Our People
Kirsten Connell
Kirsten joined Octopus Ventures in 2021 to launch First Cheque Fund, now our first dedicated pre-seed fund.
Before joining Octopus Ventures, Kirsten was the managing director of CyLon, Europe’s first deep tech and cyber security accelerator programme investing in and supporting more than 60 startups, including Tessian and Immersive Labs.
Kirsten was also part of the original team at Seedcamp Investment Management. During her five-year tenure, she travelled extensively across Europe meeting the best local entrepreneurs and backed some of Europe’s trailblazers, such as Wise, UiPath and Revolut.
Before launching First Cheque Fund, Kirsten dabbled as an angel investor and enjoys nothing more than helping founders on their growth journey.
“Investing at pre-seed often comes down to the founder's ability to execute. We get excited by founders who obsess about the problem they’re solving (not product) and are great storytellers.”
-Kirsten Connell
Before joining Octopus Ventures, Kirsten was the managing director of CyLon, Europe’s first deep tech and cyber security accelerator programme investing in and supporting more than 60 startups, including Tessian and Immersive Labs.
Kirsten was also part of the original team at Seedcamp Investment Management. During her five-year tenure, she travelled extensively across Europe meeting the best local entrepreneurs and backed some of Europe’s trailblazers, such as Wise, UiPath and Revolut.
Before launching First Cheque Fund, Kirsten dabbled as an angel investor and enjoys nothing more than helping founders on their growth journey.
“Investing at pre-seed often comes down to the founder's ability to execute. We get excited by founders who obsess about the problem they’re solving (not product) and are great storytellers.”
-Kirsten Connell
See Kirsten's profile on LinkedIn
Companies Kirsten Connell has worked with
