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  • This episode is our usual year-end panel. An all-star group of experts get together to discuss what happened in 2024 and the prospects for 2024. This year, Christiana Stewart-Lockhart, Director General of the EIS Assocation; Kealan Doyle, CEO & Director of Symvan Capital and Ewoud Karelse, Specialist-Product at Evelyn Partners bring their knowledge and insight.

    In a wide ranging discussion we talk about:

    fundraising in 2024the effect of the budget and how it has brought a focus on tax rather than investmentperformance of the underlying fundshow EIS has become more attractive for IHT planningthe effect on the market of the changes in SEIS limitshow closing deals is taking longervaluations and the availability of fundingexit activityhow AI and climatetech are still popularlooking forward to 2025

    As usual, the panel bring a lot of knowledge and insights. 2024 was an eventful year so listen and find out what it all means for investors and advisers.

    00:50 Introductions from Christiana, Kealan and Ewoud

    03:00 how has fundraising been

    08:00 the effect of the budget

    12:00 the focus on tax rather than investment in 2024

    15:30 performance of the underlying funds

    19:00 increased attraction EIS for IHT planning

    24:00 the administration challenge

    27:30 effect of SEIS limit changes on the market

    31:50 EIS investing - length of time to close deals

    36:00 valuations and down rounds, availability of funding

    38:00 exit activity

    47:30 hot sectors - AI

    53:00 hot sectors - climatetech

    59:30 looking forward to 2025

    62:30 activity in the regions

    66:15 Predictions for 2025

    Links

    EIS Assocation - https://eisa.org.uk/

    Symvan Capital - https://www.symvancapital.com/

    Evelyn Partners - https://www.evelyn.com/

    Subscribe to the EIS Navigator podcast on most services here: https://the-eis-navigator.captivate.fm/listen

    Bios

    Kealan Doyle

    Kealan is CEO and co-founder of Symvan Capital. He has worked with venture capital companies for 15 years, both in a corporate finance advisory capacity as well as a fund manager. He prefers to invest in a wide range of technology companies, but is also very interested in finding synergies within the Symvan portfolio of companies. Company interests include big data analytics, fintech, SaaS, 3D printing and network security. Before his involvement in venture capital investing, Kealan previously lead a structured equity products team at HSBC, and has worked at Deutsche Bank, Merrill Lynch and UBS. Together with Nicholas, he has since founded his own entrepreneurial businesses to focus on VC investing. Kealan holds degrees from the London School of Economics and the University of Toronto.

    Christiana Stewart-Lockhart

    Christiana Stewart-Lockhart is the Director General of the Enterprise Investment Scheme Association (EISA). She previously spent more than a decade working in Westminster including ten years at the Institute of Economic Affairs. She also founded EPICENTER, a Brussels based network of some of the most respected think tanks from across Europe. Christiana holds a BA in Politics from the University of York. She is a member of TISA’s Children’s Financial Education Policy Council and also sits on the Advisory Board for the All Party Parliamentary Group for Entrepreneurship.

    Ewoud Karelse

    Ewoud started his career in financial...

  • Tom Wilde helped start and now heads up the EIS and VCT tax practice at Shoosmiths. He has seen a wide range legal issues founders, companies and investors make when setting up and receiving EIS or VCT investment. He pulled together some for a recent presentation and we get him to expand on them.

    In a wide ranging discussion we talk about:

    starting the right waythe independent investor ruleraising SEIS and EIS funds togetherthe challenges that buybacks presentdoing subsidiaries correctlythe types of shares that can be usedthe current state of the EIS and VCT marketmental health in the workplace

    The Shoosmiths practice is deeply involved in EIS, giving Tom great experience and knowledge. Take advantage of that here!

    00:40 Tom introduces himself

    01:35 what Shoosmiths does in EIS

    03:40 starting the right way

    04:10 need to use a new company

    06:10 get founder shareholdings right

    08:00 independent investor rule

    11:20 raising SEIS and EIS funds together

    13:45 risks of buybacks and losing tax reliefs

    19:10 changing trades

    25:10 getting subsidiaries right

    29:15 types of shares that can be used

    33:50 do the rules work effectively?

    38:50 state of the market

    42:15 current challenges for companies

    47:10 favourite questions - mental health discussion

    Links

    Tom on Shoosmiths website - https://www.shoosmiths.com/people/cvdetails/tom-wilde

    Tom on LinkedIn - https://www.linkedin.com/in/tomwildeshoosmiths/

    Subscribe to the EIS Navigator podcast on most services here: https://the-eis-navigator.captivate.fm/listen

    Suggested books and media

    A Path Through the Jungle by Steve Peters

    Bio

    Tom Wilde

    Partner, Shoosmiths

    Tom is the head of Shoosmiths’ EIS tax practice. Tom is one of the UK’s leading experts in this field and has extensive experience advising a wide range of investors and investee companies on structuring and implementing tax efficient investments, reorganisations and exits in compliance with the EIS regime. Tom is also a qualified Chartered Tax Adviser, a member of the EIS Association’s Tax and Technical Committee, and a member of the QCA’s Tax Expert Group.

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  • James Segal cofounded finance-as-a-service house Fin--house and has seen the inside of many startups. His post on 24 founder fails caught my eye, so we asked him onto the podcast to discuss them in more detail.

    In a wide ranging discussion we talk about:

    scaling too quicklyforgetting about accounts receivablethe importance of modelling and stress testingconfusing cash flow with profitover-optimising for short-term gainsmisinterpreting break-even pointmisreading profit marginswhat James sees in companies when he starts with themwhen you need a CFO

    James's experience from working with many small companies means he has seen all of these and more so he brings great insights. Enjoy!

