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Advisory & investment for foundersYou don't need to be technical to build a great tech business.

Most of the founders we work with aren't engineers, and they shouldn't have to be. We give you senior technical and product steering, back you with investment where it helps, and bring 20 years of building and selling businesses to everything else.

Start a conversationHow it works →
Two founders working at a shared desk in a brick-walled studio
Sound familiar?

Building a tech business when you're not technical is hard.

  • You're building a tech business, but you're not technical, and nobody senior is making the technical calls.
  • Your developers or agency keep asking you to make decisions you don’t feel qualified to make.
  • You've got a prototype, a quote or a roadmap, and no way of telling whether it's any good.
  • You need a CTO, but you can't justify a six-figure hire yet.
What we do

Senior leadership, and capital, when you need it

Scaling and advisory

For founders who aren't technical and need someone senior who is. We steer your technology and product as a fractional CTO or CPO, help you get your first version built right, and help agency founders build something worth selling.

How we work with founders

Investment and equity partnerships

For founders who want more than money from an investor. We back start-ups and growing businesses with deals shaped around what they need, and every one gets our operating and technical experience too.

How we invest in founders
  • Early-stage investmentBacking companies when capital and experience make the biggest difference.
  • Equity partnershipsDeals built around your business and its stage, not a one-size-fits-all template.
  • Advisory for equityOperating, technical and product leadership instead of cash, or alongside it.
How it works

From first chat to a clear way forward

  1. Tell us what’s going on

    A 45-minute chat about your business and what’s in the way. No deck, no jargon and no obligation.

  2. Get a clear picture

    We look at your team, your tech and your plans, and give you a plain-English view of where you are and what to do next.

  3. Get back to running the business

    We steer the technical and product side with you, and back you with investment where it helps, so you can focus on customers and growth.

Start a conversation
Matt Ville, founder of Lode Ventures
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Our founder

Matt Ville

Lode Ventures was founded by Matt Ville. He's spent more than 20 years starting and scaling tech businesses, and has worked alongside plenty of founders who were brilliant at their business but out of their depth on the technology. He knows how lonely those decisions can feel, and how much rides on them.

Matt founded Hiyield in 2018, a UK digital product studio that helps start-ups, scale-ups and established organisations design, build and launch digital products. He grew it into an award-winning B Corp and a seven-figure business, with a team working for clients around the world, then sold it to an Employee Ownership Trust in March 2024.

Now he works with founders who aren't technical, giving them the senior technical and product steering they need, and investing in the ones he believes in.

  • 20+ years operating
  • B Corp founder
  • Exit via EOT
  • Tech & AI
Focus

Where we focus

  • Health & wellbeingDigital products for clinical and wellness settings
  • AgenciesCreative and digital agencies, typically under £2m
  • SaaSSubscription software, in any sector
  • TechnologyWeb platforms, architecture and putting AI to work
Insights

Thoughts on building, backing and scaling businesses

All insights →
Work with us

Tell us what you're working on.

Whether you need a technical lead, a second opinion on what you’re building, or investment, start with a short note. No jargon and no obligation.

What kind of support?
Sector

Questions

Your questions answered

What does Lode Ventures do?

We help founders who aren't technical build and grow tech businesses. We do two things: we work inside businesses, and we invest in them. On the advisory side, that means stepping in as your fractional CTO or CPO, and helping with the commercial and operational side of scaling. On the investment side, it's early-stage funding and equity partnerships, shaped around what your business needs.

I'm not technical. Is that a problem?

Not at all. It's who we work with most. We handle the technical side and explain every decision in plain English: what it costs, what it gets you and what it rules out later. You shouldn't need to understand databases to run a tech business.

Do you invest, advise, or both?

Either, and often both. Some founders want capital. Some want someone who's already built what they're building. Plenty want both. We also offer advisory for equity, where we put operating, technical and product leadership into your business instead of cash, or alongside it.

Who do you work with?

Founders of start-ups, scale-ups and established businesses that are ready to grow faster. We focus on four sectors: health and wellbeing, creative and digital agencies, SaaS, and technology. The agencies we work with are usually under £2m in revenue. Elsewhere, we care more about the business and the founder than the stage. We also carry out technical due diligence for venture funds, private equity firms and acquirers.

What does a fractional CTO or CPO engagement involve?

Senior technical and product steering: setting the technical direction, guiding architecture decisions, advising your team, supporting investor conversations, and deciding what's worth building. Your team runs the day-to-day. We make sure it's heading the right way, without the cost of a full-time hire.

Do you only work with businesses in the South West of England?

No. We're based in Cornwall and have a particular interest in businesses across the South West, but we work with founders wherever they are. Good businesses aren't only built within an hour of London.

How do we start?

Send us a short note about your business and what you want to do next, using the form above or by emailing hello@lode.ventures. That's all we need to get started. We read every message ourselves and usually reply within a couple of working days.