Looking at the second half of this year’s calendar it’s quite obvious where we are spending most of our time, and that is running pitching sessions! We have pitching sessions most weeks, so there’s even more opportunities to secure the funding and support you are looking for. Just get in touch if you are interested in starting your funding journey
Category: Latest News
“A common mistake of Entrepreneurs is they want to launch version 10. Microsoft launched version 1, if it’s good enough for them it’s good enough for us!”
A big thank you to everyone who attended today’s Investor Readiness event in Leeds – we hope it was useful and we look forward to having further conversations with you about your Funding journey!
If you’re interested in attending a future event then just get in touch.
When you first meet with an Angel Investor you’re bound to feel a tad apprehensive. After all, you’ve usually got a lot riding on the success of these meetings so it’s important to get it right from the start.
We posed some questions to our Angel members to find out what their suggested “do’s” and “don’ts” are. Here is what they said:
DO’S
- Lay out ALL the skeletons! There are not many businesses out there that are perfect, and the likelihood is that an Angel Investor has heard it all before. If you’re honest and upfront from the start not only will you be saving both yourself and the Investor a lot of time (because it will all come out in the due diligence stage) but you will increase the chance of a positive outcome if you’ve shown integrity. Building trust with an Investor is so important.
- Get to understand what the Angel is looking for and what they can offer you. It’s a two way street. As much as an Investor is getting to know you and your business it’s also important for you to get to know them. Ask yourself the questions: Could I work with them? What value could they bring to the table? Do they know your industry? Do they fill some of the gaps in your team’s skillset?
- Show an understanding of your customers and how to reach them. Even if an Angel Investor knows your sector and route to market well they want to know that you do. Know the size of your market opportunity and demonstrate your knowledge of your customer base.
DON’TS
- Don’t overvalue your business. In terms of the financial of brand equity be realistic.
- Don’t Just target investors for their money alone. Always seek out Angels that can add more value to the business than just capital. People you can work with, learn from and open up wider networks for your products/services.
- Don’t pretend to be someone that you’re not. People invest in people. It’s important to be yourself and lay all the cards on the table. Our Investors always invest in a grade A team with a grade B product and never the other way around. People at are the centre of all Investment opportunities that come through our door, so let them get to know you!
Use the time as a learning experience. Even if you don’t get Investor interest, leave the meeting with ideas on how you could improve for next time. Make notes on the questions that you’ve been asked, the areas you didn’t cover and the feedback you were given. This will prove invaluable for your next Investor meeting.
If you would like to find out more about pitching at one of our Angel Groups just get in touch.
Following on from this week’s Angel only event in Leeds we are now planning our next ones across our regions. These events are always so well received by our Angel members, the value our partners bring to the Investment process is evident in the vast amount of questions they get!
If you would like to find out more about our Partners and how they can help then just get in touch.
Yesterday was our Angel Only Event in Leeds. Our speakers delivered fantastic presentations on:
- Angel Investment
- EIS/SEIS Tax Planning
- Shareholder Agreements
- High Growth & Entrepreneurs
- Assessing Investment Opportunities
A big thank you to our partners for helping make this event the huge success that it was, we look forward to running more of these events in the near future.
We are currently pulling together syndicates for 10 of the businesses we have had pitch over the past few months. Syndicates are common for Angel Investments and have huge advantages for both the business and the Investors. For the businesses this means more Angels, which in turn means more expertise and skills around the table. For the Angels this means sharing in both the risks and the rewards associated in Equity funding. Our experience shows that more deals are completed when a syndicate comes together. We’re really excited to be supporting these businesses along their funding journeys, and look forward to seeing their growth potential realised once the deals are completed.
We find that a lot of the businesses that come to us looking for funding have pitched before. The reason they have been unsuccessful in securing Angel Investment is not because their business isn’t good enough. We find it’s because they haven’t known how best to position themselves to Investors, therefore the Angels didn’t understand the proposition so therefore didn’t invest.
We don’t put a business in to one of our pitching sessions without first making sure they are Investor ready. Investor readiness is such an important step in the funding journey. After all, you wouldn’t run a race without the correct equipment and training, so you have to be prepared to put in some hard work to have the best possible chance in securing the funding and support you’re looking for.
When working with a business to make them Investor ready, we cover the following:
- Language – we always say that business speak French while Angels speak German. We work as an interpreter between the two to help you communicate effectively.
- The numbers
- The business plan
- The company’s current position
- The risks
- The timing of funding
- The most appropriate funding route
- Who is your ideal Angel – who would add the most value
- The pitch – preparation and delivery
- SEIS/EIS
- Existing share agreements
- Intellectual Property
If you would like to find out more about Investor readiness and how this could help your business, just get in touch.
Have you ever considered looking for investment for your business and wondered what it’s all about, how it works, what the investors are looking for or how to value your business? Yes, well this event is for you.
We are running another of our FREE training sessions on how to become Investor ready. The training includes:
- Is investment right for you
- Angel or Crowd Funding
- Valuation – what is your strategy
- What an angel is looking for
- What does your perfect angel look like
- Pitching for investment
Register now to secure your spot!
For innovative businesses R&D tax credits are a way of claiming tax back from HMRC (HM Revenue & Customs). R&D tax credits have been around for over 15 years yet by HMRC’s own statistics the relief is not being claimed as expected, especially in the SME sector.
SME – for the purpose of R&D tax credits an SME company is one with less than 500 employees and either:
- Turnover less than €100m; or
- Balance sheet total less than €86m
A company in any sector can potentially claim R&D tax credits, the key point is whether there are qualifying R&D activities being undertaken.
For every £10,000 spent on qualifying R&D the company can claim an additional £13,000 of tax relief
To find out if you qualify and to learn more about R&D tax credits CLICK HERE to view the HMRC guidelines.
If you think you qualify and would like to make a claim just GET IN TOUCH.
We hope to hear from you soon.
A few weeks ago we went over to Tech Manchester to record our first every podcast as part of their Fast Forward episodes – Is Angel Investment right for you? We would love for you to give it a listen!
Today we’re taking part in the Sheffield Chamber Investment Clinic at the Sheffield Chamber of Commerce. We’ve already met with some really great SME’s who are looking in to what their funding options are. There are lots of ways in which you can fund your SME, get in touch to find out more about the funding landscape.
This week we are hosting our next Angel Only event over in York – these events are perfect if you’ve invested in the past and looking for a refresher, are an active Investor or are looking to become one. Subjects covered include: SEIS/EIS, Shareholders Agreements, A bank’s perspective and an Angel case study to put everything into context. If you interested in attending this event there’s still spaces available. Get in touch to find out more.