    00:56 James introduces himself

    02:00 what Fin-house does

    04:50 scaling too quickly

    06:30 forgetting about accounts receivable

    10:00 importance of modelling and stress testing / scenario planning

    14:15 confusing cashflow with profit

    17:20 over-optimising for short-term gains

    23:45 misinterpreting break-even point

    28:00 elasticity of CAC

    30:45 misreading profit margins

    34:00 how are companies when you first go in to them

    40:00 difference between a CFO and financial controller

    44:00 when do you need a CFO?

    49:20 favourite questions

    Links

    Fin-house - https://fin-house.co.uk/

    James on LinkedIn - https://www.linkedin.com/in/james-segal/

    24 founder fails (LinkedIn) - https://www.linkedin.com/posts/james-segal_24-founder-finance-fails-activity-7254107025771565056-vZeO?utm_source=share&utm_medium=member_desktop

    Subscribe to the EIS Navigator podcast on most services here: https://the-eis-navigator.captivate.fm/listen

    Suggested books and media

    Good to Great by Jim Collins

    Bio

    James Segal

    Co-founder, Fin-house

    James Segal is the co-founder of Fin-House, a company specialising in providing flexible, in-house finance teams tailored to the needs of startups, scaleups, and SMEs. Founded in 2021, Fin-House supports businesses through their growth journey by delivering finance functions that evolve alongside them, integrating seamlessly into their operations.

    Prior to starting Fin-House, James held finance leadership roles at Benchmark Sport International, Decathlon, and SynergyMode. He is a Chartered Accountant with the ICAEW and holds a BSc in Accounting and Finance from the University of Leeds.

  • When an fund manager jumps into a new area, its always tempting to ask why. Blackfinch Ventures has launched a fund focussing on the energy transition, we asked Head of Ventures Reuben Wilcock back on the podcast to discuss it.

    In a wide ranging discussion we talk about:

    what the energy transition is and why he thinks its attractivehow he chose the themes to look atwhether the pace of change in the economy is fast enoughwhether there are enough investmentsthe role of strategic investors and their commitmentprioritising returns over impactapplications in industry and storagetranslating science into a good businessthe challenge of sequencingfinding appropriate metricsinvestor interest in environmental investments

    Although this is a known area, it is interesting to get the perspective of a new entrant who has analysed the market and found it attractive. There's lots of insights as usual from Reuben - enjoy!

    01:00 Reuben introduces himself

    03:00 introduction to Blackfinch Investments

    04:45 what is energy transition and why chosen

    08:10 choosing the themes within that

    09:00 whether the pace of change is fast enough?

    11:50 are there adequate investments in the sector

    15:30 commitment of strategic investors

    17:45 concern over prioritising impact over returns

    21:20 what other themes he is seeing

    25:30 science that makes a good business

    27:10 prevalence of secondaries

    29:20 technology dependence and sequencing

    34:00 energy storage

    40:40 appropriate metrics

    42:00 investor interest and demand in environmental areas

    47:10 favourite questions

    Links

    Blackfinch - https://www.blackfinch.com/

    Blackfinch Ventures - https://blackfinch.ventures/

    Subscribe to the EIS Navigator podcast on most services here: https://the-eis-navigator.captivate.fm/listen

    Suggested books and media

    Working Backwards by Colin Bryar & Bill Carr

    Bio

    Reuben Wilcock

    Head of Ventures, Blackfinch Ventures

    Reuben’s expertise in advising early stage companies has developed through a background spanning academia, technology start-ups and start-up acceleration. He has founded or co-founded four technology start-ups including Joulo, a smart home energy spinout which won the 2013 British Gas Connected Homes award and was acquired by Quby in 2014, and Bar Analytics, an IoT start-up that enables global brands to monitor beer quality and sales.

    With a PhD in Electronics, Reuben has extensive product design experience with deep technical knowledge of hardware, software and manufacturing. He is an inventor on five patents and named author on over 45 peer reviewed publications ranging from integrated circuit design to genetic algorithms. Before joining Blackfinch, Reuben was a leading figure in entrepreneurship at the University of Southampton where he sat on its IP Panel for five years, guiding...

  • We all have idea of what impact investing means, but how do you measure and systematise it? Conduit Connect is an impact venture capital investor and we have asked Senior Investment Manager Gabby Morgan onto to discuss this. She was hands on in developing their own impact framework and reporting so understands the issues and can talk about how Conduit Connect solved them.

    In a wide ranging discussion we talk about:

    approaches to measuring impactdeveloping a theory of changehow to make impact robust in a companyscaling impactbeing intentional about diversitynegative externalities and avoiding themhow to treat items that can't be measuredgreenwashing in the venture industrythe challenges of comparing frameworks

    With the new SDR Regulations coming in, this is a very timely discussion. Gabby has thought deeply about many of the issues and applied them in practice, so has some great insights.

    01:20 Gabby introduces herself

    03:30 What is Conduit Connect?

    09:00 How do we approach measuring impact?

