Simon Acland
Simon Acland (born 27 March 1958) is a British venture capitalist and author.[1]
Acland was educated at Eton and Lincoln College, Oxford, from which he graduated in 1979 with an Honours Degree in Modern Languages (French and German).[2]
He spent most of his venture capital career at London-based Quester. He specialised in backing early-stage technology businesses.[3][4][5] Two of these, Surfcontrol plc and Orchestream plc, became members of the FTSE 250.[6][7] Quester was acquired in 2007 by Spark Ventures.[8]
In June 2010 Acland's first novel, The Waste Land, was published by Charlwood Books.[9][10][11] A sequel, The Flowers of Evil, followed in July 2011.[12][13] These are historical novels set in the First Crusade which draw for their material on some of the myths and legends about the Holy Grail, the Assassins, and the Templars.[14][15]
In October 2010 Nicholas Brealey Publishing published Acland's Angels, Dragons and Vultures : How to tame your investors...and not lose your company, a guide for entrepreneurs to raising finance and managing investors based on his experience of the venture capital world.[16][17]
Acland is a director of a number of companies, including AIM-listed Elektron Technology plc[18] and two Venture Capital Trusts managed by Triple Point Investment Management, TP70 2008 (I) plc and TP70 2010 plc.[19][20] He is a Trustee of the wild flora conservation charity Plantlife.[21]
Acland was elected as a member of the London Borough of Lambeth in 1982 for Princes Ward in Kennington. He became Leader of the SDP/Liberal Alliance Group on Lambeth Council in 1984 and was re-elected to the Council for a second four-year term in 1986. In 1987 he stood for Parliament in the Vauxhall Constituency.[22]
Acland's father is Sir Antony Acland KG, GCMG, GCVO, former Head of the Diplomatic Service and British Ambassador in Washington. He is married to Jo Valentine, Baroness Valentine, a cross-bench peer, and Chief Executive of London First.
References
- ↑ "Simon Acland". LinkedIn. Retrieved 22 November 2011.
- ↑ "Simon Acland". LinkedIn. Retrieved 22 November 2011.
- ↑ "Simon Acland". Venture Capital Advice. Retrieved 22 November 2011.
- ↑ "Annual conference 15th Sept 2011 – Profiting from innovation, YCF's ninth annual conference was held at the Stirling Management Centre on Thursday 15 September". Ycfscotland.co.uk. 15 September 2011. Retrieved 22 November 2011.
- ↑ "Blog | New Year's resolutions for venture capitalists – Real Deals". Realdeals.eu.com. 10 January 2011. Retrieved 22 November 2011.
- ↑ "Surfcontrol Plc". Docstoc.com. Retrieved 22 November 2011.
- ↑ Finance. "City briefs". Telegraph. Retrieved 22 November 2011.
- ↑ "Quester acquired by NewMediaSpark". Fred Destin. 16 May 2007. Retrieved 22 November 2011.
- ↑ charlwoodbooks.com
- ↑ "Historical Novels Review Online: November 2011". Historicalnovelsociety.org. Retrieved 22 November 2011.
- ↑ "The Waste Land – Simon Acland – Random Jottings". Randomjottings.typepad.com. 7 July 2010. Retrieved 22 November 2011.
- ↑ "The Flowers of Evil by Simon Acland – Lovereading UK". Lovereading.co.uk. 16 June 2011. Retrieved 22 November 2011.
- ↑ Team UK M. for activagers • 1 June 2011. "activagers – Find old and new friends in your community – Team UK M.'s article – Book review & competition: The Flowers of Evil by Simon Acland. A historical thriller with laughs". Uk.activagers.com. Retrieved 22 November 2011.
- ↑ Cookie Dude Web Design (18 November 2011). "Author". Simon Acland. Retrieved 22 November 2011.
- ↑ http://www.amazon.co.uk/Simon-Acland/e/B003UTCJ0MCached
- ↑ Angels, Dragons and Vultures. "Angels, Dragons and Vultures | Nicholas Brealey Publishing". Nicholasbrealey.com. Retrieved 22 November 2011.
- ↑ "Simon Acland". Robertdudleyagency.co.uk. 6 May 2010. Retrieved 22 November 2011.
- ↑ "Elektron Technology plc". Elektron-technology.com. 17 December 2010. Retrieved 22 November 2011.
- ↑ http://www.triplepoint.co.uk/wp-content/uploads/TP70-2010-IFR-31-08-11.pdf
- ↑ "TP70 2008 (I) VCT plc Change of Director". Triple Point. Retrieved 22 November 2011.
- ↑ "Our Trustees | Our team | About us". Plantlife. Retrieved 22 November 2011.
- ↑ "United Kingdom Parliamentary Election results 1983–97: London Boroughs". Election.demon.co.uk. Retrieved 22 November 2011.