Category: Latest News

What does 2020 look like for your business? 
 
Have you considered what securing Investment would do for your growth plans? Maybe you’re looking for more than Investment, perhaps you need someone to introduce you to the right contacts and help you avoid the common pitfalls. On average, if a business receives Investor interest we find it takes 3 months from pitching to securing the funding. So, if you’re thinking of scaling your business in the New Year you need to consider this timing and plan accordingly. 
 
On that note, we are planning our biggest pitching session to date this December! We are inviting our Angel members from across all of our groups to come together for our Christmas pitch event – and we’re looking for businesses with high growth potential to pitch. 
 
If you’re looking to start your funding journey, just get in touch. We would love to hear from you and chat through your funding options. Alternatively, if you know someone who might be, please point them in our direction. 
 
Make 2020 the year you achieve your business goals

A business came to us a couple of months ago who ran a luxury holiday villa rental company, seeking £1.2 million investment to scale and grow this already successful business. After pitching at just 2 of our events, one of our Angels then went on to invest as part of the overall raise – a significant amount. This deal was completed last week in full. This business is now in the position to achieve their growth potential and we can’t wait to follow their progress and achievements. Well done! 

A quote from the business on their experience with angelgroups: “I particularly enjoyed the positive and friendly approach – both from the Angels and the participants – this was a breath of fresh air and a welcomed differentiator for angelgroups”

The most obvious answer being “to secure the funding they are looking for”, but our feedback might surprise you, it did us. For a lot of our SME clients they perceive the most value is from the feedback given by the Angels. 

When a business pitches at one of our events, we ask the Angels to score the business in various areas, mark an interest – so they are included in all syndicate discussions and provide comments/feedback.

We pass on all comments to the business – good, bad and indifferent. We are of the firm opinion that all feedback is useful. It helps businesses to shape future pitches and focus on delivering key messages. 

There is nothing worse (or so we’ve heard) than a business pitching to a room of Angel Investors, to then leave but receive little to no feedback on how their proposition was received by the Investors. 

We believe that if someone decides not to invest then the business should know why. If it’s that the business was not in their sector of expertise, or they just weren’t excited by it, then altering their pitch is unlikely to change the outcome. However, what if the Investors were confused by what your product did, they didn’t see the opportunity or were distracted by the delivery? Would taking these comments on board give the business a better chance of securing funding the next time they pitched? 

We find that refining a pitch following the good, bad and indifferent feedback to be really effective in gaining interest at the next pitching session. That is why we contract with our SME clients for a minimum of 2 pitching sessions, giving them a much better chance at securing funding. 

If you’re looking for funding, we still have lots of pitching sessions before the end of the year – just get in touch.

It’s not often we are treated to samples, but today over at our Leeds pitching session we are lucky enough to have a Vietnamese Coffee shop pitching and that only means one thing… Coffee samples! Just look at it – doesn’t it look Devine? 

Marketing Leeds

A comment we get a lot from our Angel members – “The businesses who pitched today were all so different”. 

Variety is the spice of life is it not? We pride ourselves in being different to other funding organisations, and one of our key differentiators is that our Angels don’t just invest in Tech (which is great – we want those too!) but all sectors. Our Angel members come from very mixed backgrounds spanning all sectors and industries. We endeavor to mix up our pitching sessions and never have 2 businesses with a similar concept pitch at the same event. This is not only a lot fairer on the businesses, but our Angels give us really positive feedback on how refreshing it can be to mix it up. 

We still have lots of pitching sessions before the end of the year, so if you’re looking to begin your funding journey – just get in touch. 

Since the summer break we have been full steam ahead with pitching sessions, which has led to several syndicates already coming together. We are also just days away from some of our summer deals being complete – which is fantastic news for our businesses! We aim to have as many deals complete by the end of the year as we can, so businesses can start the new year with the funding and support they have worked so hard to secure. 

We had a fantastic day over in Sheffield yesterday at the Cutlers’ Hall for the Pitch at Palace 12.0. We met with some incredible people and fantastic Entrepreneurs – a great day with some brilliant speakers.

 

Canva Pitch at Palace

Yesterday was our Leeds pitching session and what a brilliant session it was! A big well done to all the great businesses who pitched, we had some fantastic feedback and interest from the Angels. We’re excited to see where it goes for them. 

Canva Leeds

Yesterday was our Leeds pitching session and what a brilliant session it was! A big well done to all the great businesses who pitched, we had some fantastic feedback and interest from the Angels. We’re excited to see where it goes for them. 

Canva Leeds

Last week we held our first pitching session since the summer break and it was fantastic to get back in to the swing of things! Now we are back up and running we have pitching sessions most weeks, with the next being in Leeds this Thursday where we have another group of fantastic businesses set to pitch. If you’re looking for Investment or just want to chat through your funding options then just get in touch  – make today the day you start your funding journey! 

Are you looking to make an R&D Tax Credit claim but are unsure how to go about this? We are running a FREE event at Wizu Workspaces in Leeds to help you do just that. Not only will we give you a brief overview of R&D Tax Credits, but we will also help you complete your R&D Tax Credit Application on the day. 

To find out if you are eligible please CLICK HERE to view our Eventbrite Invitation, and if you are – then why not register?! You have nothing to lose and absolutely everything to gain. 

Following on from our recent ‘Do’s and Don’t of meeting with an Angel Investor, we have had some more feedback from our Investors that we wanted to share with you. When meeting with an Angel Investor it’s important to:

  • Have a clear business plan that is well thought out
  • Clarify what the current shareholder/loan structure looks like
  • Know your numbers
  • Know the size of the market/opportunity
  • Have collateral – take sample products and supporting material
  • Explain the challenges you face

Make sure you also ask an Investor what they could bring to this relationship and how much time they can commit. If you are looking for support as well as Investment, be sure to let the Investors know what help you need so they know if they can contribute.

If you are looking for funding or interested in finding out more about the funding landscape, then just get in touch. With pitching sessions most weeks there are so many opportunities to secure the funding and support you are looking for.