    11:50 The four buckets of impact in Conduit Connect's framework

    26:00 The need for fund managers to be intentional about diversity

    28:30 What are negative externalities and avoiding them

    32:00 Taking account of what can't be measured

    35:00 How lockstep works to keep companies impact orientated

    39:40 Greenwashing in the venture industry

    41:40 How do investors compare manager frameworks

    49:00 Prospects for the impact industry in next couple of years

    54:50 Favourite questions

    Links

    Conduit Connect website - https://www.theconduitconnect.com/

    Subscribe to the EIS Navigator podcast on most services here: https://the-eis-navigator.captivate.fm/listen

    Suggested books and media

    Range by Daniel Epstein

    Ministry of Time by Kallane Bradley

    Bio

    Gabby Morgan

    Senior Investment Manager, Conduit Connect

    Gabby is a Senior Investment Manager at the Conduit Connect, responsible for screening and performing due diligence on opportunities for the Conduit EIS Impact Fund. She is also responsible for fundraising and investor relations for the Fund. She is an investor mentor at Carbon13, a leading climate-focussed accelerator, and a Board Advisor at Thalamos, one of the Conduit Fund’s portfolio companies. She has advised early-stage impact ventures through the Huckletree Alpha programme, Village Capital and Founders Intelligence.

    Prior to joining the Conduit Connect in November...

  • The Seedrs Portfolio Report gives an insight into how equity crowdfunding in the UK has progressed over the past decade from an idea to a firm part of the venture capital market. Jeff Lynn was a co-founder of Seedrs and has been President since its purchase by Republic. He's ideally placed to give a myriad of insights into what lies behind the data and the report.

    In a wide ranging discussion we talk about:

    what the aim of the report ishow the report shows venture is an outlier asset classwhy food & beverage is the most popular sectorhow the variety of crowdfunding companies has improved over timewhy crowdfunding does better than the industry on diversityhow long should investors expect to hold investmentsthe development of Seedrs secondary markethow people use the platform and how that affects their portfolio diversificationthe future for Republic Europe and areas it is looking to expand into

    Its clear that crowdfunding will continue to be a meaningful element in the the startup and venture capital market in the UK. That makes this interview with Jeff a must listen for anyone involved in the market.

    00:50 Jeff introduces himself

    04:20 Seedrs is now Republic Europe

    06:20 the motivation behind creating the Portfolio report

    10:30 the role of outliers

    13:00 funding food & beverage companies

    16:15 do some companies work better for crowdfunding?

    19:10 Why Seedrs has had more female founders than the market

    25:50 How long is an investment for?

    28:45 what has made the secondary market successful

    31:30 investor diversification and the different use cases for platform

    37:00 how angels and sophisticated investors use the platform

    39:10 The future for crowdfunding: international opportunities, funds and blockchain

    44:50 Favourite questions

    Links

    Republic Europe (formerly Seedrs) website - https://europe.republic.com/

    Seedrs Portfolio Report Winter 2023 - https://europe.republic.com/insights/blog/seedrs-2023-portfolio-report

    Subscribe to the EIS Navigator podcast on most services here: https://the-eis-navigator.captivate.fm/listen

    Suggested books and media

    The Young Wilhelm by John C.G. Röhl

    Going Infinite by Michael Lewis

    Bio

    Jeff...

  • The Enterprise Investment Scheme (EIS) is now 30 years old! To celebrate, we asked Christiana Stewart-Lockhart, Director General of the EIS Association, onto the podcast to discuss the past, present and future of the scheme.

    In a wide ranging discussion we talk about:

    the founding of EISthe progress it has madewhat has made it so successfulrenewal of the scheme and the efforts underpinning itwhy EIS is still not as well known as it should behow awareness could be increasedthe progress with improving diversity and regional investingthe effects of the recent changes to SEIS limits

    Christiana brings together both the big picture on the importance of the tax advantaged schemes and the small scale that each company and investor represents. Its a great discussion - enjoy!

    PS This was recorded before the recent Treasury announcement that the EU has approved the extension of EIS.

    00:50 Christiana introduces herself and the EIS Association

    04:00 The founding of EIS and how it has progressed

    07:25 Why has EIS been successful

    12:15 How the Patient Capital Review changed the schemes

    14:00 Lobbying for the scheme extension

    18:50 Why EIS is not as well known as we would like

    26:50 How do we increase awareness

    30:15 Role of financial advisers

    34:45 Progress with diversity of founders and expanding into regions

    41:00 Effect of changes to SEIS limits

    43:00 Looking forward

    46:10 Favourite questions

    Links

    EIS Association website - https://eisa.og.uk/

    HMRC 2023 EIS Statistics - https://www.gov.uk/government/statistics/enterprise-investment-scheme-seed-enterprise-investment-scheme-and-social-investment-tax-relief-may-2024

    30th Anniversary of EIS event - https://eisa.org.uk/30th-anniversary-of-eis/

    Subscribe to the EIS Navigator podcast on most services here: https://the-eis-navigator.captivate.fm/listen

    Suggested books and media

    Alchemy by Rory Sutherland

    Bio

    Christiana Stewart-Lockhart

    Director General, EIS Association

    Christiana Stewart-Lockhart is the Director General of the Enterprise Investment Scheme Association (EISA). She previously spent more than a decade working in Westminster including ten years at the Institute of Economic Affairs. She also founded EPICENTER, a Brussels based network of some of the most respected think tanks from across Europe. Christiana holds a BA in Politics from the University of York. She is a member of TISA’s Children’s Financial Education Policy Council and also sits on the Advisory Board for the All Party Parliamentary Group for Entrepreneurship.

  • While fintech has perhaps fallen out of the spotlight in venture capital, it remains a significant part of the UK venture capital scene. It is one of Love Ventures three specialist areas, and in this episode co-founders Marcus Love and Adrian Love give their views on how the sector has developed and what matters now.

