Alice Bentinck

Alice Bentinck
Bentinck in 2016
Born	(1986-07-23) 23 July 1986 (age 38) New Forest, England
Occupation	Entrepreneur
Years active	2011 to present
Known for	CEO, Entrepreneur First co-founder, Code First: Girls

Alice Yvonne Bentinck^[1] MBE (born 23 July 1986)^[2][3] is a British entrepreneur. Along with Matt Clifford, she is the co-founder of Entrepreneur First, a London-based company builder and startup accelerator. Based in London and Singapore, EF funds ambitious individuals based across Europe and Asia to create startups.^[4] In 2017, it was announced that Reid Hoffman, co-founder of LinkedIn and Partner at Greylock, was leading a $12.4million investment into Entrepreneur First.^[5]

Bentinck and Clifford are also the founders of Code First: Girls, an organisation offering free web programming courses for women in university.^[6] An advocate for the entry of more women to the tech field, Bentinck was named one of the Fifty Most Inspiring Women in European Tech by the Inspiring Fifty organisation in 2015.

The daughter of Major Vivian Mark Bentinck, of the Royal Marines (a descendant of Admiral Sir Rudolph Bentinck, Commander-in-Chief, Plymouth, of the Barons Bentinck) and Dr. Miranda Whitehead,^[7] Bentinck grew up in the New Forest region of southern England.^[8][9] She attended the Godolphin School in Salisbury, an all-girls boarding school.^[10] There she enrolled in Young Enterprise, creating a business model for handmade purses.^[11] She then attended the Nottingham University Business School, graduating with a bachelor of arts in management studies, with first-class honours.^[12]

Prior to founding EF, Bentinck interned in the office of Tony Blair in London, where she also assisted the Africa Governance Initiative.^[10][12] From 2009 to 2011 she was a management consultant in the London office of McKinsey & Company.^[12][13]

Bentinck and Clifford met in 2009 while working at McKinsey. After noticing that entrepreneurship was not seen as a viable career option for talented and ambitious individuals in Europe, unlike in Silicon Valley, they decided to found Entrepreneur First in 2011.^[14] Bentinck serves as CPO while Clifford is CEO.^[15] As of 2022, Entrepreneur First's combined portfolio is worth over $6b.^[16]

Entrepreneur First's first international office was opened in Singapore in 2016, bringing the same company building model to Asia.^[17][18]

In 2017, it was announced that Reid Hoffman, co-founder of LinkedIn and Partner at Greylock, was leading a $12.4million investment into Entrepreneur First.^[5] As part of his investment, Hoffman also joined the board of EF.^[19]

Noticing that most individuals applying to Entrepreneur First were male,^[12][20] Bentinck and Clifford founded Code First Girls in 2012. The non-profit is the largest provider of free coding courses for women in the UK, delivering over £20 million worth of free technology education and teaching three times as many women to code as the entire UK university undergraduate system.^[21] Code First Girls has now taught over 25,000 women to code.^[21] Since 2015, Bentinck has also served on their board.^[22]

In February 2022, Bentinck was announced as a member of Prime Minister Boris Johnson's Business Council, a group of industry leaders working in partnership with the government to deliver high productivity and growth in the UK.^[23]

In December 2023, it was announced that Bentinck would take over as CEO of Entrepreneur First after Matt Clifford stepped down from the role to concentrate on opportunities in artificial intelligence.^[24]

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Alice Bentinck is a prominent figure in the tech entrepreneurship scene, particularly noted for her contributions to fostering innovation and supporting women in technology. As a co-founder of Entrepreneur First (EF), a leading talent investor that brings together extraordinary people to build startups from scratch, Bentinck has been pivotal in addressing the gender disparity in the tech industry and encouraging a wave of entrepreneurship that has a global impact.

Bentinck’s journey into the tech world is a testament to her vision and determination. She began her career with a background not in technology but business, holding a degree from the University of Nottingham. This diverse skill set allowed her to identify a crucial gap in the tech startup ecosystem: the lack of a platform to nurture and invest in individuals with promising ideas but without the necessary team or resources to bring those ideas to fruition.

In 2011, alongside Matt Clifford, Bentinck launched Entrepreneur First in London, an initiative that has since become a cornerstone for tech startups. The innovation Bentinck helped to create with EF was not just another venture capital firm or incubator. Instead, EF focuses on selecting talented individuals and providing them with the environment, support, and network to develop their ideas into successful startups. This model was revolutionary, as it shifted the focus from backing ready-made teams with business plans to investing in high-potential individuals at the very inception of their entrepreneurial journey.

