Latest News Archives - Page 20 of 28

The sun made an appearance this week when we were over in Hull running our second pitching session of the year, and that’s not the only thing that has brightened up our week!

We are working hard completing several deals in the hospitality, construction material, interior design technology and food manufacturing sectors.

Our Angels invest in all sectors, which is what sets us apart from other funding groups, meaning our pitching events are incredibly diverse. It also means the businesses that pitch with us aren’t in direct competition with each other, because they will appeal to different Angels.

If you would like to find out more just get in touch, we love discussing all things funding related!

We’ve had a great week back to work following the festive break, and are full speed ahead with our 2020 plans.

This week has been jam packed, as we ran our first pitching session of the year over in Leeds. Our Leeds events seem to get bigger and bigger every time we run one. We even had to bring more chairs in the room, which is brilliant – the more the merrier!

We then spent 2 days over in Manchester making some fantastic connections and getting some exciting plans underway (watch this space!).

We’re looking forward to the upcoming weeks where we have more pitching sessions and an Angel Only Event. Let’s start as we mean to go on.

The wonderful world of technology has made it so much easier for us to connect with businesses who are looking for funding. We are finding more and more of our time is being spent having ‘virtual meetings’ when businesses can’t make it in to the office for one reason or another.

There’s nothing like sitting down face to face with a business, coffee in hand, to discuss all things funding. We appreciate however that occasionally this can be a challenge for businesses, especially if they have other jobs separate to their business venture. That’s why we try to be as flexible and accessible as possible, and try to ‘move with the times’ wherever we can!

The latest Angel research found that 39% of Angel Investors look for an investment opportunity where they can contribute to the success of the business.

The support an Angel can provide can add significant value to a growing SME. The support can include:

Strategic
Access to the supply chain and contacts
Operational
Further rounds of investment
Recruitment
Management
Sounding board

Having an Angel Investor involved can even increase the company’s valuation because of the skill set they are bringing to the team.

If you are interested in pitching to a room of Angel Investors just get in touch. We have pitching sessions most weeks and are always looking for businesses with high growth potential to introduce to our groups.

We hope everyone had a wonderful time over the festive period and hopefully you feel adequetly rested and ready to tackle whatever 2020 has in store.

We are starting the New Year with a nice big coffee and a meeting to refresh our 2020 plans. We’ll be firing on all cylinders in no time!

We hope your first day back is great and if you’re looking for funding this New Year, just get in touch.

As 2019 draws to a close it makes us wonder what 2020 has in store, and you’re probably thinking the same.

We often ask companies “what difference would funding make to your business?” and the answer is fairly unanimous – “it would enable us to grow”.

Profitable growth is the aim of the game, so it feels great when we are able to facilitate this by putting the right Investors with the right businesses. After all, that’s what makes Angel investment different. It’s the people behind the money and the added value they bring.

If you’re looking to scale in 2020 and seeking investment/support then let’s have a chat.

We had a great time over in Sheffield yesterday delivering a workshop on Pitching for Investment. It was great to meet and answer questions from local founders who are looking to scale their business.

There are so many fantastic businesses in Yorkshire – it really is a great place to grow your company!

“Invigorating, exciting and emotional”

Feedback is so important. We take all comments and suggestions on board, but we have to admit when we get feedback like this we want to shout it from the rooftops!

We asked the businesses who pitched with us this week how they found the event and were thrilled with their comments:

“The event was great, strong group of Angels with plenty of time to chat to them before and after”

“The day itself was very supportive, friendly, professional and full of customer service”

We are ending the week with a great big smile on our faces.

A couple of weeks ago we were lucky enought to be invited to record our next podcast on Angel Investing as part of Nick Bramley’s Impact Sessions.

If you’re a business looking at Angel Investment as a route of funding your SME, then we’re hoping you will give this podcast a listen and hopefully you find is useful.

If you have any questions following this podcast please just get in touch, we love talking all things Funding related!

Click HERE to watch the Podcast on YouTube.

Angel Investment is often referred to as “smart money” as it’s not just cash an Angel can provide, but also their wealth of expertise. Businesses often come to us with a desired Investor in mind, with a list of skills/knowledge they would like them to have. So a fundamental decision you need to ask yourself is do you need “smart money”, or just money, which lends itself to the Crowdfunding model.

We always encourage our SME customers to spend time with any interested Angels to get to know them a little bit more. Because at the end of the day, it’s both parties that have to be happy working together to create a successful growth team.

Like most businesses we are busy making plans for the New Year…and the middle of the year…and the end of the year etc etc – because in order to plan the beginning you need to plan the end.

Before you set off on your business journey you should have an end in mind. Is your “end” getting your company to a stage where you can sell and move on to your next business venture (or to the Bahamas)? Or is your “end” a goal for where you want your business to be in 5-10 years time?

Whatever your end is, the sooner you plan for it the better. Even if your business is no more than an idea right now, make your plans.

In a few weeks time we are running our BIGGEST event to date…..

To mark our final event of 2019 we will be having more businesses pitch to even more Angels as we end the year in style – oh and more drinks to bring in the festive season!

We will be capturing some of the event and are really looking forward to sharing it with our angelgroups community in the weeks that follow… watch this space.