

Dine with Assembly Ventures: lessons from 40+ startup investments
Enjoy dinner drinks and a chance to meet:
Carol Hilsum, Co‑Founder of Assembly Ventures, the angel group and growth platform backing early‑stage consumer, fashion, beauty, lifestyle and adjacent startups.
Join us for an intimate evening focused on how to successfully secure early‑stage investment, meet an active investor, and learn what it takes to raise your seed round.
What they invest in:
Assembly Ventures invests in early‑stage B2B and B2C consumer and consumer tech startups - particularly in lifestyle, beauty, wellness and adjacent sectors.
Their investment portfolio includes:
Recent investments backed by the Assembly network include Unfabled (women’s health & consumer platform), Grounded (plant‑based protein beverages), Seep (sustainable household products), Quantum Light (advanced materials innovation), and REOME (biotech skincare) - among other high‑growth brands shaping the future of consumer experiences.
This dinner is perfect for:
Startup founders, CEOs and management-level leaders at early-stage ventures. If you’re passionate about growing your company and learning from the best in the industry, you will find this evening invaluable.
Not quite in one of those roles? Reach out to see if there’s a fit!
If you’re a service provider, there’s one place available at each dinner - please choose the correct ticket.
The dinner conversation will be:
Carol’s deep background - from scaling digital innovation at Farfetch and Net‑A‑Porter to investing in 40+ startups and launching growth platforms - means she’s uniquely placed to demystify early‑stage fundraising and investor expectations.
💡 What investors are really looking for at seed
💡 How to craft a compelling story and traction narrative
💡 Common mistakes founders make in early rounds
💡 5 top tips for success
Expect actionable guidance on raising your seed round and practical tips you can use immediately - plus the chance to connect with fellow founders and investors in a relaxed setting.
Who is Carol Hilsum?
Carol Hilsum is a seasoned consumer and tech investor and operator with over two decades of experience across globally recognised brands including Topshop, Farfetch and Net‑A‑Porter.
She led corporate ventures and innovation strategy at Farfetch - investing in startups, driving acquisitions and launching accelerator partnerships - before co‑founding Assembly Ventures, a growth platform and angel network that helps early‑stage consumer brands navigate capital‑raising and scaling challenges.
Carol regularly speaks on innovation and investment topics at conferences and has been featured in Forbes, Vogue, WWD, Drapers and Glossy.
What’s included?
• A private dining experience with a knowledgeable speaker hosted by TableCrowd’s experienced hosts
• 2 course dinner with wine or soft drinks
• A highly curated and relevant crowd