Aucta Reviews 7

As commented upon by other participants, approximately 50 in all, across 4 cohorts which took place during 2025, we were provided with false information in respect of capital backing, term sheets that were not worth the paper they were written on, a convertible loan agreement that was laughably badly constructed, a lack of understanding of basic financial terms (like "interest") and weak to useless content during the online program. To the extent that any participants signed the full package of documents and passed the due diligence, no money was forthcoming. At the point that I requested evidence of capital available for investment, I was ghosted and blocked on LinkedIn. The entire scam seems to have been based on running as many cohorts as were possible within a short window of time to collect participation fees with no intention or capacity to invest any money in any of the participants companies or funds.
An investigation into Simon Davies, his past criminal activity, together with interviews with Aucta participants are now available on a BBC investigative piece published 6 May 2026 on BBC Sounds called "Duped in Dubai"

I joined the AUCTA accelerator after representations that successful graduates would receive access to GP and/or LP capital upon completion. The programme was marketed as selective, rigorous, and backed by deployable institutional capital. This was the primary reason I paid the USD $20–25k participation fee.

During the programme, the structure and delivery did not match what had been described. Engagement was minimal, there was no documented or substantive due diligence review of my materials, and no formal assessment process was evident.

Upon “graduation,” term sheets were issued that strongly signaled capital availability. However, to date, no capital has been deployed and no funding has materialized. I am not aware of any participant across multiple cohorts who has actually received investment.

Since concerns were raised, references to the accelerator and capital commitments have been removed from the company’s website, and the business has repositioned itself.

I am not commenting on mentorship quality. I am commenting on the outcome versus the representations made regarding capital.

If you are considering this programme, I would strongly encourage you to ask very direct questions:

Where exactly is the capital coming from?
Has any graduate actually received funding?
Can you speak to someone who has received deployed capital?

My experience was a significant mismatch between expectations created and actual outcomes delivered

This program and Simon are a fraud.
No student in the program has received any money to this day. Simon says the fault lies with people for not signing the terms, but in reality, besides the terms being impossible, even when people do sign them, the money he promises never comes. Basically, he only teaches people to keep posting on LinkedIn nonstop, but he does not guarantee the money in the end as he promised to everyone. Therefore, this program is a fraud, do NOT join, because Simon deceives everyone.
In addition, he has simply blocked all the program’s students on LinkedIn, precisely so that people cannot comment or tell the truth about him.
IT’S ALL A LIE. DO NOT JOIN THIS PROGRAM. SIMON IS A FRAUD.

This company and its founder are a scam.

This was a real disappointment and mismatch of promises and expectations versus delivery.

After much email correspondence and a signed agreement the AUCTA program was represented to me as follows:
• Four cohorts per year, each lasting approximately three months
• Participants required to pay fees of approximately USD25,000
• Limited seats of 20 participants per cohort and competition for the seats was high with a competitive selection process.
• A rigorous selection process for attendance and graduation.

In return we would receive:
• Structured coaching and masterclasses
• Regular homework and substantive engagement
• Review of due-diligence materials (“DD rooms”) for their fund management businesses.
• A full assessment of operational due diligence, marketing and distribution materials and fund investment strategy
• A selective graduation process

Upon graduation, participants would receive investment capital, either:
• As General Partner (GP) capital - $1m in the form of a Convertible Loan Note Agreement for a 25% potential equity stake in the actual Investment Manager.
• Limited Partner (LP) / Fund capital in the Fund,
• As GP stake and/or LP stake

These promises / representations were material to my decision to pay the program fee as was the promise of joining an Emerging Managers Network and being promoted to many reputable and suitable investors in the UAE.

I believe that at the time these representations were made and funds were obtained, they (AUCTA) either knew or ought to have known that the described program structure, due-diligence process, and access to capital were not being delivered in practice, as evidenced by the identical outcomes experienced across multiple cohorts. This is a pattern of misleading behaviour. At the moment the fee was taken, the representations were false or could not be performed.

