Four angel investors (and one CEO) share tips on raising capital for your startup [Video]
Only 2% of companies are successful in raising capital and the current economic climate is bound to drag those numbers down even further.
We’ve interviewed four angel investors as well as Envestors CEO, Oliver Woolley, to help you on your fundraising journey and bring you their top tips on what to do (and what not to do) when fundraising.
Peter is a seasoned angel investor, who’s been in the businesses for 35 years. According to him, unrealistic financial projections are the biggest reason he rejects business plans:
“For many of the offerings I see, you look at the projections, shake your head and look up at the sky for the flock of pigs flying past”
Alex has been investing in startups for 5 years, and he’s seen many deals go sour due to a lack of research:
“You need to know who you are going to be working with and all the terms and conditions that come with the investment”
Caroline advises that your business plan will make or break you. She has been investing in growth businesses for 5 years, and only follows up with founders that have sent over coherent plans that get to the point:
“Investors are busy and will want to read your business plan easily, quickly, succinctly and understand what that business does.”
Debs has been working with startups for the last 10 years. She stresses the importance of a good management team:
“You’ve got to be absolutely convinced you have the right management team. A management team that knows there will be a lot of pressure on them to spend the money quickly to get traction and momentum going in the business.”
Envestors CEO, Oliver Woolley, has been helping startups raise finance since 2004. For him, a valuation will make or break a pitch.
“A lot of companies are out there looking to raise finance, so a company needs to have a sensible valuation which is commensurate with the risk of investing. [Your valuation] should be compared to other companies and their valuations, not only private companies but those on the stock exchange as well.”
We know it’s hard to put together a sensible valuation that won’t put off investors, so we’re currently offering 50% off our benchmarking service.
Benchmarking anchors your valuation in real-world, real-time data. It’s also the most reliable way to value pre-revenue ventures.
With access to a database of thousands of records on successful UK fundraises, we’ll create a list of companies that are similar to yours in terms of sector, stage, raise amount, and traction. We then conduct an analysis, honing in on those which are most similar to you.