Good pointers to help entrepreneurs raise money

I actually met Nick Rushton and James Church in the earlier days of our startup . We’re now 8 years old. Much of what he has outlined in this book would have been super useful to know back in those early days. We met with the guys, and I liked them, but my business partner wasn’t convinced with paying money we didn’t have (pre revenue) to agencies to create pitch materials. The irony is, it took us much longer and probably cost us much more in opportunity in the end. But, it can be tricky pre revenue and we’d heard stories of other entrepreneurs in the tech community being burned by companies with a similar model. I did due diligence on Robot Mascot and was happy they were kosher.

Much of what James covers in his book remains relevant today as we seek more investment having had a friends & family and Angel round to date. We’re finishing our pitch materials at the moment and there are some great hints and tips in this book that can be added into our strategic thinking and pitch execution. So, thank you James (and Nick). This is a valuable resource for early stage entrepreneurs, even if they have raised capital before.

One thing that isn’t covered in the book is the typical expectations of VCs in Europe when it comes to revenue. We’ve often heard the phrase “we like you and the business, come back to us when you’re turning over a minimum of £1m in ARR.” This may have been because they were unconvinced by the size of the opportunity, meaning we had failed to convey things clearly and concisely enough. These latter points are covered in detail by James in his book and are critical to success. If you are concise and clear on what your solution is and why you will succeed then, you can be clearer about whether such investor feedback (“minimum £1m ARR”) is truth or masking that they’re not convinced.

Overall, a very good book that any entrepreneur seeking investment should take the time to listen to.

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