Thinking outside of the Box.
We fund people with great ideas not spreadsheets. Companies that aspire to be profitable and improve society.
What we do
BoxFund is a venture capital firm established by entrepreneurs, funded by entrepreneurs, and dedicated to supporting entrepreneurs. We possess a deep understanding of the qualities required for entrepreneurial success and actively seek out exceptional individuals with brilliant ideas. We provide them with financial backing and expert guidance to help them thrive.
At BoxFund, we excel in providing early-stage SEIS/EIS funding for UK-based start-ups. Our focus is on investing in consumer brand businesses that resonate with our fundamental principles: Social Good, Healthy Planet, and Positive Business Practices.
Our investments are centered around early-stage ventures, from the initial stages of product development to early commercialisation. Investment sizes typically range from £100k to £1m. We seek out companies that aspire to achieve profitability while simultaneously making a positive impact on society—businesses that prioritize both aspects.
Roger Wade, our Founder, possesses over 30 years of operational experience in consumer brands. He excels at nurturing concepts from their inception and transforming them into viable businesses ready for successful exits. Roger firmly believes that exceptional businesses are born through the fusion of talented individuals and groundbreaking ideas. He works closely with entrepreneurs, providing them with his wealth of knowledge, guidance, and unwavering support throughout their entrepreneurial journey.
Our Investments
Boxpark
Boxpark created the World’s 1st Pop Up mall from containers and now runs 3 sites in London and plans to expand throughout the UK.
Sticks
A Corporate retreat business specialising in offering ESG training and team building in unique countryside environments.
Dicky Deans
Dicky Deans supply and build luxury shepherds huts handcrafted in Sussex.
Nuud
Most gum is chewy plastic. Gross, right?! Nuud is the rebellious plant-based gum on a mission to rid the world of plastic stuff! #ChewPlantsNotPlastic
Who are we?
Roger Wade – Chairman
BoxFund was founded by Roger Wade. Roger is a serial entrepreneur, the Founder and ex-CEO of Boxpark & Boxfresh. He is a creative entrepreneur and believes all brands should be special, he identifies those special brands/projects and adds values to them. He is passionate about people, ideas, and thinking outside the Box! He has a BSc in Environmental Science, and is an LBS Alumnus.
Roger's LinkedIn Profile
View Times article
Listen to podcast
Watch 'TELL Series with Roger Wade, Founder of Boxpark'
Interview with our founder Roger Wade
Riding unicorns podcast with Roger Wade
Thomas Smith – Investment Director
Tom is passionate about venture capital, considering it the best job in the world. For him, the true privilege lies in meeting the most dynamic, passionate, and driven people—it's all about the relationships. Before joining BoxFund, Tom led the venture-stage consumer team at HSBC Innovation Banking (formerly SVB), where he provided venture debt, working capital facilities, and banking services to over 160 VC-backed consumer startups.
Tom's experience also includes his time as a seed investor at Ascension, a London-based VC firm, where he also served as COO for LocalGlobe and Ascension's EdTech portfolio company, Curiscope. Additionally, he co-founded AdminaHealth, a successful SaaS platform for U.S. self-funded healthcare programs. His career began as an M&A analyst at Guggenheim in New York. He is a CFA Charterholder, holding an MBA with summa cum laude honours from Trinity College Dublin and a BA in Economics from Columbia University in New York.
Jack Chiappe – Analyst
Jack has spent several years working as a corporate finance analyst, conducting sell and buy-side M&A research on companies with EVs between 1m and 100m. He has since worked screening and analysing thousands of businesses across a number of sectors. He has a keen interest in entrepreneurship and loves working with founders. He obtained a degree in PPE with an Economics major at the University of Birmingham where he was also part of the UoB Boat Club First VIII.
Francini Denari – EA
Francini is a dynamic and versatile Executive Assistant with extensive experience across diverse industries, including finance and technology. She has consistently delivered top-tier support to high-profile executives since the onset of her career. Francini’s multifaceted expertise and dedication ensure that she adeptly manages complex administrative tasks, allowing executives to focus on strategic initiatives.
In addition to her professional acumen, Francini holds a Bachelor of Laws (LLB), equipping her with a strong comprehensive skill set, dedication to excellence and an analytical mindset.
Renata Thomé – Investor Relations
Senior Strategist, Co-Founder and Chief Creative Officer for Alpha’a Inc - a socially conscious, community-oriented Art platform - with over 8 years of experience in creating and leading strategies for expansion over three continents.
