We value your journey, not your pedigree.

Talent is everywhere, but opportunities are not. We give state-educated talent and founders the access they deserve.

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.

Join the community Talent programme

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 B

22%15%64%

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 1,500+ state educated founders, investors and operators. Join today.

Join the community

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.

Join the community

David Houghton

Co-founder

Grew up in Leeds and attended Guiseley School. Built a career in VC through determination and some Yorkshire charm. Investing in Pre-seed founders at Antler, whilst building Common Ventures.

Leeds state-schooler turned VC. Backing pre-seed founders at Antler.

Ryan Procter

Co-founder

Grew up in Manchester and attended Chorlton High School. Got a lucky break in the startup ecosystem and worked hard to stay there 12+ years. Leads Marketing and Platform at Nauta, whilst building Common Ventures.

Manchester comprehensive, 12+ years in startups. Leads Platform at Nauta.

Diellza Ramadani

Operations Lead

Grew up in London and attended Westminster Academy. Drawn to tech for good, and with the help of serendipity, she landed in the venture ecosystem where she spent the first four years of her career leading operations at Zinc VC.

Westminster Academy to startup ops. Leads the Common Path programme.

Join the community