Access to Finance: Ambition to Scale -Day 2 The Fundraising Journey

I MC’d Day 2 of “Ambition to Scale” today and here are a selection of insights shared:

1. “Why solve a small problem when you can solve a big one?” asks Sherry Coutu CBE. She recommends the RACI map, bringing MBA students into your business to focus on specific issues and remembering that the ecosystem wants you to succeed.

2. “Discern the type of investor you want and difference between a return on your money and power. Don’t underestimate the power/knowledge/contacts of being in a bigger company. Bring your team with you and remember you can always get a job in the morning if you “fail”, but you can’t go back and change the answer to “what if”?”. Stuart Harvey Datactics

3. “Ensure there is founder connection and ask other companies if your potential investor really has opened doors and unlocked opportunities. Ask if they know your sector and your problems. Can they solve them? You need to show vision, product market fit, repeatable sales and ability to attract talent”. Kerry Baldwin IQ Capital

4. “Ambition is rarely lacking, but the confidence and tools to follow through can be - that’s where equity investors come in. It can also increase the capability of family businesses to successfully move between generations. ESG factors are becoming more important all the time.” Neil McGowan MML

5. “What do you do? Why is it interesting? What is the problem you’re solving and for who? How big is the market? In answering those questions, see the value in brevity. Don’t fall victim to “I asked him what time it is and he told me how to build a clock”. Work the agencies to lever their networks and equity can help you accelerate progress”. Paul Morris Department for International Trade (DIT)

6. “Spend time building your networks and socially engineer connection possibilities. In tech today, markets are big and costs are low. You need to increase your valuation of 3x between rounds to keep it interesting and get embedded in the industry as it can offer many compounded opportunities.” Hussein Kanji Hoxton Ventures

Thank you so much to Susan Nightingale British Business Bank, Shane O'Hanlon InterTradeIreland and Patrick Dewar Invest Northern Ireland for giving me the opportunity to work with you as well as Rachel Quigg and Corinne Weatherup for being a real dream team.