Startup Stage 3

Stage 3: Focus on growth

The assumption here is that demand is beginning to pick-up and creating the right balance of  resources to meet customers needs is a growing imperative.

Flexible space is important. West London has many providers in addition to those mentioned before, such as the new  ClubWorkspace (club.workspacegroup.co.uk) at the Barley Mow Centre which provides a collaborative environment within a building with a reputation for creative and innovative companies; A similar community is found at the Ugli building (ugli.lovelyinside.com). Other local offices we are aware of are at Workspace, Chiswick500 and Chiswick Park (www.enjoy-work.com).

In a ‘normal’ world finance needs will more likely be resolved through cash flows and the bank. However access to other sources may be preferred in order to facilitate growth. In addition to those mentioned in Stage 2 consideration can be given to:

1. Crowdsourcing of debt for small and medium sized enterprises is an option through a site such as (www.fundingcircle.com) (for amounts from around £25-200K, with terms of 1-5 years).
2. A sale of equity to a venture capital business, preferably one with access to significant advice and knowledge in your chosen market. There are many VC’s many of whom specialise in specific areas. We have contacts with several, contact Patrick at ( This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it. )
3. Angel investors could also be sought. The number of Angel networks is proliferating in the current entrepreneurial environment, no doubt stimulated in part by the quite generous EIS and new SEIS (Seed Enterprise Investment Scheme) see: http://www.hmrc.gov.uk/eis/ and http://www.hmrc.gov.uk/seedeis/index.htm
   
4. A good Angel is one who has expertise in your markets, is prepared to roll their sleeves up and get involved (when asked), and is available when you want them to be. Such Angel Networks as they are termed can be expensive (upfront fee, 5% of funds raised and 7 year options) and the time taken to close finance lengthy.
5. VC and Angel ‘sidecar’. A situation where a VC organisation will provide a portion of the finance because they are confident that the Angel(s) who are  getting involved will enhance the investment potential.
6. Sale of a stake to another corporate that is looking to diversify and which has expertise in your markets and/or an overlap of customers.

The biggest challenge at the current time seems to be for companies that need to raise £50-£500K. Investment organisations often want to invest more than this amount as the work involved in a small investment is as much as a large one and the risks of failure are larger.

Anyone who is interested in helping to create an Angel Investor network in the TVTriangle area should contact Patrick on This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.