HedgeCo.Net — Evertrue Capital, the new firm of former LocalGlobe and Impact X investor Yvonne Bajela, has closed an oversubscribed Fund I at $17 million (about €15 million) to back pre-seed founders in the U.K. and Europe, TechCrunch and EU-Startups reported on November 3.
The fund’s backers include the British Business Bank, Phoenix Court’s fund-of-funds Basecamp, Better Society Capital, Bootstrap 4F through the Invest in Women Taskforce, and Allocator One. Evertrue was part of the British Business Bank’s Investor Pathways capital program, which committed £90 million to ten first-time managers.
Bajela had aimed to raise about $13 million and turned away additional investors rather than enlarge the fund. She told TechCrunch that fund size is a strategic decision, and that she wanted enough capital to build meaningful positions without pressure to deploy.
Evertrue will focus mainly on AI and fintech, with average checks around £350,000 and plans to back at least 20 companies over three years. It has already invested in seven, including agentic AI company Revion and fintech infrastructure company Zuba. Bajela previously backed Wise and Marshmallow.
The close comes in a difficult market for first-time venture managers. Capping a fund below demand is uncommon, but at pre-seed it keeps ownership targets realistic and makes it easier for a small fund to return capital. Public development banks and fund-of-funds remain the anchor LPs for many of these debut vehicles.