UK venture studio

Bold ideas, built properly.

ideaSquared (i²) is a UK-based venture studio. We build, launch and scale digital ventures with social and commercial upside — without recreating the same plumbing every time.

2
Active ventures
AdoptDontShop & Pairflix in build
4
Stage lifecycle
Mandatory kill criteria at each gate
30–50%
Equity retained
In every spun-out venture
10
Ventures by 2030
The portfolio target north star
The portfolio

Two ventures in build, one shared platform.

Each one inherits our shared product, engineering and operations stack. Each one launches faster. Each one keeps i² as a meaningful owner.

Alpha · in build Pet adoption · UK

AdoptDontShop

A swipe-based pet adoption platform connecting UK rescue pets with the right humans. Free for adopters; SaaS for rescues.

Read Venture brief →
Alpha · in build Streaming · UK households

Pairflix

An AI matcher that turns the nightly "what shall we watch?" argument into a 30-second decision — across Netflix, Prime, Disney+ and friends.

Read Venture brief →
Pipeline Validation · 2026

HealthTech (TBD)

A concept under validation inside the studio. We'll say more when willingness-to-pay is proven and kill criteria are set.

Stage Proposal
Pipeline Validation · 2026

FinTech (TBD)

A second concept in validation. Same gate as everything else: prove the demand, set the kill criteria, then we build.

Stage Proposal

See all ventures & studio repos for the full picture, including older open-source code from the studio.

The lifecycle

From bold idea to defensible business.

Every venture moves through a four-stage lifecycle, each with a defined exit criterion. Kill criteria are mandatory.

01 · IDEA

Problem hypothesis

Market sketch and a kill-or-keep call within weeks. We start with a painful, paid-for problem — not a technology in search of one.

02 · PROPOSAL

Validate demand

Willingness-to-pay and regulatory feasibility are tested before any production code. Mandatory kill criteria are set here.

03 · PROJECT

Build on the platform

Shared product, engineering, design, legal and ops construct the MVP. Design partners onboarded; first paying users.

04 · PRODUCT

Spin out & scale

Independent legal entity, follow-on capital, growth. i² retains 30–50% and stays useful as a partner, not a parent.

"Startups don't fail at ideation. They fail at execution."
The i² thesis
Why a venture studio, and why now