The pain point Bentinck aimed to address was multifaceted. First, there was a clear challenge in the underrepresentation of women in technology and entrepreneurship. Bentinck actively worked to mitigate this through initiatives like Code First: Girls, which she also co-founded. Code First: Girls tackles the gender gap in tech by offering free coding courses to young women, thus providing them with the skills needed to embark on tech careers or entrepreneurial endeavors. Second, the broader issue at hand was the inefficiency in how the tech industry identified and nurtured talent. By focusing on individuals' potential and ambition rather than existing achievements or ideas, EF represented a significant shift in the startup ecosystem.

The impact of Bentinck’s innovation is profound and far-reaching. Entrepreneur First has facilitated the creation of over 500 companies with a combined valuation of over $10 billion. This model has not only proven successful in London but has expanded globally, with EF now operating in multiple countries, including Singapore, Berlin, Paris, and Bangalore. This expansion underscores the universal applicability and need for such a platform in the tech industry.

The legacy of Bentinck’s work continues to evolve. The model she helped to create is still in use and has influenced other organizations and sectors to adopt similar approaches to talent and entrepreneurship. The focus on individual potential over traditional metrics of success has challenged and changed the narrative around entrepreneurship, making it more accessible and diverse.

As for the transformation of her innovation, while the core principles of Entrepreneur First remain intact, the organization itself has grown and adapted to the changing landscape of the tech industry. The continued success and expansion of EF, along with the enduring relevance of Code First: Girls, suggest that Bentinck’s contributions are not only still in use but are more important than ever in today’s tech ecosystem.

In conclusion, Alice Bentinck’s entrepreneurial vision has significantly impacted the tech industry by addressing crucial pain points such as gender disparity and the inefficient nurturing of talent. Her work has not only created a new pathway for aspiring entrepreneurs but has also made the tech ecosystem more inclusive and innovative.

^[25]

In 2014 Bentinck was appointed one of the Prime Minister's advisors for the Northern Future Forum in Helsinki.^[8]

She has been a member of the advisory board of Founders4Schools since April 2014, and a member of the Computer Science Department Industrial Liaison Board at Imperial College London since April 2015.^[10] In September 2015 she became a mentor for Girls in Tech London.^[26]

In 2015 she was named one of the Fifty Most Inspiring Women in European Tech by the Inspiring Fifty organisation.^[13]

In 2014 she was named to several newspaper and magazine lists. She was named one of "The 1000 – London's Most Influential People" by the London Evening Standard,^[27] one of the "35 Women Under 35" by Management Today,^[28] and was cited as a "Rising Star" by Computer Weekly as part of their 2014 Most Influential Women in UK IT campaign.^[29] Additionally, the British Interactive Media Association included her on its BIMA Hot 100 of 2014.^[30]

In 2013 she was ranked No. 19 on The Drum's "30 Under 30 Women in Digital" list.^[9] She was a Top 25 finalist in the Tech City Movers and Shakers 2013^[31] and the Girls in Tech Ones to Watch 2013.^[32]

Bentinck was appointed Member of the Order of the British Empire (MBE) in the 2016 Birthday Honours for services to business.^[33]

In 2017, Bentinck was named by Computer Weekly as one of the most influential women in UK IT.^[34] She was again named by the London Evening Standard as one of London's most influential people in the Progress 1000: Capitalisers/Entrepreneurs category.^[35]

Bentinck has participated in competitive carriage driving since her youth.^[9]

• "Taking the Plunge". The Huffington Post. 22 September 2015.
• "Stop Doing Pointless Networking". Real Business. 16 September 2015. Archived from the original on 5 March 2016. Retrieved 30 September 2015.
• "How Can the UK Build More Deep Tech Startups?". Tech World. 21 July 2015.
• "You're Doing Lean Wrong". Tech World. 30 June 2015.
• "RIP Accelerators?". Tech World. 1 June 2015.
• "Build a Product, Not a Startup". Tech World. 27 April 2015.
• "Why Backing Technical Founders is the Way Forward". Tech World. 14 April 2015.
• "Style and Facebook: Promoting Women Role Models^[36]"

• Alice Bentinck on Twitter
• "Be a Founder, Not a Follower" 27 September 2014 speech
• "Five Entrepreneurial Lessons From Alice Bentinck, The Founder Of Entrepreneur First" Career Girl Daily, 24 July 2015