Intrepid Owls (t/a Rest Less) secures £6.1 million Series A investment led by MTech Capital and Viola FinTech

Rest Less, A Digital Platform and Community Serving the Longevity Economy 

Secures £6.1 million ($8.5 million) in Series A Funding Round

Rest Less, a digital platform for the over 50s, has raised £6.1 million ($8.5 million)* to further expand its services for its members. The funding round was led by venture capital firms MTech Capital and Viola FinTech with further participation from existing investors, QED Investors and Octopus Ventures.  Viola FinTech Founder, Daniel Tsiddon, and MTech Capital Co-Founder, Kevin McLoughlin will join the board of directors.

Responding to major demographic shifts driven by an ageing population, Rest Less launched in early 2019 as the UK’s first membership community to offer its members flexible work, learning and volunteering opportunities.  Rest Less’ mission has always been to support people in their 50s and 60s and beyond as they move through midlife transitions.  

After raising £3 million in its seed funding round in late 2019, Rest Less rapidly expanded to offer its members a much broader suite of services including Work and Careers, Money, Learning, Volunteering, Health, Lifestyle and Dating.  Recognising the specific challenges of loneliness and social isolation faced by its members during the pandemic, Rest Less also launched its own Community during 2020 to give its members the opportunity to make social connections online.

Today, Rest Less’ member base has grown to more than 550,000 members in the UK with an average age in the mid-to-late 50s. 

Stuart Lewis, Co-Founder and Chief Executive Officer at Rest Less, commented:

“Given the strong demographic growth in the over 50s across developed countries, we are constantly surprised that most venture funding continues to flow into business models targeting millennials and Gen Z – at the exclusion of support and services for midlifers. With this funding round, we are delighted to bring on board some fantastic new investors who understand the seismic demographic shift underway in society and the opportunity this presents to better serve an under-represented audience.

‘Our mission is to support our members through important and often complex midlife transitions and to help them live life to the full. Decisions around work, money, relationships, health and lifestyle are so often intertwined – if someone loses their job in their 50s, not only can this have a significant impact on their finances from day-to-day spending to pension planning but it can also take its toll on their mental and physical health and their relationships.  We are very proud that Rest Less has become a trusted resource for our members as they look for support and guidance in navigating the challenges and opportunities presented by this next stage of their lives.

Sara Stephens, Co-Founder and Chief Technology Officer at Rest Less, commented:

“Far from the stereotypical view that anyone over the age of 40 doesn’t ‘get’ tech, the reality is, in fact, very different. Many people forget that this is the generation who pioneered and built the technology that we use today: Bill Gates is in his mid 60s, Tim Cook is 60, Jeff Bezos is in his late 50s and Tim Berners-Lee, the person who created the internet, is 66. Those aged 50 and 60 are the true digital pioneers in our society: tech businesses that recognise this fundamental societal shift will be the big winners over the next decade.”

Rest Less will use the funding to grow its member base further, expand its commercial partnerships and significantly expand its Financial Services offering to its members. In the last month, Rest Less has also made a number of significant new hires including Lori Vokes as Chief Operating Officer and Andy Collings as General Manager.

Prof. Daniel Tsiddon, General Partner at Viola FinTech, commented:

“Rest Less is part of a bigger trend where fintech provides the route to financial inclusion for neglected communities – this time for the 50 plus age group. Despite this group having immense financial power and resources, they are highly underserved when it comes to tech-enabled and digital financial solutions. Stuart and the Rest Less team have done a tremendous job creating a community where its members can look to for support in a myriad of ways – it’s only a logical next step for their members to seek guidance in their financial lives.”

Yusuf Ozdalga, Partner at QED Investors, commented:

“Co-founders Stuart and Sara have done an amazing job identifying and focusing on the needs of what is the fastest growing segment in society.  Despite a lot of wealth being concentrated in this segment in silvertech, existing startups and legacy financial institutions have historically done a poor job of creating products that meet the very unique needs of this segment population.

