Common Magic

Common Magic Research Document Investment Thesis Common Magic is a solo GP fund founded by Sarah Drinkwater, focused on investing in pre-seed and seed-stage startups where the ecosystem or community around the product is the core competitive moat. Operating across Europe and the US, the fund believes that the best companies are built bottom-up through strong communities and that founders who can articulate compelling narratives and build ecosystems will create the most resilient businesses. Sarah brings experience from Google, Protocol Labs, and angel investing, and emphasizes that she won't be the largest check in a round but will be deeply useful through strategic advice, narrative building, and leveraging her extensive network. Sector Focus Common Magic invests across multiple sectors with a unifying thesis around community-driven products: Enterprise Software & Developer Tools - Products that build community among technical users Consumer Apps & Social - Community-first social products and platforms EdTech & Media - Educational and content platforms with engaged communities B2B SaaS - Vertical software with strong user communities Specialized verticals - Healthcare (The Lowdown), workplace (Bounti), technical sales, privacy-preserving tools The fund explicitly seeks "products with community at their core" rather than community-as-feature, meaning the community is the defensible moat and driving force of the business model. Stage Focus Common Magic focuses exclusively on early-stage investments: Pre-seed: £100K-£400K for founders with solid ideas and initial traction Seed: £100K-£400K average check size (up to larger amounts for exceptional founders) Occasional early Series A follow-ons with existing portfolio Sarah positions herself as a first-check investor who expects to be useful beyond capital through strategic input, narrative development, and ecosystem building support. Check Size Range: £100K - £400K (approximately $125K - $500K USD) Typical pre-seed check: £100K-£250K Typical seed check: £150K-£400K Target ownership: Not specified, but described as "not the largest check in your round" Lead Tendency Common Magic functions as a co-lead or early participant rather than exclusive lead. Sarah emphasizes being useful and hands-on rather than financial dominance, and portfolio companies show her participation alongside other investors (Playfair Capital, Cherry Ventures, Seedcamp, etc.). Recent Activity Active deployment from Common Magic I (raised 2023, targeting 32-35 investments): Portfolio includes 13+ disclosed companies across stealth and active stages Recent investments span 2024-2025 including Those Beyond (seed round with Playfair Capital, Cherry Ventures, Seedcamp) Fund II in planning stages for 2026 (per Medium post Dec 2024) Active on social media and speaking circuit discussing early-stage investment thesis Portfolio Highlights Active Portfolio Companies: Embedd - Powering embedded engineers Ellipsus - GitHub for writers .txt - Token engineering Trail - Copilot for AI governance Kurrent - Event-native databases The Lowdown - Women's health data platform Bounti - Deskless worker happiness Ethos - Next-gen business intelligence Plus 5 stealth companies Notable co-investors: Playfair Capital, Cherry Ventures, Seedcamp, Cassius, Acurio Ventures Team Sarah Drinkwater, Solo GP - Ex-Google (responsible AI), ex-Protocol Labs, 35+ angel investments, selected for Atomico's angel program 2020-2022, strong narrative and ecosystem expertise Solo GP structure with advisory network of experienced founders and operators. Decision Process Solo GP model with direct decision-making by Sarah Drinkwater. Emphasis on founder fit with community-building philosophy and narrative capability. Quick decision-making with hands-on involvement. Geographic Focus Europe and the US, with particular strength in: UK and Europe (London-based operations) US markets Preference for founders who can build cross-geography communities Founder Preferences Common Magic explicitly seeks: Founders building products with community at the core (not peripheral) Storytellers who can articulate compelling narratives resonating with hires, customers, investors Builders with ecosystem/bottom-up thinking Technical depth combined with narrative ability Founders focused on freedom (economic, mental, social, spiritual) Companies that build "worlds" - distinct cultures and aligned teams Anti-thesis: Me-too products, top-down approaches, community-as-feature (rather than core) Fund Status Actively deploying from Fund I. Planning Fund II for 2026 with clear thesis. Well-positioned with strong founder testimonials and active deal flow. Investment Philosophy Summary Sarah's written thesis emphasizes: "The best companies build worlds" Speed and distribution matter Humans are toolmakers - products should enable active users Privacy should be central to more technologies Bottom-up vs top-down companies more resilient Hardest problems are often social, not technical B2B should have B2C taste and style This philosophy deeply informs portfolio selection toward community-driven, narrative-rich, bottom-up companies.