Companies Don't Get Sold, They Get Acquired - James Codling (Volution VC)

Companies don't get sold—they get acquired. That distinction, according to James Codling, defines the difference between a forced exit and a strategic one. For UK tech companies navigating the so-called "valley of death" between Series A and Series B, understanding who might acquire you isn't just helpful—it's essential to survival.

Codling argues that the UK's venture ecosystem suffers from a structural flaw: it excels at starting companies and funding early stages, but undercapitalizes them at Series A, leaving founders stranded when growth demands more runway than their existing investors can provide. The rigid "Seed-A-B-C" funding model exacerbates the problem, forcing companies into arbitrary stage definitions rather than matching capital to actual needs. Volution's strategy targets this gap, investing in companies generating £5–20 million in revenue—past product-market fit, but before traditional Series B investors arrive. The thesis: back businesses that have identified their ideal customer and go-to-market strategy, then fuel execution. Six exits from Fund I—to buyers including Moody's, Sage, and nCino—validate the approach. Most were acquired by US partners already embedded in the company's infrastructure.

🔹 The ABCDEFG funding model is "completely flawed" outside the US and creates artificial capital gaps 🔹 Blockchain infrastructure and tokenized assets are driving the next wave of productivity in financial markets—Ownera's repo-market product exemplifies instant settlement at scale 🔹 Government money funds 2/3 of UK early-stage VC, yet there's no coherent strategy to move companies from seed to scale 🔹 AI implementation requires clean data and robust systems—"garbage in, garbage billions of times worse out" 🔹 SBI's co-GP model opens APAC markets for portfolio companies; 90% of Volution's portfolio now operates in Asia

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About James Codling [Managing Partner at Volution VC]:Managing Partner at Volution VC, a mid-stage investor in financial-infrastructure software, where he leads investments in companies between Series A and B that have real revenue and track records. He began his career as an engineer before moving into banking during the dot-com bubble, financing 3G rollouts, and later spent years in private equity before transitioning to venture. Volution operates as a co-general-partner arrangement with SBI, one of Japan's largest financial groups, and he has built a decade-long track record backing UK fintech scale-ups.About Aulium:Aulium is a video show exploring Innovation and Private Capital, hosted by Thomas Viguier.Connect with us:➡ Aulium on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/company/aulium➡ Thomas Viguier: https://www.linkedin.com/in/tviguier/