“Rest Less has quickly emerged as a strong voice and passionate advocate for this group.  In the process, Rest Less is fast becoming the gold standard for offering a wide vista of products and services to help their members get the most out of life.” 

Facts and Figures About People in Their Midlife

  • Due to declining fertility rates and people living longer, by 2050 it is projected that one in four people in the UK will be aged 65 and over – an increase from one in five in 2019 (ONS, January 2021)
  • Life expectancy at birth in the UK in 2017 to 2019 was 79.4 years for males and 83.1 years for females (ONS, September 2020)
  • The International Longevity Centre issued a report called ‘Maximising the Longevity Dividend’ in December 2019 in which it said spending by older consumers will rise from 54% (£319 billion) of total consumer spending to 63% by 2040 (£550 billion).  The report also said that people aged 50 and over earned 30% of total earnings (£237 billion) in 2018 and this will rise to 40% by 2040 (£311 billion).
  • There are nearly 11 million economically active (either working or actively looking for work) over 50s in the UK, 390,000 are currently unemployed (ONS, June 2021)
  • The employment rate for people aged 50-64 is currently 71%.  During the same period twenty years ago, it was 61.9%.  (ONS, June 2021)
  • The over 50s account for 79% of the total household wealth in Great Britain (£11.5 billion) compared with £3.1 billion for the under 50s (ONS, June 2020)
  • The over 50s account for 87% of net financial wealth by household (£1.8 billion) compared with 13% for the under 50s (£279 million)  (ONS, June 2020)  

-Ends-

Notes to Editors

*The exchange rate at the time of the fundraise was 1.393 according to HMRC

For media enquiries, please contact:

Aisling Gray
Head of Communications
Phone: 07900996065
Email: [email protected]

About Rest Less

Rest Less (restless.co.uk) launched in early 2019 and is a digital community for people in their 50s, 60s and beyond. Rest Less is on a mission to help its members get more out of life and offers content guidance and resources on topics spanning Jobs and Careers, Volunteering, Learning, Money, Health and Lifestyle and Dating. 

Viola FinTech is a cross-stage venture fund that invests in global fin-tech companies with a view to accelerating the modernisation and digitisation of financial institutions and support the growth of fintech companies.

MTech Capital is an insurance-tech venture fund investing in tech driven businesses operating across insurance, asset management and wealth management, and other financial services.

QED Investors is a global leading boutique venture capital firm based in Alexandria, Virginia. Founded by Nigel Morris and Frank Rotman in 2007, QED Investors is focused on investing in early stage, disruptive financial services companies in the U.S., U.K., Latin America and Southeast Asia. QED Investors is dedicated to building great businesses and uses a unique, hands-on approach that leverages its partners’ decades of entrepreneurial and operational experience, helping their companies achieve breakthrough growth. Notable investments include Credit Karma, ClearScore, Nubank, SoFi, Avant, Remitly, GreenSky, Klarna, QuintoAndar, Loft, Konfio, Creditas, AvidXchange, Current and Mission Lane.

At Octopus Ventures we invest in the people, the ideas and the industries that will help change the world. Our investment team is built to specialise in the five areas where we see the most potential for growth and innovation: health, fintech, deep tech, consumer and B2B software. Since 2008 we have backed the founding teams of more than 130 companies including Zoopla, Secret Escapes, graze.com, tails.com, Swiftkey, Elvie, Depop, Sofar Sounds, Big Health, Bought By Many, ByMiles, OLIO, City Pantry, Simply Cook and HAS Technology. With £1.7 billion under management and investing over £200m a year, Octopus Ventures is one of the largest and most active venture investors in Europe. We tend to invest from £1 million for Seed to £10 million for Series B and we can continue to fund the companies we back right through to IPO. We are based in London and New York with a network that spans from San Francisco to China. The companies we back become a part of this network, with access to a formidable resource of experience and expertise.

Safiya Marzook

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