Founders

For many first-time founders, angel investors are that first investment to turn a dream idea into reality. But who are these people and what are they looking for? If you’re hoping to fundraise successfully from individuals, it’s crucial to understand them.

Seeking investment is a big step that will change your company. Before building investor lists and practising your pitch, it's important to figure out if you’re really ready. Answering these questions now will save you time and put you in a much stronger position to raise successfully.

Your pitch deck is your startup's business card, a marketing tool to get you speaking to the right people. It’s often the first look an investor gets into your company and its primary goal is to secure a meeting, not to close the deal on its own. A typical investor may see hundreds of decks a year, spending only a few minutes on each one. Your deck has to be concise, compelling, and visually polished. Aim for a structure of ~10 slides, with minimal text and a clear narrative.

Building an investor pipeline is a sales process that requires preparation, discipline and a multi-channel approach. Success depends on creating a structured investor CRM, writing effective introduction emails, gathering feedback and knowing where to find the right investors. In the UK, most funding rounds are from angels, not VC.

Raising from angels is hard, especially for first-time founders. Relying on a single approach or being too tame often won’t work. The most successful founders treat fundraising like a multi-channel sales process and use disruptive tactics to get noticed.

Fundraising is hard, particularly for first-time founders. You’ve done the work, proved the business is viable, prepared your deck and built a financial model. What next? Finding the right investors requires a strategic and proactive approach. The most successful connections are built through targeted research and networking. Here’s a roadmap to help identify potential angel investors.

Effective investor outreach is a process that combines research, personalised communication and strategic networking. Simply sending a cold email to a generic list of investors rarely works. The goal is to build a relationship and the first step is to earn a meeting by demonstrating that you've done your homework.

One of the most challenging tasks for a pre-revenue founder is putting a valuation on their startup. Startups aren’t quite like listed businesses - there’s no revenue or historical financial data to base your calculations on. However, arriving at a defensible valuation is essential for negotiating with investors and ensuring you don't give away too much equity, too early on in your journey.

Automated outreach to investors is a sales process requiring preparation and persistence. Here we’ll share lessons from running hundreds of campaigns to investors.

Angel investing is personal, and your LinkedIn profile is your digital first impression for investors. They use it to assess your investibility, which is a mix of your commitment and skills. A professional, simple and trustworthy profile is key for making your outreach effective.

The Seed Enterprise Investment Scheme (SEIS) and Enterprise Investment Scheme (EIS) are UK government initiatives that dramatically de-risk investment by offering angels generous tax relief. Understanding these schemes is key for a successful funding round, as many UK angels will only consider eligible opportunities.

Closing your first funding round is a major milestone, but the relationship doesn't end when the money is in the bank. In fact, it’s just the start. Angel investors are now your partners and managing these relationships can unlock value far beyond their capital. A good relationship provides strategic guidance, opens doors and generates follow-on funding.