    In a great discussion, Marcus and Adrian talk about:

    the difference between v1 and v2 of fintechwhy financial services is so attractive for innovatorshow business models have developedmatching founders to the right producthow incumbents are responding to new entrants and the advantages the latter havewhy the UK is doing well in supporting fintechhow AI fits into their investment thesiswhat areas are attractive for investment today

    Although Love Ventures is a relatively new manager, both Marcus and Adrian have strong backgrounds in entrepreneurship and investing. This experience allows them to being some great insights into how the world of fintech is progressing today.

    PS This was recorded while travelling, so apologies for the echoes in the background for the host.

    00:55 Marcus and Adrian introduce themselves

    02:55 Love Ventures

    05:15 versions 1 & 2 of fintech

    08:50 why financial services is so ripe for innovation

    11:25 blockages to blockchain in the real world yet

    14:00 finding the correct business models going forward

    17:00 importance of product/founder fit

    19:40 Incumbents vs new entrants

    22:00 report on corporate venture capital

    25:10 the UK regulatory sandbox

    27:10 UK as a model for other countries

    28:45 how the need for capital hasn't changed

    33:30 looking for right scale of problem to invest in

    35:20 role of AI - specialist / small models

    40:45 data confidentiality - importance of specialist data

    43:40 prime areas for investing now

    45:30 Favourite questions

    Links

    Love Ventures website - https://loveventures.co.uk/

    Love Ventures on LinkedIn - https://www.linkedin.com/company/love-ventures/

    Report on corporate venture capital - https://loveventures.co.uk/navigating-cvc/

    Subscribe to the EIS Navigator podcast on most services here: https://the-eis-navigator.captivate.fm/listen

    Suggested books and media

    The Power Law by Sebastian Mallaby

  • Eos Advisory are rapidly building a solid reputation in science-based venture capital investing. In this episode, Partner Mark Beaumont discusses their roots, philosophy and how that translates into practice, with lots of real-life examples.

    In an in-depth discussion, Mark talks about:

    how the Eos investment philosophy developedthe strengths of the Scottish venture capital eco-systemwhat makes good founders and how he assesses thatgetting alignment between managers/investors and foundersdetermining whether there is a big enough markethow to give a company an international outlook as early as possiblethe mistakes founders makechanging management mindsets as a company progresses

    Mark's background gives him a very different perspective, both individually and as part of a team that brings very diverse experiences. His insights into the people side in particular are tremendous. There is much for any founder or investor to learn here.

    01:00 Mark introduces himself

    04:50 where Eos is now

    07:20 how their investment philosophy developed

    10:30 lack of competition for deals in Scotland

    11:50 Scottish eco-system - current strengths

    16:20 what they are looking for in founders

    20:30 separating people from company

    24:20 alignment between founders, investors and managers

    27:40 how do you determine a market

    32:15 internationalising - when and how

    36:15 how to line up international investors

    38:40 what mistakes founders make

    41:00 challenges of funding

    44:50 changing mindsets in companies as they progress

    49:25 favourite questions

    Links

    Eos Advisory website - https://eos-advisory.com/

    Subscribe to the EIS Navigator podcast on most services here: https://the-eis-navigator.captivate.fm/listen

    Suggested books and media

    Coffee First, then the World by Jenny Graham

    Bio

    Mark Beaumont,

    Partner, Eos Advisory

    Mark Beaumont became a Partner at Eos Advisory in 2019 and has helped lead the business through a period of significant growth, investing in predominantly Scottish science and technology companies addressing key global issues in healthcare and environmental health. Mark Beaumont spent the first chapter his career building teams around sporting success and is publicly known as an athlete and BBC broadcaster. He still holds the 18,000-mile circumnavigation cycling record in a time of 78 days. Mark’s degree education was in Economics & Politics, and for a decade and a half worked with a leading UK mid-market private equity firm. Mark is Patron for Entrepreneurial Scotland, Honorary President for Scottish Student Sport, Fellow of the Royal Society of Edinburgh and was honoured in the Queens New Year’s honours for services to sport and charity.

  • In this episode of the EIS Navigator we get a great founder story. Despite not having a medical background, Clare Brenner founded Myogenes which specialises in pharmocogenetic testing. She has a very personal story about her motivation for initially focusing on mental health to begin with, as well as her experiences in starting in a new area.

    In the discussion, Clare talks about:

    how she found a good area to work onthe initial focus on clozapinewhy she seeks out the best people to work withthe challenges of getting initial fundinghow patient advocacy is playing a rolemaking a business case to convince the NHSmoving into the US marketwhere we are in developing personalised medicine

    Clare's story is both inspiring and insightful, as well as being a great follow-on to the previous episode about female founders.

    00:45 Clare introduces Myogenes

    04:55 establishing proof of concept

    06:40 how she found a test

    08:30 how does the test work and the importance of working with doctors

    11:50 finding the top people

    15:00 why she focused on clozapine

    18:00 how they developed the test

    19:00 founding the company

    21:00 marketing into the NHS: establishing cost/benefit and business impact models

    25:00 progress with individual health trusts

    28:00 the role of patient/family lobbying

    29:00 getting funding for preventative medicine

    32:30 moving into the US

    37:10 where are we in personalised medicine

    41:00 prospects for Myogenes

    43:45 Favourite questions

    Links

    Myogenes website - https://www.myogenes.com/

    Telephone - 020 8387 1266

    Subscribe to the EIS Navigator podcast on most services here: https://the-eis-navigator.captivate.fm/listen

    Suggested books and media

    The Diary of a CEO by Steven Bartlett

    Bio

    Clare Brenner,

    Founder & CEO, Myogenes

    Clare Brenner, CEO & Co-founder Clare began her working career at the BBC, moving from radio to television and then to writing and producing.

