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Outrun Ventures
Chris Adelsbach and Tariq Khan's Outrun Ventures writes pre-seed and seed checks from their own capital, built on the £295m exit of Marlin Financial Group.
Outrun Ventures
Outrun Ventures is a London-based fund that invests in European founders from Seed to Series A. The firm has made 24 investments. Its most recent investment was in Tweezr, a Seed VC deal completed on February 2, 2026.
General information
Firm type
Venture Capital
Year founded
—
AUM
Undisclosed
Location
Region
Europe
Country
United Kingdom
City
London
Corporate office
London, United Kingdom
Principals
Chris Adelsbach
Co-founder
Tariq Khan
Co-founder
Shauna Krause-Bullen
Team member
Sector focus
Frequently asked questions
Who runs investment decisions at Outrun Ventures?
Chris Adelsbach and Tariq Khan, both co-founders, make the investment decisions. Adelsbach brings a track record as Business Insider's number one Seed investor in Europe (2022) and a private portfolio exceeding 250 companies, while Khan contributes regulatory and financial-services expertise from his time at GE Money and as co-founder of Marlin Financial Group.
Is Outrun Ventures structured as a single family office or does it operate more like a venture firm?
Outrun operates as a private investment vehicle that uses the partners' own capital rather than a traditional third-party fund. It is not constituted as a single family office; it is an asset manager with a venture-style, high-conviction approach to early-stage startups.
Does Outrun Ventures participate in fund commitments or only direct deals?
Outrun makes direct pre-seed and seed-stage investments and does not disclose activity as a fund-of-funds or LP in other venture funds. The firm's model centers on its partners' personal balance sheets and their ability to connect portfolio companies to a broad network of follow-on VCs.
Where does the underlying wealth come from?
The capital originates from the 2014 sale of Marlin Financial Group, a UK-based consumer-finance and debt-purchasing business co-founded by Chris Adelsbach and Tariq Khan, which was acquired for £295m. Adelsbach committed to reinvesting half of his proceeds into startups within ten years and met that target.
Which sectors does Outrun Ventures explicitly avoid?
The firm does not publish a formal exclusion list, but its stated focus and portfolio concentration fall within fintech, insurance and decentralized finance. Sectors outside these areas, such as biotech or industrial hardware, do not appear in its disclosed investments.
How is Outrun Ventures related to Techstars?
Chris Adelsbach is Managing Director Emeritus at Techstars, where he previously led the accelerator program rated number one in Europe. He invested in 50 companies while in that role. Outrun Ventures itself is a separate entity, though Adelsbach's Techstars network and deal flow feed into its sourcing.
What investment stages does Outrun Ventures typically target?
The firm invests primarily at pre-seed and seed stage. Its co-founders aim to be the most impactful investor on a startup's cap table at the earliest institutional entry point, using their own capital to signal conviction to later-stage VCs.
Profile maintained by Altss using OSINT (open-source intelligence), regulatory filings, licensed data partners, and verified direct submissions. Read the methodology. Last updated: . Continuous refresh with full update cycles at least every 30 days.
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