P | P | P – Advice on Gaining Investment

As part of article series ‘Product | People | Potential’ we have interviewed many fantastic UK start-ups and scale-ups, all with a wealth of knowledge and experience to share.

Here, we’ve rounded-up some of the best ‘Investment Wisdom’ advice from the series to date, that we hope will be helpful and inspiring.

Jenny @ Ferryx Ltd: I think the best piece of advice that I heard, and I have certainly used, it to talk to anybody who will listen. Have your elevator pitch in your head and talk to everyone, because you never know who might be able to open a door for you. Don’t be shy!
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Edo @ Pockit Diagnostics: One lesson that we learnt is that cold calling hardly ever works! What I would suggest to new entrepreneurs who are starting a new company, would be to chase other people who have raised money. Start building your network of people that have raised money and have contacts with investors, build relationships with them and use opportunities for ‘warm’ introductions to investors. Also, based on their experience, find out who the investors are that could best support your needs, not all investors are the same.

The other important aspect with regard to investment is more of an attitude; that not everyone is going to like you, not everyone is going to like your idea, but keep going! Take what you can from each meeting, ask for feedback, and move on.
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Henri @ The Conscious Fund: Get investment early! The earlier you buy in to a legitimate investment the better. The reality is that most investors go in very late in the cycle.

There is no piece of advice that is going to obviate the need for hard work and good investment.
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Science & Innovation Product | People | Potential features the UK’s most inspirational start-up and scale-up stories about growth and success within Science & Innovation. View all interviews