    Her interest in genetics started in 2010 working for a private hospital and launching their DNA testing programme. She started on her own in 2016 and has dedicated the last six years to becoming expert in the field of genetics and forming her own company Myogenes.

  • Nick Dimmock founded 350PPM as an incubator for various environmental businesses, but has followed a different path from many incubators. In this episode, he discusses how he developed the 350PPM business model, developing companies more generally and the state of environmental investing.

    Amongst other items, Nick discusses:

    how he developed 350PPM's business modelthe importance of the right systembalancing doing things for a company versus developing internal capabilitieshandling areas that are capital intensivewhere we are in the demand cycle for environmental investmentshow we generate more interest in themthe need for political support and change

    Nick is naturally forthright and brings some strong opinions which make for a very interesting conversation.

    01:50 Nick introduces himself

    05:00 what 350PPM is and does

    07:40 how did the business model develop - developing a system

    13:00 doing stuff for a company vs developing internal capability

    18:35 what sorts of companies are of interest and why

    22:35 capital intensity

    27:30 demand for environmental investments

    31:45 how do we sustain interest in environmental investments

    33:00 need for removal of subsidies

    39:40 next steps

    41:15 Favourite questions

    Links

    350PPM website - https://350ppm.co.uk/

    Subscribe to the EIS Navigator podcast on most services here: https://the-eis-navigator.captivate.fm/listen

    Suggested books and media

    What You See is What You Get by Alan Sugar

    Billionaire: The Life and Times of Sir James Goldsmith by Ivan Fallon

    The Fifth Risk: Undoing Democracy by Michael Lewis

    Bio

    Nick Dimmock,

    Founder & CEO, 350PPM

    Nick has worked in the environmental sector since 2007 and has so far been involved in over 50 environmental projects from Municipal Solid Waste Composting in India, to 1500 MW Hydroelectric projects in Ecuador. Overall, the projects Nick has been involved in have created on-going emission reductions over 9 Million tons of CO2e per annum. From 2017, Nick has been involved with incubating, accelerating and venture...

  • Software-as-a-Service (SaaS) founders rightly focus on their product and market, but sound finances underpin any success. Anthony Nitsos founded fractional CFO business SaaS Gurus after working in a couple of successful exits. He has seen the inside of many SaaS businesses so has lots of experience in developing good practice and seeing the mistakes that founders make. In this episode, we tap into that knowledge.

    Amongst other topics, Anthony discusses:

    balancing different financial metricssensible gross margin targets and when companies should be hitting themchanges in SaaS valuation multiplesthe value of market expertise in generating successsales cycles and how they differ in B2B and B2Cfinding the right first sales person and who the next recruits should bewhen to bring in a CFO (and its earlier than most think)the value of benchmarkingthe difference between finance and accounting in companieshow to prepare for an exit

    Its a great conversation, with Anthony bringing lots of insights from his vast expertise for founders and investors alike.

    00:50 Anthony introduces himself

    04:45 what financial metrics matter and the difference between venture-backed and bootstrapped businesses

    09:45 gross margin - good targets and when you should be hitting them

    13:30 how valuation multiples have changed in SaaS

    15:45 patterns in CAC and trends in software purchasers

    18:05 how to you know you have product/market fit

    20:00 difference in sales cycles between B2B and B2C

    23:30 the value of market knowledge and how startups are not for on the job training

    24:30 why its easier to move from enterprise to SME than vice versa

    25:45 how finding the right first sales person is the biggest challenge

    31:45 building a sales team

    37:00 when to bring in a CFO

    39:30 the merits of building finance function when its pre-revenue

    42:20 the value of benchmarking

    43:15 most companies have problems

    45:00 the difference between accounting and finance

    49:20 preparing for exits - how acquirers look at finances

    56:00 why founders should know what short of exit they want

    60:00 favourite questions

    Links

    SaaS Gurus website - https://saasgurus.io/

    Free ebook on "SaaS Secrets for Financial Triumph" - https://saasgurus.io/lab

    SaaS Gurus contact page - https://saasgurus.io/contact/

    Subscribe to the EIS Navigator podcast on most services here: https://the-eis-navigator.captivate.fm/listen

    Suggested books and media

    Measure What Matters by John Doerr

  • How we fit EIS funds and VCTs in an advice process is something that the tax advantaged industry has got many different answers for. Rob Bell of Finova Money has been using these for clients for many years. In this episode we discuss their place in a financial plan, how he chooses between different products and investor perceptions of the industry.

    Amongst other topics, Rob discusses:

    how he chooses the right scheme for his clientshow he uses what might go wrong in framing discussions and diversificationthe use of a panelassessing track records and their depththe true term of EIS investmentsthe value of managers having several capital poolswhere SEIS fits into the advice processdifferent uses of generalist and specialist managersthe current state of ESG and impact managersimproving investor perception of venture capital

    Its a great conversation with lots of insights from Rob for investors, advisers and fund managers.

    01:15 Rob introduces himself

    02:15 what is Finova Money

    03:00 how he chooses between EIS and VCT for a client

    06:50 loss relief and how discussing what might go wrong helps

    07:50 thinking about diversification

    12:15 product selection and producing a panel

    13:20 assessing manager track records

    16:50 thoughts on the depth of track records

    19:30 the real term of EIS investments

    22:50 value of managers having several capital pools

    25:30 how SEIS fits into the advice process

    28:45 specialist vs generalist managers

    31:00 ESG and impact investments

    36:10 challenges of recommending new managers

    38:35 investor perception of venture capital

    44:10 how do we improve investor perception of financial advice

    48:15 favourite questions

    Links

    Finova Money website - http://www.finovamoney.co.uk

    Rob Bell on LinkedIn - https://www.linkedin.com/in/robertbell-financialplanner/

    Subscribe to the EIS Navigator podcast on most services here: https://the-eis-navigator.captivate.fm/listen

    Suggested books and media

    They Ask, You Answer by Marcus Sheridan

    Bio

    Rob Bell,

    Founder & Chartered Financial Planner, Finova Money

    Rob is a Chartered Financial Planner and one of the founding directors at Finova Money, an independent financial advice business based in London.

