# University of Essex

> University of Essex is a VC fund backing Marketing and Advertising. See 1 investments, check sizes, portfolio and contact details. Updated Aug 2026.

- Type: VC Fund
- Location: Colchester, United Kingdom
- Total investments: 1
- Last investment: Jun 2021
- Lead investor: 0%
- Last updated: Aug 2026
- LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/school/university-of-essex/
- X (Twitter): https://twitter.com/uni_of_essex
- Website: http://www.essex.ac.uk/
- Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/uniofessex/

University of Essex is a VC fund in Colchester focused on Marketing and Advertising. Home to the curious, brave and bold. We’re a university where curiosity prevails, and where exploring new ways of thinking and pushing boundaries, isn’t just encouraged, it’s expected. We were named University of the Year at the Times Higher Education Awards 2018 for our determination to do things differently and put student success at thecentre of everything we do.We’re proud to be gold rated in the Teaching Excellence Framework 2017 and we're in the top 25 for research quality in The Times and Sunday Times Good University Guide. We're committed to two things: excellence in teaching and excellence in research. We put student success at the heart of our mission, supporting every student from every background to achieve outstanding outcomes; preparing our students to thrive in their future lives.

## Contacts

5 contacts available for University of Essex. Shizune tracks 4 team members at University of Essex. Sign up free to unlock them: https://app.shizune.co/sign-up/investor-profiles/find-team-emails/university-of-essex?utm_source=investor_profile

## Investment focus

### Industry

| Industry | Investments | Share |
| --- | --- | --- |
| Marketing | 1 | 100% |
| Advertising | 1 | 100% |

## Team

| Name | Title | Investments | Profile |
| --- | --- | --- | --- |
| David Crawford | Professor | 0 | — |
| Karl Heeks | Visiting Executive Fellow | 0 | — |
| Klaus McDonald-Maier | Professor | 0 | — |
| Mike Thompson | Head Of Marketing | 0 | — |

## Investments

| Company | Description | Amount | Stage | Date | Website |
| --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- |
| WYSPR | Wyspr is a London-based AdTech startup specializing in influencer marketing. | $636.7K | Pre-Seed | Jun 08, 2021 |  |

1 of 1 investments shown.

## Co-investors
- [Anglia Capital Group](https://shizune.co/investors/profile/anglia-capital-group) — VC Fund, 1 deal together

## Similar investors

### Similar stage
- [Antler](https://shizune.co/investors/profile/antler-be9c) — VC Fund
- [Right Side Capital Management](https://shizune.co/investors/profile/right-side-capital-management) — VC Fund
- [Everywhere Ventures](https://shizune.co/investors/profile/everywhere-ventures) — VC Fund

## FAQ

### What does University of Essex invest in?

University of Essex invests primarily in Marketing and Advertising startups, most often at Pre-Seed stage. Most of the 1 investments tracked by Shizune back companies in United Kingdom. The Investment Focus section breaks down every industry, stage and country in the portfolio.

### How do I contact University of Essex?

Public channels for University of Essex include LinkedIn, X (Twitter) and the website linked on this profile. For a verified work email and phone number, create a free Shizune account — contact data is searched across 20+ sources and validated before delivery, so your outreach lands in the right inbox.

### Who are the partners at University of Essex?

The team at University of Essex includes David Crawford (Professor), Karl Heeks (Visiting Executive Fellow) and Klaus McDonald-Maier (Professor). The Team section lists each member with their title, investment count and links.

### 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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