Footballer Chris Smalling has launched a venture capital consultancy to invest in “planet-friendly” start-ups.
ForGood will invest between £50,000 and £1m in businesses addressing environmental issues, such as climate change.
The former Manchester United and England player hopes to attract other athletes, musicians, entertainers and celebrities as co-investors in the fund.
Smalling, who currently plays for Italian Serie A club Roma, has partnered with entrepreneur and investor Sebastiano Cossia Castiglioni and marketing manager Rebecca Wheeler, the founder of Brighton-based agency Library.
ForGood will initially focus on “impactful, sustainable investments in ambitious start-ups and entrepreneurs with disruptive, high-growth business ideas”.
Smalling, who switched to a plant-based lifestyle six years ago, has personally already invested in a number of health-and-wellness-related start-ups in fmcg, including frozen ready meal business Allplants, plant-based meat supplier This, plant-based dog food start-up The Pack and natural energy drink brand Virtue Drinks.
“I want to look back on my life as someone who achieved lots on the pitch, but also someone who made a difference on a much greater scale,” he said.
“We’re on a simple but huge mission to transform the world for the better and drive a global movement for good. Investing in a more sustainable future shouldn’t have any barriers, and, at ForGood, we believe that connecting people with a common cause has the power to bring change on a global scale.
“We want to play a key role in accelerating an ecosystem that actively invests and champions the next generation of responsible businesses, with the ambition to drive a movement of doing things ‘for good’.”
The exclusive investor community also includes a consultancy arm to provide brand growth services for ForGood’s portfolio, which will be headed up by Wheeler and a team of advisors.
ForGood’s existing portfolio of 11 companies includes natural laundry detergent Dirty Labs and plant-based meat brand Heura.
Cossia Castiglioni, founder of venture capital firm Vegan Capital, added: “The future of our children and our planet depends on us and on the choices we make right now, today, not tomorrow.
“ForGood is on a mission to promote intelligent, radical change, rethinking supply chains and production systems. With the aim of ending animal suffering, and by promoting a cruelty-free, healthy, vegan lifestyle, we will inspire and support a new generation of entrepreneurs and businesses.
“ForGood is committed to building a portfolio of exciting companies and ideas, who share our values and ethics.”
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