    Rob is passionate about helping his clients take control of their finances so they can live with confidence knowing they have a solid financial plan for the future in place. Rob’s clients include business owners and professionals with more complex tax positions who can benefit from looking at a broader range of financial planning options. Outside of work Rob’s interest are getting out into the countryside, Munro bagging and scuba diving.

  • Manufacturing and operations is an area that has been much neglected by venture capital, but has plenty of issues that can be address. Renan Devillieres of venture builder OSS Ventures focuses on this space, with distinct methods and successful results. In this episode we discuss how he goes about creating successful new businesses, with very good results to date.

    In a wide ranging discussion, Renan discusses:

    what is venture buildingthe process for finding pain points in factorieshow Renan characterises different operations why there is still so much low hanging fruit in this areawhat sorts of manufacturers are open to changehow to make sure there is enough initial customers and how to work with themworking with different tech stackshow to make sure that companies don't customise for specific clientsmaking the OSS fire itself from each companythe different markets and sales processes he seesfinding the right founders and the skill sets they needthe effect of AIhow the global manufacturing model of the past 30 years is changing now

    Its a great conversation with lots of insights from Renan and a must listen for investors and founders who want to build successful businesses.

    01:30 Renan introduces himself

    02:45 introduction to OSS

    04:00 what is venture building?

    09:00 finding pain points in factories

    13:15 how the regulatory environment can affect go-to-market strategies

    17:30 why is there so much low hanging fruit

    21:00 how different manufacturers are stuck or open to change

    25:30 finding the first customers

    29:00 working with clients to build viable solutions without customising too much

    32:00 how the OSS team fires itself

    37:00 how different software has different sales and decision making processes

    41:20 the necessary founder skills

    44:15 how AI is affecting manufacturing

    49:10 trends in manufacturing and how its all changing now

    55:30 favourite questions

    Links

    OSS Ventures website - https://www.oss.ventures/

    Subscribe to the EIS Navigator podcast on most services here: https://the-eis-navigator.captivate.fm/listen

    Suggested books and media

    The Subtle Art of Not Giving a F*ck by Mark Manson

    Empty Planet by Darrell Bricker & John Ibbitson

    Bio

    Renan Devillières,

    CEO OSS Ventures

    A graduate of the Ecole Normale Supérieure and the Ecole Polytechnique Fédérale de Lausanne, Renan began his career as a consultant at McKinsey, before becoming an economist at the OECD and then strategic project manager for the Richemont Group. After his various experiences, Renan launched into...

  • Governance is all too often seen in startup companies as a chore, or necessary evil when it can be a positive and enable success. Dermot Campbell, founder of CEEIO, is trying bring more of the latter to the venture world. In this episode, he discusses how startups can enable good governance without spending too much time on it and make it a means to the right end rather than an end in itself.

    Dermot covers a lot of areas, including:

    what is governancethe importance of maintaining stakeholder relationshipswhen startups should start introducing governance structureshow governance should lead growthwho should take the lead on board creationthe role of fund managersgood preparation for board meetingsbuilding effective board agendasthe value in identifying riskssetting up risk assessments and how these can lead to key objectiveshow to generate relevant KPIshow to translate a business plan into something usefulgenerating the right boardthe commons mistakes made by foundersthe rise of ESG and how its different in startups from quoted companies

    Whether you are a founder looking to put governance into place or an investor helping or wanting a company to do it, this is an essential discussion.

    01:00 Dermot introduces himself

    02:00 What is SEEIO

    03:10 What is governance

    04:20 the importance of maintaining stakeholder relationships

    05:40 importance of creating a governance framework

    06:15 how should new startups approach governance

    08:40 when to create the board

    09:45 who takes the lead

    11:30 role of fund managers

    12:30 the work in preparing for board meetings

    15:00 don't just sell - value in identify risks

    16:30 setting up appropriate risk assessment

    20:30 how to use a business plan and use it to generate objectives

    22:10 working on KPIs

    24:00 building effective board agendas

    27:20 generating the right board and founder relationship with them

    30:30 role of independent NEDs in startups

    32:10 what mistakes do founders make

    33:30 value of governance in improving odds for fundraising

    35:50 rise of ESG and how investors care about G - G facilitates E & S

    42:20 favourite questions

    Links

    SEEIO website - https://seeio.co.uk/

    Dermot on LinkedIn - https://www.linkedin.com/in/dermot-campbell-3178a326/

    Subscribe to the EIS Navigator podcast on most services here: https://the-eis-navigator.captivate.fm/listen

    Suggested books and media

    The Go To Market Handbook for B2B SaaS Leaders by Richard Blunder

    MEDDICC: The ultimate guide to staying one step ahead in the complex sale by Andy Whyte

    Bio

    Dermot Campbell

    CEO, SEEIO

    Dermot Campbell is an experienced fintech leader,...

  • Getting big returns in venture capital can involve stepping away from the mainstream and investing in opportunities that others won't. Will Gibbs of Octopus Ventures has a reputation for investing in areas others see as taboo. We ask him about being a contrarian investor, how to do it well and what needs to change to create a successful investment.

