Unless you come up with a business idea that’s fuelled entirely by viral marketing and requires no staff or premises, you’re going to need external investment in order to grow it. TV shows such as Dragons’ Den paint an intimidating picture of the investment process but provided you’ve produced a solid business plan, and can demonstrate a scalable business proposition, raising finance is a challenge you should be able to rise to. Based on their experiences of securing investment, CEOs from NESTA’s portfolio have shared their tips on securing business capital.
"Networks are everything. We were very lucky to have contacts that helped us piece together a team very early on that was well-connected in the investment community. I didn't know people too well in the regional investment space but through these connections I was able to get in touch with investors. It helps to get a personal introduction and be steered towards the right person as you can spend a lot of time knocking on the wrong doors."
"There is an element of luck involved. We took more money than we thought we needed, but ended up needing it. You tend to require more money than you think you'll need so it's useful to get a bit more."
"We didn't raise finance until we had revenue which made it easier. It meant investors could talk to customers and it validated that the product worked. If you can, put the effort into winning that first customer and show there's a need for your product. Then you can use the investment to really accelerate the business' growth."
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Nesta Operating Company, a company limited by guarantee registered in England and Wales with company number 7706036 and charity number 1144091. Registered as a charity in Scotland number SC042833.
