Category: Fundraising

Navigating the Startup Funding Maze in 2024

Today AIN launches the first results from our 2024 Founder survey. In this article we deep dive into the results from our UK survey and what the takeouts are for startups seeking funding in a new climate.

To mark our 20th anniversary we launched a founder survey so we could hear from the founders across the network and take the temperature of startups in 2024. We wanted to gain a deeper understanding about your fundraising challenges, your successes and life as a startup founder. Today we are releasing the first set of findings from our UK founders.  read more

August intentions: How to get investment ready for the autumn

The summer months often signal a slowdown in the startup world, with many investors jetting off on vacation. However, this lull presents a unique opportunity for ambitious founders to get investment ready and position their businesses for a successful autumn fundraising campaign. 

We spoke to AIN’s expert brokerage team, who have collectively raised more than £120 million for startups, to uncover what founders should be doing while investors soak up the sun.

As the old adage goes, “failing to prepare is preparing to fail.” This couldn’t be truer when it comes to securing investment. While investors may be less accessible during the summer months, it’s crucial to use this time wisely to refine your pitch and strengthen your business proposition. Here is a list of the essential tasks to prioritise in August. read more

Behind The Raise with Naked Rivals

In the return of our Behind The Raise series, we interview Andrew Gordon, the co-founder of a brand new disruptor in the health, sustainability and beverage space: Naked Rivals. The Australian brand announced a successful capital raise of A$3 million with AIN, 3 months after launching its first 100% lemon and lime juice cubes product range across 1,600 supermarkets in Australia.

In the article Andrew discusses how his wife and business partner Kate’s pregnancy was the inspiration behind the brand, the problem they’re solving for busy consumers, and the secrets to their successful fundraising through angel investors. You’ll also discover their top tips for navigating the fundraising landscape and their approach to persuading retailers to stock their unique product. read more

How to Raise Investment in 2024: the key takeaways

A shifting fundraising landscape, evolving investor criteria, and common founder pitfalls were some of the key themes explored during a recent fundraising panel discussion focusing on how to raise investment effectively.

Hosted by our partner, the share scheme and equity management platform, Vestd; the panel discussion featured the contributions from leading experts in the startup investment space. This included Dama Sathianathan, partner at one of Europe’s leading early stage tech for good VC, Bethnal Green Ventures, Xavier Ballester, Director of Brokerage at Angel Investment Network and Ifty Nasir, founder and CEO at Vestd. Here’s a deeper dive into the takeaways. read more

Naked Rivals Secures $3 Million in Capital, supported by Angel Investment Network

Australian beverage brand, Naked Rivals has announced a successful capital raise of A$3 million within 3 months of launching its first 100% lemon and lime juice cubes product range across 1,600 supermarkets in Australia.

This remarkable deal, one of the largest of its kind in Australia this year for a startup, was sourced from a single ultra-high-net-worth family through the Australian Investment Network (AIN). AIN is part of the Angel Investment Network, the world’s largest online angel investment community. read more

Mike Lebus writes for EU Startups on Winning over Angel Investors in a New Landscape

Our co-founder, Mike Lebus, was recently featured in an article in EU Startups, a leading publication for the European startup ecosystem. The article considers the significant shift in the angel investor landscape for 2024, offering valuable insights for startups seeking funding. Lebus referenced a recent survey AIN conducted of investors across our network.

Key Takeaways for Founders
  • Focus on Fundamentals and Impact: Lebus emphasised the move away from inflated valuations based on potential. Investors now prioritise strong fundamentals and a clear path to profitability. Additionally, he highlighted the growing importance of showcasing your venture’s positive social or environmental impact.
  • Craft a Compelling Narrative: As Lebus highlights, simply having a good idea is no longer enough. Craft a compelling narrative that showcases not just your product or service, but also the positive impact it will create.
  • Avoid Common Pitfalls: Overvaluation and inadequate market research are major red flags for today’s cautious investors. Be realistic about your valuation and focus on demonstrating your true potential for growth. Conduct thorough market research to showcase a deep understanding of your target market and industry trends.
  • Build Strong Relationships: Regular communication with potential investors is key to building trust and fostering a long-term partnership.

The full article on EU Startups provides a comprehensive analysis of these trends, along with additional insights and investor wishlist traits. We recommend checking it out for a deeper dive into navigating the new landscape of angel investment. read more

Angel Investing for Everyone: Mike Lebus on Creating an Angel Investment Paradise in the UK

Our co-founder Mike Lebus was recently interviewed for an article in Digital Frontier discussing how the UK could become an angel investment paradise by lowering barriers to investment and also supporting more diversity in angel investment.

