Adversity breeds the best founders.

We back state-educated and immigrant founders to achieve outsized returns over the long term.

People who have worked through adversity have an advantage in the startup world. The traits they develop make them brilliant operators. We look for grit over pedigree, resilience over resume and execution over endorsement.

Common is built on the fact that talent is everywhere, but opportunities are not. We give state-educated talent and founders the access they deserve.

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This is why we exist.

There is a wealth of untapped opportunity backing state-educated founders at Pre-seed. Between Stealth and Pre-Seed stage, state educated founders drop from 40% to 25% of the total — despite representing 42% at Series C.

STEALTH

43%21%36%

PRE-SEED

25%26%47%

SEED

27%15%55%

SERIES A

29%16%52%

SERIES C

42%13%45%

State SchoolPrivate SchoolInternational

Talent is everywhere, but opportunities are not.

Common Path gives entry-level talent a direct route into leading startups.

I’m a graduate I’m an employer

Supported by Atomico

Sprint 1: Discovery

Conduct user interviews, gain insights, synthesise.

Sprint 2: Build

Take learnings, ship a lightweight feature, iterate.

Sprint 3: Sell

Develop a small GTM strategy, write the copy, run a campaign.

Sprint 4: Scale

Build the growth plan, respond to the unexpected, tell the story.

Common Path is built for state-educated graduates looking to access startup roles.

For selected cohorts, we run four startup readiness sprints and match them with companies in our hiring community.

To understand if you’re well placed to become a startup operator, you will be assessed not on your school or degree, but on your drive, resourcefulness, empathy and ability to cope with ambiguity.

If you’d like to be part of our next cohort or access our talent pool, join our waitlist today.

I’m a graduate I’m an employer

If you’d like to be part of our next cohort or access our talent pool, join Common Path today.

I’m a graduate I’m an employer

Access the friends and family round you didn’t inherit at birth or school.

The Common People community is made up of 4,000+ state-educated founders, investors and operators. Join today.

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It’s time to reclaim the word common.

We’re building a community to back exceptional people from backgrounds historically overlooked by traditional networks of investment and influence.

Our team is made up of people from state school who built their careers in VC through drive, resilience and empathy — not through school or family relationships. Now we want to back others to do the same.

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David Houghton

General Partner

Grew up in Leeds and attended Guiseley School. Built a career in VC through determination and some Yorkshire charm. Most recently investing in Pre-seed founders at Antler, with roles at other VCs and startups, before co-founding Common Ventures.

Leeds state-schooler turned VC. Most recently backing pre-seed founders at Antler.

Ryan Procter

General Partner

Grew up in Manchester and attended Chorlton High School. Got a lucky break in the startup ecosystem in 2014 and worked hard to stay there. Ran Marketing and Platform at multiple VCs, as well as startup and accelerator roles, before co-founding Common Ventures.

Manchester comprehensive, in startups since 2014. Ran Marketing and Platform at multiple VCs.

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