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TEAM PROFILES

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James Codling

Managing Partner

 

  • I grew up in an entrepreneurial family who founded a well-known UK business in the 1950s. There’s an engineering and business theme that runs through our DNA and I well remember the fascination in our family about the emergence of new technologies, particularly computing and cellular, which were groundbreaking in the early ‘80s.
  • I’ve witnessed first-hand how ambition can transform a small company into a true global player and how the right capital can accelerate that growth and be a force for good. In my engineering degree, I was immersed in the new technologies and, in particular, how well-engineered cloud software can play a pivotal role in helping businesses operate more efficiently and scale more rapidly.
  • In 2000, straight out of university, I joined the TMT team at JPMorgan where we focused on financing 3G and cable rollouts across Europe. After moving to a team that supported Private Equity companies to structure large scale leveraged buyouts, I made the transition into Private Equity, joining an upper mid-market buyout house called Montagu in 2006. In 2013, after following the UK’s nascent SaaS and FinTech scene with interest and making some early-stage investments of my own, I listened to my desire to return to my roots and take the plunge, setting up my own venture to support the financing of those companies on their scaling journey. 
  • What excites me about Volution is how we collaborate with incredible teams and support their visions. Access to capital is a key part of that and while the UK has the potential to be a global leader in FinTech and SaaS, the funding pathway is still inefficient. Much has been done at Seed stage and Series A, but the road to Series B is tougher than ever. Navigating it requires a partner that truly understands what it takes to scale and be successful in this space.
  • At Volution, we deliver on our promises and come with solutions rather than adopting a cookie cutter approach. Every company, management team and route is different, so I love working with our founders to understand what it is they want to achieve and how we can support them along that journey.