Fussy: 11.9x partial exit for SFC Angel Fund SEIS
Don't invest unless you’re prepared to lose all the money you invest. This is a high-risk investment and you are unlikely to be protected if something goes wrong. Take 2 mins to learn more.
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Due to the potential for losses, the Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) considers this investment to be high risk.
What are the key risks?
- You could lose all the money you invest
- If the business you invest in fails, you are likely to lose 100% of the money you invested. Most start-up businesses fail.
- You are unlikely to be protected if something goes wrong
- Protection from the Financial Services Compensation Scheme (FSCS), in relation to claims against failed regulated firms, does not cover poor investment performance. Try the FSCS investment protection checker here.
- Protection from the Financial Ombudsman Service (FOS) does not cover poor investment performance. If you have a complaint against an FCA-regulated firm, FOS may be able to consider it. Learn more about FOS protection here.
- You won’t get your money back quickly
- Even if the business you invest in is successful, it may take several years to get your money back. You are unlikely to be able to sell your investment early.
- The most likely way to get your money back is if the business is bought by another business or lists its shares on an exchange such as the London Stock Exchange. These events are not common.
- If you are investing in a start-up business, you should not expect to get your money back through dividends. Start-up businesses rarely pay these.
- Don’t put all your eggs in one basket
- Putting all your money into a single business or type of investment for example, is risky. Spreading your money across different investments makes you less dependent on any one to do well.
- A good rule of thumb is not to invest more than 10% of your money in high-risk investments.
- The value of your investment can be reduced
- The percentage of the business that you own will decrease if the business issues more shares. This could mean that the value of your investment reduces, depending on how much the business grows. Most start-up businesses issue multiple rounds of shares.
- These new shares could have additional rights that your shares don’t have, such as the right to receive a fixed dividend, which could further reduce your chances of getting a return on your investment.
If you are interested in learning more about how to protect yourself, visit the FCA’s website here.
In October 2026, SFC Capital (formerly Startup Funding Club) announced its partial exit of sustainable deodorant brand Fussy, realising returns of 11.9x for investors in the SFC Angel Fund SEIS – including Wealth Club investors.
Fussy was founded in 2020 with a mission to eliminate single-use plastic from the bathroom. What began as a crowdfunded campaign on Kickstarter grew into a line of all-natural, refillable deodorants and soaps stocked in over 4,000 shops across the UK and Europe.
SFC Angel Fund SEIS invested in Fussy in 2020 and 2021, providing c.£90,000 in total funding. In October 2026, following significant demand from two buyers seeking to acquire shares in the company, SFC agreed to sell approximately 14% of its holding in a secondary transaction. The fund's remaining position is valued at £1.3 million.
Fussy is the latest in SFC Capital’s track record of over 33 exits, following on the partial exits of women's health brand Free Soul for 3.9x and wellness business Hunter & Gather for 12.3x. Past performance is not a guide to the future; there have also been failures.
What does Fussy do? Why did SFC Capital invest? And how might you invest in similar companies?
Important: The information on this website is for experienced investors. It is not a personal recommendation to invest. If you’re unsure, please seek advice. These investments are for the long term. They are high risk and can fall as well as rise in value: you could lose all the money you invest. Tax rules can change and benefits depend on circumstances.
What does Fussy do?
While still working in advertising, Matt Kennedy, founder and CEO of Fussy, tried to pitch sustainability ideas to big brands but kept facing rejections. Meanwhile at home, his wife was struggling to find a natural deodorant that could meet sensitivity needs during pregnancy.
Fussy was founded in 2020 to address this market the incumbents seemed to be uninterested in.
Fussy deodorants are refillable rather than single-use: customers keep the reusable case and replace the deodorant with plastic-free refills, reducing plastic waste going into landfill. Its ingredients are entirely natural, long-lasting and include a probiotic that actively “eats” sweat to neutralise odour. This is how Fussy realises its sustainability aims without compromising on quality.
The brand took its first form in October 2020 as a campaign on crowdfunding platform Kickstarter. In the same month, Fussy won equity investment (via SEIS) in The Beauty Accelerator run by SFC Capital.
The Kickstarter closed as the highest-grossing personal care campaign of all time, and in 2021 Fussy commercially launched its deodorant.
