Insights
Practical notes on fundraising and company building, drawn from 25+ years of backing early-stage founders
Fundraising Strategy
Four articles on how to approach raising from first outreach to choosing the right investors.
What a great founder cold pitch looks like
Most cold investor outreach fails for the same reasons: too much preamble, social proof buried too deep, and follow-ups that add noise rather than signal. This is a real example of a founder who got it right - and a breakdown of exactly why it worked.
Should I use a broker to raise my funding round?
It’s one of the most common questions early-stage founders ask: should I hire a broker to help me raise? The short answer is no - at pre-seed and seed, at least. Here’s why, and what you should do instead.
How much should you raise at pre-seed?
The question of how much to raise sounds simple. It isn’t. Ask for too little and you’ll be back fundraising before you’ve hit anything meaningful. Ask for too much and your valuation won’t hold up, or you’ll spend money you didn’t need to. Here’s a framework for thinking it through.
Should you raise from angels or VCs?
One of the most common questions early-stage founders ask is whether to approach angels or VCs. The answer matters more than most founders realise; not because one is better than the other, but because they operate on completely different models with completely different requirements.
Cap Table and Deal Mechanics
Four articles covering the structural decisions that determine who owns what, and how to get them right. These are among the most practically useful pieces for founders approaching their first or second raise.
Why misaligned equity kills deals — and how to fix it before you raise
Equity that doesn’t reflect who is actually driving the business forward is a different kind of problem. It’s often painful to fix, sometimes impossible, and it causes deals to fall through more often than founders realise.
Advisor equity: spend it like it’s your last pound, not your first
This piece covers the questions to ask before granting advisor equity, the structures that protect you if things go wrong, and three real examples of how well-intentioned equity grants turned into long-term problems.
Five ways to lose your SEIS or EIS tax relief without realising it
Here are five specific situations where SEIS or EIS relief can be lost, drawn from direct experience. Several of them are genuinely non-obvious, even to experienced investors.
Super pro rata rights: what they are and why they matter
Term sheets are full of provisions that sound harmless or even flattering in the moment but have significant long-term consequences. Super pro rata rights are one of the most common of these. Understanding what you’re agreeing to before you sign is worth the time.
Building & Running Your Company
Four articles on the operational and people decisions founders face in the early years — from making the case as a solo founder to running a board and keeping investors informed
How to make the case as a solo founder
This piece is for solo founders preparing to raise, and for investors who want to think more carefully about what the evidence actually says.
What should a founder pay themselves? A practical guide
Founder salary is one of the most awkward topics in early-stage investing. The right answer depends on context, but there are principles and benchmarks that make it easier to navigate.
How to build a board that actually helps
A board shouldn’t be a governance formality. At its best, it is one of the most valuable assets an early-stage company has.
How to write a monthly investor update that gets read
The best investor updates are short, honest, and consistent. This is a practical guide to writing updates that investors actually read and respond to.