TramlinesStart application

Before you apply

We invest in domain experts building AI-native services businesses.

Tramlines is a £10m Fund I. £2.5m deployed to date, 8 portfolio companies so far, £250k first cheques, 24 months of hands-on accelerator alongside the capital.

We back people with 10 to 20 years inside a single industry who are ready to build the company that industry actually needs. You bring the domain expertise. We bring the operator experience, the fundraising, the commercial strategy, the corporate governance, the operational infrastructure, the go-to-market, and the network of customers, advisors and follow-on capital.

This is for you if:

  • You are building a UK B2B tech company that hasn't yet raised institutional capital.
  • You have spent 10+ years inside a mature services or operational industry. Dentistry, funeral care, recruitment, IT services, MSPs, systems integrators, branding, marketing, web development, e-commerce, business consultancy, PR, HR, legal, accounting, financial services, haulage, logistics, shipping, or a corner of manufacturing where software can change how the business is run.
  • You understand the problems, the workflows, the buyers and the politics of your sector better than any generalist ever could.
  • You have a clear view on where AI is about to change the economics of your industry, and why the incumbents will not move fast enough.
  • You are an existing early stage B2B founder or are founder curious and looking to start executing on your idea.
  • You would rather build a business with £250k- £500k of institutional capital, a 24-month operator team alongside you, and a route to £1m of revenue than raise £2m from a fund that will disappear until the next round.

This is not the right fit if:

  • You are pre-domain-experience. Bright generalists, recent graduates and career-switchers into a new industry are not the founders we back.
  • You are building a consumer product, a biotech that needs clinical trials, a hardware-only play, or anything that will not reach revenue within 24 months.
  • You are looking for a passive cheque. Our model is high-contact by design.
  • You are raising £2m+ at Series A-shaped valuations. We are your first institutional cheque, not your third.
  • You are not a UK registered company or aren't willing to incorporate in the UK.

The industries we are actively looking at

Mature services being reshaped by AI: dentistry, funeral care, recruitment, IT services, MSPs, systems integrators, branding and marketing, web development, e-commerce, business consultancy, PR, HR, legal, accounting, financial services.

Operational businesses where AI plus software can rewire how the business is run: haulage, logistics, shipping, elements of manufacturing.

We are open to other industries where AI will disproportionately reshape the economics and infrastructure of the sector. If your industry is not on the list but your case is strong, tell us in the application.

What we are looking for in the application

Concrete over abstract. Named customers over labels. Specific numbers over "significant traction." Real years of experience over aspirational credentials. Founders who write like operators, not like decks.

We would rather receive one strong application from a domain expert who has thought hard about what they are building than fifty applications from people who fit a template.

What happens after you apply

  • Your application is reviewed by the Tramlines team within 3 working days.
  • If we want to go further, we invite you to an intro call, then a working day with the senior leadership team, then Strategy 1 and Financial 1 workshops with Albert and Andrea.
  • You will hear back from us even if we don't invite you to a screening call.
  • Our next applications are open from Monday 21st September to Friday 6th November. We recommend not waiting till the end of the applicant window to apply as we screen applicants on a rolling basis.
  • If you make it past the 2nd screening call you will be invited to a shortlisted co-working day on Wednesday 25th November with our team in Farringdon.
  • Investment Committee decisions are made three times a year. The next cheques land mid-January.
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