This is a short, but I hope, important article for later stage startup founders. I frequently talk to startup founders who tell me what they believe they can and cannot do based on legal or financial advice. Often this is misguided and frequently it is wrong. When I was a teenager I took driving […]
I was offered an investment opportunity by a sole trader who was seeking £1M of investment for a 10% share in the profits of a new product that was starting to take off. I gave some initial reaction to why this method of investing was not generally valid, as well as the over inflated […]
I was approached by a startup fund with a view to taking a position. It was something I was very interested in having decided some time ago to look at co-investment options. The fund was launched in 2014 by the founder who started investing his own money and soon outgrew his limited funds, so was […]
This brief guide should help founders understand the process and timescale investors follow when considering investment in a company. Timescales and details change with each investment and so this should be consider a rough guide only. First, as a founder, make initial contact with your 1 – 2 paragraph elevator pitch. This has […]
Blockchain is an amazing tool first proposed in 1991 and first implemented exceptionally well by the nom-de-plume “Satoshi Nakamoto” in 2008 to build the algorithm for the first Crypto Currency; Bitcoin. This was an brilliant attempt at creating a non fiat (formal Government backed) currency that contained the attributes of a finite resource (such as […]
So for the past few months I have been changing the way I do business. Up until now, I have only accepted referrals or extremely well constructed or interesting LinkedIn invitations. However recently I have started accepting all LinkedIn connection requests. Since then, my LinkedIn profile has increased to nearly 1,000 connections. Most of […]
In Part 1, I described why you don’t need to have a climate change discussion if renewables out perform fossil fuels. In part 2, I shall explain how renewables democratise energy production and turn each individual home or business into an energy supplier and how that fits alongside other disruptive technologies that have already […]
Part 1 of 2. There is growing disparity between the climate change community and opposing camps. US President Donald Trump is the latest and most prominent climate change denouncer and has advocated reversing the USA’s limited support of climate change action. Arguments parry back and forth and much time and effort is spent on […]
I’ve written many articles on the woes of overvalued startups and why yours isn’t worth £1M. So where is the value in your company? Below are the main areas of value that a startup can influence within their own company. IP, ideally in the form of patents, ideally granted. Patent values increase dramatically when contested […]
Just like prospective employers, investors are interviewing you and assessing everything you say and do. When writing to the investor, check your spelling, punctuation and grammar. Consider using a thesaurus and perhaps seek out a friendly proof reader. When you request a LinkedIn make sure you compose a relevant message that explains why you are […]