Climate Advocate and Creative thinker with a track record of using the Arts as a tool for communication and transformation of pressing global issues, such as ocean conservation and promoting women and minorities’ work, through partnerships with non-governmental organizations (NGOs) and at major media channels such as Globo, Sony Pictures and Forbes.” Featured as one of the “33 under 33 best entrepreneurs of 2018” by New York City’s StrtupBoost.
Adejare Doherty – Venture Scout
Adejare Doherty is a creative entrepreneur and non-practising barrister with a rich background in sustainable business. He founded Wholeleaf in 2007, pioneering sustainable products that reflect his commitment to environmental stewardship.
Adejare holds an LLB from the University of Liverpool and an LLM in Public International Law from UCL, where he specialised in laws of war and natural resources. A speaker of Yoruba, English, French, Italian, and Spanish, he leverages his diverse skills to advocate for business as a force for societal and environmental change. In addition to his role at Boxfund, Adejare is also a passionate record producer and singer/songwriter.
Advisors
Benjamin Zhongyang Lu
Benjamin Zhongyang Lu is a Director, Sustainable Finance and Investment at investment banking arm of HSBC based out of London. He leads Global Banking and Market’s sustainable finance strategy, ESG business development and risk management at the global level.
Benjamin is a seasoned banker, strategist and sustainability expert with very diverse banking experience across Europe, Asia, Africa and Middle East. He is passionate about start-ups and started his career as a coverage banker for Small and Medium Enterprises with Standard Chartered Bank. Since then, he has had various positions across Corporate and Investment Banking, Wealth Management and Group Strategy & Planning with Standard Chartered and HSBC in Singapore, UAE, South Africa and UK.
He has rich experience in both originating banking deals with clients and working with Group Executives and Board of HSBC and Standard Chartered. Benjamin holds an MBA (Distinction) degree from INSEAD, France and a Master’s degree in Sustainability Leadership from University of Cambridge, UK. He is a global citizen and believes business and finance could be a force for good.
Bijna Kotak Dasani – MBE
Bijna holds advisory roles with Cajigo, Global Fintech Convergence Council, the Inclusive Companies Network, and FinTech Connect. She has addressed audiences globally as a thought leader for major brands and has authored several thought leadership papers, some of which have been published with institutions like Oxford University.
She is an appointed Member of the Most Excellent Order of the British Empire for her services to Diversity and Inclusion in the Financial Services industry.
Bijna is a Fellow of the Royal Society of Arts, Manufactures, and Commerce (FRSA), and an alumna of Oriel College, University of Oxford, and Leicester Castle Business School, De Montfort University.
Shalini Khemka – CBE
Shalini founded E2E (www.e2exchange.com) in 2011, where is the Chief Executive and serves on its Board.
E2E has developed into an exciting and ground-breaking powerhouse of entrepreneurs, investors, non-execs, and SME focussed corporate organisations and consists of 24K SMEs.
Shalini is a member of the Mayor of London's Business Advisory Board and,she is on the Supervisory Committee of Kriya (formerly Market Finance), one of the UK’s leading Fintech firms. She is a Fellow of Burton and South Derbyshire College and former Chair of the Business Action Council’s Job Retention Scheme Committee. In March 2022 Shalini became the Chairman designate of Funding Focus Investment Trust PLC. From April 2022 Shalini became a Member of The Advisory Board for Globant's Bekind Tech Fund.
Prior to establishing E2E, Shalini was an Investment Director at LDC, the private equity arm of Lloyd's Banking Group. She was a Management Accountant at Deutsche Bank and worked in various finance related roles for Bankers Trust, NatWest Bank and Coopers & Lybrand.
In 2022, Shalini was awarded a The Commander of the Order of the British Empire (CBE) for her services to entrepreneurship.
Miles Otway
Miles brings 20 years experience in UK SME investing, most recently over 11 years with Connection Capital where he was a Partner, member of investment committee and the Head of New Business across private equity and private debt. Connection Capital is a high net worth funded, UK lower mid-market investment platform which Miles helped build from a startup to over £500m of capital deployed.
Miles brings professional investment rigour and process, deal execution, board level strategy and value creation experience to BoxFund’s advisory board.
Miles holds BA Hons from the University of Cambridge and an MBA from London Business School.
Get in touch 
W: boxfund.co.uk
E: hello@boxfund.co.uk
LinkedIn
Office: 36 Huntsworth Mews, Marylebone, London NW1 6DB
This website is for informational purposes and should not be construed as an invitation to engage in investment activity and does not constitute a Financial Promotion. No reliance is to be placed on the information contained throughout the website. Information herein is not intended to, nor should be taken to, constitute advice.