Raising Capital
Unless you have the money yourself, or can bootstrap your venture to a point where it generates enough revenue to fund its growth; you’re going to need to source some funding from somewhere.
In recent years the approach to raising capital for a startup business has been formalised and become established. Most of us now are familiar with the concept of raising money through Angels and VCs. Here are my notes on the landscape, and some of the best advice and resources I’ve come across…
Top Tip:
Really learn how a Venture Capital business works and also take the time to research the organisation or people you are approaching for funding. Through my research, one book that has been recommended for anyone serious about engaging in a successful funding round with VCs is “Venture Deals: Be Smarter thank Your Lawyer and Venture Capitalist” by Brad Feld and Jason Mendelson.
(http://www.amazon.ca/Venture-Deals-Smarter-Lawyer-Capitalist/dp/1118443616/)
List of UK VC’s and Angels
(note – this list is not exhaustive, it just includes the organisations I have come across to date)
UK Business Angels:
http://www.ukbusinessangelsassociation.org.uk/ @UKBAngels
BVCA:
Index Ventures:
http://indexventures.com/ @IndexVentures
Balderton Capital:
http://www.balderton.com/ @balderton
MMC Ventures:
http://www.mmcventures.com/ @MMC_Ventures
Mercia Fund:
http://www.merciafund.co.uk/ @Mercia_Fund
Passion Capital:
http://www.passioncapital.com/ @passioncapital
Brilliant articles on securing funding:
- Phil Cooper (The Drum article) – “Get funded or die trying – part two: Preparing your start-up for initial funding”:http://www.thedrum.com/opinion/2014/04/04/get-funded-or-die-trying-part-two-preparing-your-start-initial-funding
- How do I fund my startup? (Esc the City):http://school.escapethecity.org/essays/how-do-i-fund-my-startup/
- Venture Capital: Article “Good VCs and Bad VCs”:http://christophjanz.blogspot.ie/2014/11/good-vcs-bad-vcs.html
- 6 important things to know about Tech Angels:http://www.dreamstake.net/blog/6-important-things-to-know-about-tech-angels/
- 8 Entrepreneurship lessons from a VC:http://www.huffingtonpost.com/vala-afshar/8-entrepreneurship-lesson_b_5815574.html
Alternative Sources of Funding:
- Trade Finance Global – Invoice Finance and Factoring for SMEs looking to raise debt finance: https://www.tradefinanceglobal.com/invoice-finance/
- Britbots – High Growth Robotics Fund: http://www.britbots.com/fund