Lowering the Barriers

Mike Lebus, co-founder and director of Angel Investment Network, argued that the current system unfairly excludes many potential investors. Lebus proposes a non-means-based approach that focuses on education and informed decision-making.

“Anyone can sign up to a crypto trading site or a stock trading website without being either [a sophisticated investor or HNWI]. Anyone can take out an insurance policy without being either,” Lebus commented. “As long as you’re explained what you’re signing up to and the risks of what you’re signing up to, that’s generally accepted to be OK, except in the startup world where they pose these barriers to people. And really, it’s very frustrating.” read more

Startup essentials: How to structure your cap table

Over the next few months, with the assistance of our expert partners, we will explore the essential factors that all startups seeking funding need to consider. This will include organising your finances, conducting due diligence, and implementing growth hacking strategies.

First up, Guy Kaufman, Startup Lead at Vestd. He gives us the lowdown on understanding cap tables, a visual representation of your company’s ownership that becomes more crucial and complicated as your startup grows.

New businesses pop up every day, many with their eyes on the prize of a lucrative exit. Even in uncertain economic times, we’ve seen companies like Loom, Uber, and Airbnb rise to the top. read more

Meet the Investor: Christian Teichmann

In our latest Meet The Investor interview we speak to Christian Teichmann, Managing Director of Burda Principal Investments. Christian is a venture capitalist driven by curiosity and a daily quest for the “next big thing'” in the competitive world of fundraising.

He talks to AIN about the exciting sectors gaining his interest, the common mistakes founders make, how preparation is key and why startups should raise more capital than they think they need.

Why did you become an investor?

I am a highly curious person and, as a VC investor, I have the opportunity to come across the next big thing every day. It excites me every morning to think about what will succeed, what constitutes a business and what is merely a feature. read more

Inside the Accelerator : Considered Capital

Are you seeking an alternative funding route for your impact-focused business? Then Considered Capital’s Alternative Funding School could be for you. 

In the last of our Inside the Accelerator series we speak with founder Esme Verity, who talks us through the six-week virtual cohort-based programme. Their focus is on providing practical insights and a supportive community, empowering entrepreneurs to navigate the diverse landscape of alternative funding sources. 

With over 97% of previous participants recommending the programme, this accelerator is revolutionizing the way startups approach fundraising, breaking away from the conventional VC mould, and encouraging founders to think outside the box for a funding fit that aligns with their values. Read on. read more

BehindTheRaise with Pantee

Tell us about what got you into startups:

A few years ago when myself (Katie) and my sister (Amanda) learned about the sheer amount of waste produced by the fashion industry, we knew we had to do something about it. So, we came up with the idea to launch Pantee – the world’s first underwear brand made from deadstock t-shirts. 

Raised remotely during the pandemic, we began bringing Pantee to life in late 2019 and after a year of research and product development we launched pre-orders on the crowdfunding platform, Kickstarter, in November 2020.  read more

Fundraising New Year’s Resolutions for Startups

Whilst we’ve seen some huge successes in terms of fundraising in the last year, it’s important to remember the companies that have been successful, not only have worked very hard and persisted to get there, they often have clever hacks and systems to help. 

As many of you are thinking about new year’s resolutions from a personal perspective, here are some recommendations for hacks, tips and processes that could improve your fundraising in 2022.  

Look after yourself to look after your startup   read more

Tips from the Top: Transitioning from founder to leader, how to be the one in five

In the next of our Tips from the Top series, we speak to Ed Lowther who leads The Soke’s Founders Development Programme, a first-of-its-kind course designed to provide vital knowledge, understanding and skills to founders at the helms of fast growth businesses.

When Harvard Business School spoke to its 141 HBS alumni who led start-ups, they asked: “What does someone who aspires to your role need to know?” The research revealed that of all the possible areas to focus on, there are two essential areas that over 80% of the group unanimously agreed on. read more

#SixtySecondStartUp with Society

Up next for #SixtySecondStartUp we have Matthew Billington, Co-founder of Society. Matthew noticed that student usage of Facebook was falling off a cliff and set up a startup to help student societies manage their members with their own branded apps.

What does Society do?

Society is your own branded community app in an instant. With over 1,700 clubs with group chats in over 217 Universities in the UK and worldwide, Society is now the fastest growing app at University for clubs and societies.