After payment and participation in the program, the following occurred:
• Substantive non-delivery of the program
• No meaningful homework was assigned, despite representations of 10–15 hours per week
• 1 hour of delivery per week and no follow up or feedback
• The quality and substance of sessions and guest lectures were materially inconsistent with the program as represented
• No structured or documented review of my due-diligence materials took place
• No genuine due-diligence process
• I was informed that DD review was part of the graduation process
• There is no evidence that my DD materials were reviewed at all
• No feedback, questions, or formal assessment was provided
• No proper assessment upon completion of the course
• No proper graduation or ceremony despite being told attendance at this graduation was mandatory for graduation
• Despite representations that graduation would be contingent upon a substantive review process, no documented assessment, DD review, or formal decision criteria were applied prior to notifying participants of deferred graduation.

The program did not include the structured homework, documented DD review, or substantive assessment processes described prior to payment, and instead consisted primarily of limited weekly calls without deliverables, review outputs, or written feedback.

As of the date of this post, no evidence has been provided that any capital was ever allocated, reserved, or contractually committed at the time such representations were made

Post-facto conduct
• References to the incubator program and access to capital were subsequently removed from the AUCTA website
• The business now presents itself only as an advisory service
• Communication with AUCTA has become increasingly limited or unresponsive
• For all intents and purposes, AUCTA is ceasing to exist and now the new company - "Investment Firm OS" is being promoted as a training academy run by the same individual who ran AUCTA.

I am aware of multiple other accelerator participants who:
• Paid similar fees under the same representations
• Experienced the same lack of DD review
• Were issued term sheets without diligence or denied LP-only participation
• Have not received promised capital months after “graduation”

This indicates a repeated and systematic pattern, not an isolated dispute. As such, this program is now being investigated.

I participated in this program expecting that successful completion could lead to investment, based on how the program was presented by Simon Davies and the prospect of the issuance of a term sheet at the end.

Across multiple cohorts (four that I’m aware of), participants paid significant fees (around $20k each). Graduates were issued term sheets that strongly signaled capital availability. However, to date, no one from any cohort has actually received funding. Not one cheque has been written. This is without mentioning that the term sheets offered were extremely aggressive forcing founders to cede effective control of their businesses.

More importantly, it later became clear that there was no actual deployable capital behind the process, despite repeated signalling to the contrary during the program.

Since then, all references to the accelerator have disappeared from the organization’s website, which has reorganized around advisory with no mentions of capital even explictly saying

I’m not reviewing the quality of advice or mentorship. I’m reviewing outcomes and representations. If you are considering this program, ask very directly:
Where exactly is the capital coming from?
Who has actually been funded?
Can you speak to a single graduate who received money?

Based on observable results across multiple cohorts, I would not recommend paying for this program if your expectation is real investment capital at the end.

Hard to tell if Aucta, and it's founder Simon Davies, are faking it till they make it, or just faking it. I guess time will tell. But so far, time is telling the latter.
Clue 1: USD 20.000 subscription for access to their platform, and the "guarantee" that everyone who graduates from their platform will be given GP & LP capital.
Clue 2: Sub-par masterclasses with guest speakers that can only be described as inexperienced and mediocre.
Clue 3: Total absence of serious due diligence. They show no interest in your financials, and do not open your data room (private access reports confirm this). According to them, the only key to success is LinkedIn. WTF?
Clue 4: We graduated. Got a term sheet. But they swapped the cards/pulled the rug, gave terms completely against what they had initially outlined to us in email, not to mention laughable commitments of 10M+ USD upfront without any serious due diligence that just made everything about the show uncredible.

Final clue: When we called the BS, we were called "difficult" and no longer ever heard from them again. Of course, the USD 20.000 we paid was never seen again either, along with the money of many other members of various cohorts.

Some are considering legal action.

As for Simon Davies? Very little info available on him online, in person he claims to have managed "large funds" "billions" (or is it millions? - hard to tell with him). Went about showing off supposed investors in his company, but no trace of them either. And generally, doesn't give the slightly impression of being trustworthy.
Nice? Absolutely.
But as people in sketchy parts of any city in the world will tell you: be careful of people who are too friendly.