    In a discussion filled with numerous examples, Will discusses:

    getting big enough markets when the market is somewhat hiddenbalancing new technology and new marketswhen specialist investors are neededjudging whether a company will be ripe for follow-on investmenthow taboo investments can interact with social changesequencing market expansionwhat a company needs to internationalisewhat problems that internationalising doesn't solvebuilding deal flow in taboo areashow the venture capital industry is creating some of the problemsthe value of team diversity in looking away from consensus areaswhether valuations are different in taboo areas.

    In a wide ranging conversation, Will brings a great perspective on how to bring mainstream venture capital skills to genuinely new areas. Its a great discussion for investors and companies who dare to be different. Enjoy!

    01:00 Will introduces himself

    03:40 Who Octopus Ventures are

    06:30 Contrarian and tabooo investing

    07:45 Example: Elvie - silent breast pump

    09:50 Example: Pelago - substance use disorder

    13:20 the size of taboo markets, challenges in assessing true market size

    16:00 new tech and new markets - need for specialists

    17:30 Example Overture - improving and automating IVF

    19:20 market meets social movements - will someone follow-on?

    22:05 assessing the pace of social change - risk of too early

    25:30 sequencing the right national / international markets

    25:45 Example Skin & Me - getting expansion right and not too quick

    29:30 Time and capital to internationalise

    31:00 when is the right or wrong time to internationalise

    33:30 building deal flow in taboo areas

    35:15 to what extent is the venture capital industry part of the problem - value of diversity

    38:05 is the industry going in the right direction?

    40:00 are valuations different in taboo areas?

    42:35 creating communities supporting companies

    47:45 prospects

    50:20 Favourite questions

    Links

    Octopus Investments: https://octopusinvestments.com/

    Octopus Ventures website: https://octopusventures.com/

    Companies mentioned:

    Pelago https://www.pelagohealth.com/

    Overture https://www.overture.life/

    Vira https://www.vira.health/

    Elvie https://www.elvie.com/en-gb

    Skin and me https://www.skinandme.com/

    Subscribe to the EIS Navigator podcast on most services here: https://the-eis-navigator.captivate.fm/listen

    Suggested books and media

    Essentialism by

  • Valuations are always a popular topic. With much discussion about whether we are at the bottom of the current cycle, it seems a good time to revisit and we invited back someone who has experienced several market cycles: John Glencross, co-founder of Calculus Capital.

    We had a great discussion on how the current market, how this compares with recent times and how a fund manager handles them. Topics discussed include:

    how companies are accepting lower valuationsthe danger of growth at any pricewhere there are still bubbles and what the consequences of these might behow to manage investing when valuations are highthe psychology of down rounds preferential return structures and what John is seeing in the marketreal unicorns versus valuation aberrationshow valuation matters for investinghow Calculus values existing portfolioJohn's sense of valuations in the EIS & VCT market and where he thinks the discrepancies arehow close we are to the bottom of the valuation cycle

    Talking with someone who has seen several downturns gave a great perspective on all these topics and there's lots for all advisers and investors. Enjoy!

    01:00 John introduces himself

    04:30 recent exit patterns

    06:00 companies accepting lower valuations attraction of investment vs exits

    07:30 avoiding growth at any price - US vs UK

    10:15 where there is still bubbles

    13:15 investing when valuations are high - changed pace of investments in recent years

    16:45 the psychology of down rounds

    18:45 preferential return structures and the general tightening of terms in market

    26:00 when are unicorns a market aberration?

    28:30 how valuation matters for investing

    31:10 portfolio valuation - lags, being realistic and getting a good process

    35:00 how EIS managers are using unrealised performance as marketing, but its not similar to exits

    41:00 what is an acceptable band of uncertainty? How exits matter

    44:15 are we at the bottom of the valuation cycle?

    48:45 favourite questions

    Links

    Calculus Capital website: https://www.calculuscapital.com/

    Subscribe to the EIS Navigator podcast on most services here: https://the-eis-navigator.captivate.fm/listen

    Suggested books and media

    Sunshine & Shadows

    The Four Agreements by Don Miguel Ruiz

    Sing as We Go by Simon Heffer

    Bio

    John Glencross

    Chief Executive and Cofounder, Calculus Capital

    John co-founded Calculus with Susan McDonald in 1999, creating one of the UK’s most successful,...

  • When we last spoke with Harry Heartfield of Edition, the leisure sector was all about recovering the pandemic. Fortunately, we have moved on so we thought it was time to get him back to discuss where we are now, how his investment philosophy has evolved and what the prospects for exits are now.

    We covered a lot areas in our discussion, including:

    the unevenness of the current recoverythe difference that geography and target market makesthe need to rebalance portfolio risk nowhow live entertainment and hospitality are doinghow to run live events professionally and Edition's role in supporting thatprospects for exitshow the landscape of purchasers looksthe challenges of making rollups workwhy profitability matters more than everhow and why to set up EIS deals six months in advance

    Its another great discussion - Harry is both erudite and insightful, and the lessons are not just about the leisure sector . Enjoy!

    00:50 Harry introduces himself

    03:00 Why Edition is more than a fund manager

    05:00 How does the leisure sector feel now?

    08:00 the unevenness of the recovery

    10:00 where is recovering and where isn't - geographic and demographic differences

    13:40 rebalancing risk in portfolio

    15:30 how live entertainment and events are doing

    19:30 the return after pandemic

    20:30 how to get professionalism in live events

    25:30 the prospects for exits returning

    28:10 political games amongst the big players in live entertainment and the structure of purchasers

    31:20 making rollups work - the danger of multiple arbitrage and focus on synergies

    35:45 how long to build a company?

