means for the real downside on an SEIS position.
Craig Peterson11 September 20262 min read
Read the articleSEIS
SEIS capital gains: exemption and reinvestment relief
Disposal relief and reinvestment relief explained, including the conditions on each and how they interact with income tax relief.
Craig Peterson11 September 20262 min read
Read the articleSEIS
SEIS carry back: claiming against last year's tax
What carry back does, when it is worth using, the limits that still apply, and how to elect for it.
Craig Peterson11 September 20262 min read
Read the articleSEIS
SEIS limits: company caps, investor limits and the allowance
Every SEIS threshold in one table, what each one is measured against, and what happens when a company outgrows them.
Craig Peterson11 September 20262 min read
Read the articleSEIS
The SEIS three-year holding period and how relief is withdrawn
The qualifying period, the events that trigger withdrawal or reduction of relief, and who has to tell HMRC.
Craig Peterson11 September 20263 min read
Read the articleSEIS
Advance assurance and the SEIS3 certificate
What advance assurance is worth, how the compliance process works, and when you can expect the SEIS3 that lets you claim.
Craig Peterson11 September 20262 min read
Read the articleSEIS
How to claim SEIS relief on your tax return, step by step
What you need before you start, where each figure goes, the deadlines that apply, and what to keep on file.
Craig Peterson11 September 20263 min read
Read the articleSEIS
Building an SEIS portfolio: spread, pacing and position size
A practical framework for constructing an SEIS portfolio: how many holdings, how large, over how long, and what to keep in reserve.
Craig Peterson11 September 20263 min read
Read the articleInvesting
What is EIS? A plain-English guide for investors
What EIS is, the four reliefs it carries, which companies qualify, and where it sits relative to SEIS.
Craig Peterson12 September 20268 min read
Read the articleInvesting
Who can invest under EIS: eligibility and the connection rules
The eligibility tests: UK tax liability, the 30% holding limit, employment and directorship, and the two-years-before, three-years-after connection window.
Craig Peterson20 September 20263 min read
Read the articleInvesting
EIS qualifying companies: which businesses are eligible
Permanent establishment, independence, employee and asset limits, the seven-year age rule, the qualifying business activity test and the list of excluded trades.
Craig Peterson20 September 20263 min read
Read the articleInvesting
EIS income tax relief: how the 30% works in practice
The calculation, the caps, carry back, and the conditions that have to hold for three years.
Craig Peterson12 September 20262 min read
Read the articleInvesting
EIS capital gains: exemption and deferral relief
How disposal exemption and deferral relief differ, the conditions for each, the reinvestment window, and when the deferred gain comes back into charge.
Craig Peterson20 September 20262 min read
Read the articleInvesting
EIS loss relief: what happens when the company fails
The net amount at risk, the choice between income and gains, worked numbers at each tax rate, and the time limits for claiming.
Craig Peterson20 September 20262 min read
Read the articleInvesting
EIS carry back: claiming relief against last year's tax
What carry back does, the limits that still apply, the situations where it is worth using, and how the election is made.
Craig Peterson20 September 20262 min read
Read the articleInvesting
EIS limits and rules: what companies and investors must meet
Company caps, gross asset tests, age limits, connection rules and the three-year holding period, with the figures that changed in April 2026.
Craig Peterson12 September 20262 min read
Read the articleInvesting
The EIS three-year holding period and how relief is withdrawn
When the clock starts, what counts as a disposal, how withdrawal is calculated, and the company-side events that break the period.
Craig Peterson20 September 20262 min read
Read the articleInvesting
EIS advance assurance and the EIS3 certificate
What advance assurance is worth, the EIS1 to EIS2 to EIS3 sequence, the four-month trading rule, and what to check on the certificate.
Craig Peterson20 September 20262 min read
Read the articleInvesting
How to claim EIS relief, step by step
The EIS3 certificate, the self assessment boxes, claiming through PAYE, carry back and the five-year time limit.
Craig Peterson12 September 20262 min read
Read the articleInvesting
The risks of EIS and SEIS investing
Company failure, illiquidity, dilution, withdrawal of relief, valuation uncertainty, concentration and rule change - with what each one means in practice.
Craig Peterson20 September 20263 min read
Read the articleGet the next piece before everyone else.
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