The only
dedicated partner
for founders in
taboo spaces.

Tabu Ventures is a venture studio, incubator, and angel syndicate dedicated exclusively to founders building in taboo categories — sex and pleasure, femtech, death and grief, addiction and recovery, and financial shame. Think of us as the sex tech accelerator, femtech incubator, and taboo startup studio that mainstream venture capital forgot to build. We provide capital, hands-on operational support, expert advisors, and a community of like-minded founders who understand the unique challenges of building in spaces traditional investors won't touch.

We focus on five core categories: Sex and Pleasure (sexual wellness, ethical adult content, intimacy tech), Femtech (periods, fertility, menopause, pelvic health), Death and Grief (end-of-life planning, bereavement support, memorial services), Addiction and Recovery (substance and behavioural recovery, shame-free support), and Financial Shame (debt, bankruptcy, money trauma). We also back founders in adjacent taboo spaces.

The Tabu Launchpad is our founder programme — what you might call an incubator. It's a 3-month programme for early-stage founders in taboo categories who have a prototype and are trying to get their first real traction. The focus is momentum: a first paying customer, a validation milestone, a key introduction, or a moment that proves the thing works. Every founder who completes the programme is Incubated by Tabu Ventures.

The Tabu Launchpad is a structured cohort programme for early-stage founders who need support to validate and build their business — 3 months, 10 founders, focused on momentum. The studio is a hands-on delivery partnership — we get into the work alongside you across product, tech, growth, ops, finance or legal. Not just advice from the sidelines.

The Launchpad takes 0% equity. Founders pay £400 per month for the 3-month programme. Equity arrangements for studio and investment partnerships vary depending on the engagement.

The Tabu angel syndicate connects angel investors with vetted founders building in taboo categories. Investors get first access to opportunities in sex tech, femtech, death tech, addiction recovery, and financial shame — markets that are underserved by traditional venture capital but represent significant and growing potential. Cheque sizes from £10K.

Founders can apply to the Launchpad or studio via the application form on this site. Applications are reviewed on a rolling basis. The Launchpad is open to early-stage founders in taboo categories only — if your idea makes people raise an eyebrow, you're probably in the right place.

Tabu Ventures is remote-first and open to founders globally. The Launchpad and studio programmes run online, so wherever you're building — UK, Europe, US, or beyond — you're welcome to apply. We believe taboo categories are a global opportunity, and the best founders building in them shouldn't be limited by geography.

No. You don't need a polished deck, a live product, or a co-founder. What we're looking for is a clear problem you're obsessed with solving, in a category others shy away from. If you're pre-product but post-insight — you're exactly the kind of founder the Launchpad is designed for. We help you validate and build from there.

The Launchpad combines structured learning with real hands-on support. You'll get access to expert workshops tailored to what your cohort needs most — whether that's product, growth, fundraising, legal, or finance. You'll be part of a peer cohort of up to 10 founders who genuinely get what you're building. And you'll finish with a showcase day to present your progress to investors and partners. Throughout, you have direct access to Nicola and the wider Tabu network.

No — Tabu Ventures is open to all founders, regardless of gender. Some of our programmes, including Navigating Power, are specifically designed for female founders. More broadly, we believe diverse founding teams increase the likelihood of success — and in taboo categories, lived experience often makes the difference. What matters most is the category you're building in and your commitment to it.

A few reasons. Most venture capital firms manage money on behalf of institutional investors — pension funds, university endowments, family offices — whose investment mandates often include vice clauses that explicitly prohibit funding categories like adult content, gambling, or substances. But even where vice clauses don't apply, many investors hide behind them as convenient cover for what is really personal discomfort. A fund manager who backs a sex tech startup or a death care platform risks awkward questions at their next LP meeting, even if the business fundamentals are exceptional. So they pass — not because the opportunity isn't real, but because the category makes them uncomfortable. That discomfort creates a persistent funding gap in some of the most human, most necessary categories in the market. That gap is exactly where Tabu Ventures operates.

A taboo business is one that operates in a category most people consider too sensitive, too awkward, or too controversial to discuss openly — and that mainstream investors, platforms, or media routinely avoid as a result. That typically means businesses in sex and pleasure, femtech, death and end-of-life, addiction and recovery, or financial shame. But we also back founders in adjacent spaces where stigma, regulation, or social discomfort creates the same funding gap.

Yes — we're building a space specifically for founders in taboo categories. Peer support, shared resources, events, and a place where nobody flinches at your idea. Join the waitlist and we'll be in touch when it launches.