    40:15 the importance of profitability in the current market and when there is a trade off vs growth

    44:30 messaging around doing something different

    47:30 why Edition is lining companies up for investment 6mths in advance

    50:20 the challenges of agreeing deals 6 mths in advance

    54:00 favourite questions

    Links

    Edition Capital - https://www.editioncapital.co.uk/

    Harry on LinkedIn - https://www.linkedin.com/in/harry-heartfield-2275983a/

    Email [email protected]

    Subscribe to the EIS Navigator podcast on most services here: https://the-eis-navigator.captivate.fm/listen

    Suggested book and media

    If This is a Man by Primo Levi

    The Body: A Guide for Occupants by Bill Bryson

    Bio

    Harry Heartfield

    Senior Partner, Edition Capital

    Harry has over 15 years’ experience in the leisure sector. In 2011, he joined boutique asset manager Ingenious becoming a Senior Investment Manager in their Live Entertainment Team. At Ingenious, he was responsible for working across several investment funds including several Venture Capital Trusts with a focus on leisure assets. During his time at Ingenious, he also developed and launched several investment products aimed at...

  • Assessing companies for venture capital investment is often more of an art than a science. Richard Blakesley is trying to change that with Venture Cubed. Its rating system aims to objectively assess how investible new companies are. We asked him to talk about how they built their rating system, what it tells us about the venture industry and how it might change it going forward.

    This is the second part of our excellent discussion. In the previous episode, we spoke about his rating system and what matters when assessing companies for investment. In this one, we discuss scaling the UK venture capital industry, indexation and investing at scale. In particular, we talk about:

    the proportion of companies that should be getting investmentthe challenge of getting more investment into different companies instead of boosting valuationswhether support and investment should come from the same organisationcreating a index for venture capital and benchmarkinghow to make that index investibledata and creating systems for intermediate valuationsbuying and selling a venture capital indexdifferent investment models that might be usedwhy bigger funds would expect to outperform smaller funds

    As you can see, we covered a lot of ground. This is a really important discussion for the venture capital industry: there could be an opportunity for it to scale up dramatically in the near future, but how it does that really matters. This discussion may not produce all the answers, but at least it asks the questions. And don't forget part 1!

    00:45 How many companies get funding that deserve it and what's the shortfall in companies not being funded that should?

    05:00 inflating valuations versus broadening the range companies getting investment - need new channels for pension funds

    08:00 why the industry needs to change - case for passive management

    10:00 the challenges of indexing venture capital

    11:00 separating investment and support - how passive managers might arrange that

    14:30 the real role of a fund manager

    21:00 issue of intermediate valuation (before exit) - data collection on private countries

    26:20 data protection & confidentiality

    27:40 how to make index investible / expand coverage - without diluting quality

    33:00 buying & selling index - fund types, physical vs derivative

    35:00 creating funds where industry can write a big cheque

    35:45 bigger diversified funds outperform

    37:00 the power law and reversion to mean

    42:00 co-investment model and role of BBB - public plus private models

    45:30 favourite questions

    Links

    Venture Cubed website - https://www.venturecubed.com/

    Richard's email: [email protected]

    British Business Bank venture capital reviews: https://www.british-business-bank.co.uk/uk-venture-capital-financial-returns-2023/

    Subscribe to the EIS Navigator podcast on most services here: https://the-eis-navigator.captivate.fm/listen

    Suggested books and media

    Superforecasting by Philip Tetlock

  • Assessing companies for venture capital investment is often more of an art than a science. Richard Blakesley is trying to change that with Venture Cubed. Its rating system aims to objectively assess how investible new companies are. We asked him to talk about how they built their rating system, what it tells us about the venture industry and how it might change it going forward.

    We had such a good discussion that we have split it into two parts. In this episode, we discuss how he measures companies. In the second part, we talk more about the wider industry. Here we discuss:

    what their rating system aims to measurehow they assess how good the ratings arewhat are the important factors in the ratingthe weights that are given to those factorshow they quantify factors that are more qualitativethe challenges in analysing financial modelswhere founders don't understand what investors wanthow founders can get good advice on fundraisingthe process of giving feedback to founders and how receptive they arethe mistakes that founders often makethe proportion of companies that are really investiblewhat investible really meanswhere funding gaps are

    As you can see, we covered a lot of ground. Whether you are an investor thinking about how to assess companies or a founder considering fundraising, there's a lot for you here. And don't miss part 2!

    01:00 Richard Blakesley introduces himself

    02:20 What Venture Cubed does

    03:45 What are Venture Cubed scoring? - investibility

    06:00 How he measures the success of ratings

    09:25 What are the most important factors

    12:20 How they quantify qualitative factors

    14:20 Issues are around bias in interviews

    18:10 Assessing companies without interviewing management

    19:00 How founders often don't understand the desires of investors

    22:00 Getting good advice on how to fundraise

    26:30 How founders get feedback from the rating process

    30:20 The receptiveness of founders to feedback

    32:45 What mistakes do founders often make?

    38:50 How does Venture Cubed weight the factors?

    42:40 What proportion of companies are investible?

    45:15 How many companies get funding that deserve it and what's the shortfall in companies not being funded that should?

    Links

    Venture Cubed website - https://www.venturecubed.com/

    Richard's email: [email protected]

    Subscribe to the EIS Navigator podcast on most services here: https://the-eis-navigator.captivate.fm/listen

    Bio

    Richard Blakesley

    Founder & CEO, Venture Cubed

    **tbc