In 2022, Fussy appeared on BBC’s Dragon’s Den and successfully secured the backing of investors Deborah Meaden and Peter Jones. Its customer base then doubled from 20,000 to 40,000.
Initially only selling direct to customers on a subscription model, in 2023 Fussy entered into its first retail partnership with Tesco across more than 4,000 shops. The brand is now stocked by a variety of retailers in the UK – Boots, Ocado, Waitrose – as well as in continental Europe.
Fussy is now valued at £40 million. It has since expanded its product line to include refillable and recyclable body wash and hand wash, taking Fussy further in its mission to eliminate single-use plastic from the bathroom.
Why did SFC Capital invest?
SFC Capital is the most active seed-stage investor in the UK, and one of the most active in Europe. It launched one of the UK’s first SEIS funds in 2013 and has since invested in around 650 early-stage companies across a broad range of sectors.
It first invested in Fussy when it was still a crowdfunded campaign without a physical product. The Company participated in The Beauty Accelerator, a competition run by SFC in partnership with international beauty brand consultancy The Red Tree, aiming to identify young and ambitious beauty businesses – an area SFC considered underrepresented in investments.
Fussy was one of the two winners of the inaugural 2020 edition, winning its first funding from SFC's SEIS fund. Stirling Murray, Managing Director of The Red Tree said: "Fussy taps into an accelerating trend of refillable beauty products that reduce single use plastic consumption. We have seen similar brands succeed internationally and Fussy is carving its own way on this path."
SFC Capital followed on in 2021 with SEIS investments totalling c.£90,000. Its EIS fund then invested in 2022.
How might you invest in similar companies?
The SFC Angel Fund SEIS and SFC All-Star Fund EIS are currently open for investment – you can apply online. Both could give you exposure to companies like Fussy, though not necessarily Fussy itself.
SEIS investors should be able to claim up to 50% income tax and capital gains tax reliefs, amongst other reliefs. EIS investors should be able to claim up to 30% income tax in the current tax year or carry back to the previous tax year. Tax rules can change and benefits depend on circumstances.
To date, the SEIS fund has achieved 19 full or partial exits (including five below cost) and returned £4.5 million to investors from investments costing £1.8 million (May 2026); the EIS fund has invested in over 100 companies and achieved three profitable full exits and one partial exit. Past performance is not a guide to the future.
SFC Angel Fund SEIS targets a return of 3x over a planned holding period of eight years, and SFC All-Star Fund EIS targets a return of 3x over a planned holding period of five to eight years – high risk and not guaranteed.
See performance of SFC Angel Fund SEIS
Performance of SFC Angel Fund SEIS per £100 invested
Source: SFC, as at May 2026. Past performance is not a guide to future performance. The chart shows realised returns (where share proceeds have been returned to investors as cash) and unrealised returns (where cash has not yet been returned and the value of the investments is based on the manager’s own valuation methodology). There is no ready market for unlisted shares. The figures shown are net of all fees and do not include any income tax relief or loss relief.
See performance of SFC All-Star Fund EIS
Performance of SFC All-Star Fund EIS per £100 invested
Source: SFC, as at May 2026. Past performance is not a guide to future performance. The chart shows realised returns (where share proceeds have been returned to investors as cash) and unrealised returns (where cash has not yet been returned and the value of the investments is based on the manager’s own valuation methodology). There is no ready market for unlisted shares. The figures shown are net of all fees and do not include any income tax relief or loss relief.
Wealth Club aims to make it easier for experienced investors to find information on – and apply for – investments. You should base your investment decision on the offer documents and ensure you have read and fully understand them before investing. The information on this webpage is a marketing communication. It is not advice or a personal or research recommendation to buy, sell or hold any of the investments mentioned, nor does it include any opinion as to the present or future value or price of these investments. It does not satisfy legal requirements promoting investment research independence and is thus not subject to prohibitions on dealing ahead of its dissemination.
Alex Davies
Founder and CEO
Alex was a board director at Hargreaves Lansdown, where he worked for 15 years. He was responsible for building Hargreaves Lansdown into the biggest direct-to-consumer SIPP provider in the UK with more than 150,000 clients and over £12 billion under management. He is a keen investor with a portfolio of shares, funds, student property, EIS and VCT investments.