App features include push notifications direct to all your members for instant alerts and updates for events and announcements. It has your club’s calendar of events, an instant searchable network, personal profiles, direct messaging, group chats, free e-tickets and much, much more. And, it’s completely free for students.  read more

#SixtySecondStartUp with Alpaca Coffee

In this week’s #SixtySecondStartUp we catch up with Alpaca Coffee who are making ‘better coffee for you and the planet’:

A ceramic coffee mug is great for sipping hot drinks like tea or coffee, go to Spice Kitchen and Bar to take a look to the 11 Best Ceramic Coffee Mugs of 2022: Reviews & Top Picks.

  1. What does Alpaca Coffee do?

Alpaca Coffee looks to bring better coffee for you and the planet. We are working towards being UK’s first fully sustainable coffee brand by promoting sustainability at every touchpoint: read more

#SixtySecondStartUp with IBS Coach

Liamhl Asmall shares the story of IBS Coach, a digital dietary treatment for the 800 million people affected by IBS.

  1. What does your company do?

We help the 1 in 7 people who suffer from Irritable Bowel Syndrome to get instant and effective digital treatment from the phone in their pocket. It may come as a surprise, but IBS is one of the most common digestive conditions on the planet. It’s not life threatening and is still taboo (which is most likely why it’s been so overlooked for so many years), but it severely impacts relationships, work, travel, and ultimately, quality of life.

In one study patients with IBS were willing to give up 15.1 years of their remaining lives to achieve perfect health. People are desperately seeking a cure. read more

AIV Capital completes investment into meat alternatives business Eat Just Inc.

AIV Capital has announced investment into alternative food business, Eat Just Inc. Eat Just Inc develops and markets plant-based alternatives to conventionally-produced egg products. Founded in 2011 by Josh Tetrick, the San Francisco based business is reducing dependence on chickens and battery farms for egg production by creating a realistic and viable alternative from mung beans.

Eat Just Inc. has raised over $500Mn to date and will use its latest round of funding to continue to improve the unit economics of the business and to focus on international expansion outside of the US. It was announced recently that the key ingredient in its plant-based JUST Egg products received approval from the European Food Safety Authority’s (EFSA) expert panel on nutrition. This opens a pathway for the initial launch of JUST Egg to occur in Europe in mid-2022. Its high profile produce was also on the menu at Barack Obama’s recent 60th birthday. read more

BehindTheRaise with Paperclip

Rich Wooley is the CEO and founder of Paperclip, a challenger marketplace taking on eBay. Rich shares lessons from his fundraising in #BehindTheRaise: What’s the biggest thing he thinks investors look for? What would he do differently if he did it all again? And well, does AIN really work?

Tell us about what got you into start ups:

I’ve always had an entrepreneurial mindset – my first business was at school selling Big Red chewing gum that I imported from the US, it certainly made me more money than my paper round!

At university, my housemate, Alan, (later, co-founder) and I made good money importing clothes from the US and selling them on eBay, and we saw an opportunity there for a challenger marketplace to take on eBay’s monopoly. We shelved the idea at the time, and both went into our respective management consulting careers – but eventually I thought that if I didn’t do something entrepreneurial soon, I might never, so I took a career break and started attending startup events in London like AngelHack and London Startup Weekend. I pitched Paperclip, we came second place, and we got to work. read more

Four benefits of backing more diverse startup founders

The worldwide startup ecosystem is well established and growing strongly in many different territories. The success of Angel Investment Network in creating more connections between founders and investors globally is testament to that. However, while investment in startups has rebounded strongly after the worst of the pandemic, we can also follow this with an increase in funding for diverse startup founders. Why does this matter? Well, it’s not just about having better representation for the sake of it, important though this is, it actually also makes better sense commercially.

In the UK while just 5% of founding teams have two female founders, research has also shown that only 1% of venture-funded startups have black founders. It’s a similar picture in the USA, where according to Crunchbase, black startup entrepreneurs still received only a tiny fraction — 1.2 percent — of the $147 billion in venture capital invested in U.S. startups through the first half of the year.  To disrupt this, here are four reasons why we need to boost investment into more diverse founders. read more

#StartUpBuzz

Here’s our pick of companies raising investment on Angel Investment Network at the moment. 

From launching podcasts, to helping you select the most appropriate emobility solution, or a modular sofa that will actually fit through the front door, these are the startups that are solving meaningful problems with capable teams, and a clear route to market. 

Auddy 

Whilst starting a podcast may seem deceptively easy, actually launching it successfully, building a user base, maintaining growth and monetising it, are a lot easier said than done. That’s where Auddy comes into help.  read more