Entrepreneurs in mobile and web start-ups venture A group of entrepreneurs behind some of the UK's most successful digital start-ups have pledged their time and money to a £37.5m fund to nurture the next generation of promising mobile and internet ventures. The Episode 1 fund has been created with a mixture of public and private money, including backing from Alex Chesterman of Zoopla Property Group, Tom Allason of same-day delivery service Shutl and Alan Bennie, founder of the Vivid Toy Group. IN UK Small Companies The three partners behind the fund - Simon Murdoch, Damien Lane and Adrian Lloyd - are experienced entrepreneurs and investors, and have been through every stage of the start-up process, from inception to initial public offering. The fund will invest between £250,000 and £2m in up to 30 early-stage companies. It is hoped that this money can give a better start to the next generation of British tech ventures than their predecessors and perhaps enable them to become the next Google, Twitter or Facebook. Mr Murdoch, whose first significant start-up success was Bookpages, the online bookseller that was acquired by Amazon.com to create UK retail operation, said the ultimate goal for Episode 1 was to make it the best place to come for early stage UK-based technology entrepreneurs. "I know from personal experience how hard it is to start and grow a business, even without the added difficulties of the current economic climate," he explained. Raising venture funding is even harder. Mr Chesterman, who co-founded online film rental service Lovefilm before turning his hand to Zoopla, said: "As a serial entrepreneur and active angel investor I am keen to support other UK entrepreneurs in building future globally-successful technology businesses. Simon was an early investor in both Zoopla and my previous venture, Lovefilm, and I know that he and the whole Episode 1 team can add a lot of value to help the next generation of start-ups fulfil their potential. Episode 1 has also been created as the latest of the government's enterprise capital funds, set up to support fund managers who invest in small, high growth businesses. This means that the £12.5m of private investment has been match funded with £25m of public money. Vince Cable, the business secretary, said: "We are determined to give entrepreneurs the financial support they need to grow. This new £37.5m Enterprise Capital Fund will target a serious gap in the equity market for high growth small firms.