NameSimon ACLAND, 16944
Birth1958
Notes for Simon ACLAND
Simon Acland (born 27 March 1958) is a British venture capitalist and author.[1]
Education
Simon Hugh Verdon Acland was educated at Eton and Lincoln College, Oxford, graduating in 1979 with an Honours Degree in Modern Languages (French and German).[2]
Career
Venture capitalism
He spent most of his venture capital career at London-based Quester. He specialised in backing early-stage technology businesses.[3][4][5] Two of these, Surfcontrol plc and Orchestream plc, became members of the FTSE 250.[6][7] Quester was acquired in 2007 by Spark Ventures.[8] Acland is a director of a number of companies, including AIM-listed Elektron Technology plc[9] and two Venture Capital Trusts managed by Triple Point Investment Management, TP70 2008 (I) plc and TP70 2010 plc.[10][11] He is a Trustee of the wild flora conservation charity Plantlife.[12]
Writing
In June 2010 Acland's first novel, The Waste Land, was published by Charlwood Books.[13][14] A sequel, The Flowers of Evil, followed in July 2011.[15] These are historical novels set in the First Crusade which draw for their material on some of the myths and legends about the Holy Grail, the Assassins, and the Templars.[16][17] In October 2010 Nicholas Brealey Publishing published Acland's Angels, Dragons and Vultures : How to tame your investors...and not lose your company, a guide for entrepreneurs to raising finance and managing investors based on his experience of the venture capital world.[18][19]
Political career
Acland was elected as a member of the London Borough of Lambeth in 1982 for Princes Ward in Kennington. He became Leader of the SDP/Liberal Alliance Group on Lambeth Council in 1984 and was re-elected to the Council for a second four-year term in 1986. In June 1987 he stood unsuccessfully for Parliament in the Vauxhall Constituency.[20]