Simon Murdoch
Managing Partner @ Episode 1
London, United Kingdom
Simon Murdoch is a Series A investor at Episode 1 in London focused on E-Commerce and Software. Simon set up online bookstore Bookpages in 1996 and sold it to Amazon in 1998. As VP Europe for Amazon, he managed huge growth from start-up through to multimillion turnover and hundreds of staff. As an Angel investor, he has invested in Shazam, been chairman of VideoIsland (now merged with and renamed LoveFilm, and purchased in Feb 2011 byAmazon.com), Zoopla! and Shutl (currently chairman).Simon founded and funded FriendsAbroad.com, a social network for developing language skills and contacts abroad which was successfully sold to Lesson Nine GmbH, operators of language learning site Babbel.com. Simon is currently CEO of StormForward, an e-commerce conversion consultancy which helpsonline retailers to increase their online salesand profits.
- Total investments:
- 126
- Last investment:
- Lead investor:
- 10%
Last updated:
For AI agents: llms.txt
Industries Simon Murdoch invests in
Stages Simon Murdoch invests in
Countries Simon Murdoch invests in
Round sizes
Round size
- Seed
- $796k–$3M
- Series A
- $712k–$16M
Investment Focus
Industry
- E-Commerce 13 (10%)
- Software 9 (7%)
- Finance 7 (6%)
- Analytics 7 (6%)
- Financial Services 7 (6%)
Stage
- Series A 26 (21%)
- Funding Round 24 (19%)
- Seed 20 (16%)
- Series B 17 (13%)
- Pre-Seed 5 (4%)
Country
- United Kingdom 42 (33%)
- United States 14 (11%)
- Ireland 2 (2%)
- Australia 2 (2%)
- India 1 (1%)
Investments
| Company | Description | Round | Links |
|---|---|---|---|
Refute
|
Refute identifies and addresses misinformation on behalf of there businesses. | $6.8M / Seed / Feb 03, 2026 | |
Sylvi
|
Sylvi.ai is an AI-powered language learning platform designed to help users achieve fluency through natural, conversational practice. | $461.2K / Pre-Seed / May 12, 2025 | |
|
Refute
|
Refute identifies and addresses misinformation on behalf of there businesses. | $2.9M / Pre-Seed / Dec 13, 2024 | |
Round Treasury
|
The all-in-one treasury management platform for startups. Minimise risk and maximise return on excess cash. Earn up to ~5% yield, access hundreds of savings accounts and maximise FSCS protection - all in one place. | $2.1M / Pre-Seed / Oct 08, 2024 | |
Viable
|
Viable is a Platform for intelligent finance created for D2C, multi-channel, and wholesale brands. | $3M / Seed / May 23, 2024 | |
Patch
|
Patch building a national network of neighborhood workspaces and will be sharing news, ideas, and plans from the Work Near Homeworld. | $3.7M / Seed / Mar 20, 2023 | |
Peek Home
|
Peek Home operates as an online home design statrtup. Peek Home offers add-on products including 3D walkthroughs, VR home tours and exterior visualisations. | $446.3K / Pre-Seed / Feb 27, 2023 | |
CloudNC
|
CloudNC develops advanced software that enables factories to autonomously manufacture precision parts. Precision manufacturing is fundamental to every aspect of modern life - without it, there are no cars, aircraft, or ships. No mobile phones or computers. No houses or hospitals, no factories or power plants. No food. In the modern world,virtually nothing can be made without precision parts. And yet, the manufacturing industry has been slow to modernize and adopt the innovations that are shaping the future. CloudNC's mission is to automate manufacturing and create a clean and sustainable industrial revolution that accelerates humanity. They’re building the autonomous factories of the future to make manufacturing 10x more efficient, sustainable and faster than anything today.They’re reimagining manufacturing, making it more efficient and productive than ever before, and opening a unique opportunity for investors to transform a $150bn industry.CloudNC elevates an entire industry and put manufacturing back at the cutting edge. | $45M / Series B / Jun 21, 2022 | |
Passfort
|
Passfort has developed a turnkey compliance platform designed to automate the collection, verification and secure storage of customer due diligence (CDD) data and documentation.Their software delivers a seamless onboarding experience for both customers and compliance teams that can be tailored to automate their Know Your Customer (KYC)processes. They take a risk-based approach to onboarding and their software optimises each individual's onboarding journey according to their perceived level of risk. | $16.2M / Series A / Sep 14, 2021 | |
Narchie
|
Buy. Sell. Discover homeware. The social marketplace app for decor enthusiasts to connect. | $660.5K / Pre-Seed / Jul 31, 2021 | |
| See all 126 investments → | |||
Co-Investors
About Episode 1
Episode1 Ventures is a London based venture capital fund set up to invest in early-stage technology companies based in the UK.It was created with a mixture of public and private money, including backing from a number of entrepreneurs including Alex Chesterman of Zoopla Property Group. It is one of the UK Government's Enterprise Capital Funds– set up to support fund managers who invest in small, high-growth businesses. The £12.5 million of private investment was matched with £25 million of public money.Episode 1 Ventures invests in seed and Series A rounds of up to £2m in software-driven businesses with the potential to transform industries. They’ve been entrepreneurs theirselves so provide a frank and fast approach to investing and they like to play a very hands-on supportive role in growing the businesses they back. They look for entrepreneurs with relevant experience ambitious to change their sector. They like to see that they can hire world-class talent and delegate to them effectively, and that they really know the customers and understand the problem. They also like entrepreneurs that are data-driven. But above all they like people with passion and ambition, that can execute at speed and overcome significant hurdles along the way.They are building a portfolio of companies that are using software technology to disrupt their chosen marketplaces. It is a diverse group across a range of industries, but with two common themes – a great founder and a big market. They also like to invest once a company has launched their product and has some clients they can reference. Revenues are usually from zero to £50k per month when they first invest.They like to play an active role in helping the companies that they invest in, at least until their companies have secured one or more later financing rounds. They want to help entrepreneurs turn their early stage ventures into fast growing companies built to grow into significant and valuable entities. They see every investment as a partnership. Indeed, they share their office with a number of portfolio companies so they work very closely with them.
Episode 1 Contacts
| Name | Phone | Socials | |
|---|---|---|---|
|
Simon Murdoch
Managing Partner
|
|||
Adrian Lloyd
Partner
|
|||
Damien Lane
Co-Founder & Partner
|
|||
Hector Mason
Partner
|
|||
Leah Martin
Marketing, Communications & Events Manager
|
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FAQ
What does Simon Murdoch invest in?
Simon Murdoch invests primarily in E-Commerce, Software and Finance startups, most often at Series A and Funding Round stage. Most of the 126 investments tracked by Shizune back companies in United Kingdom. The Investment Focus section breaks down every industry, stage and country in the portfolio.
What is Simon Murdoch's check size?
Simon Murdoch typically joins rounds of $796k–$3M at Seed and $712k–$16M at Series A. These ranges are 10th–90th percentile round sizes calculated from confirmed public funding rounds, so they are a realistic guide to the rounds Simon Murdoch participates in.
When did Simon Murdoch last invest?
The most recent investment recorded for Simon Murdoch closed in Feb 2026. Shizune tracks 126 investments in total for this profile, including round sizes, stages and portfolio companies, all sourced from confirmed public funding rounds and refreshed monthly.
Is Shizune's investor data accurate?
Yes — every stat on this profile is calculated from confirmed public funding rounds monitored across hundreds of sources since 2020. This profile was last refreshed in Aug 2026 and is updated monthly. Spotted something off? Use the “Suggest an edit” link near the top of the page.
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