START-UP ADVICE

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START UP ADVICE
“STEPHEN’S GOAL IS TO BE THE NUMBER 1 PLACE FOR
START-UPS TO COME TO FOR SEED FUNDING.”
Which is great, but Stephen isn’t really
interested in his companies failing, he’s
interested in helping them to succeed.
Beginning 5 years ago with UPAD, the
online lettings agency, and Emoov,
the online estate agency, he has since
brought together a stable of around
20 highly promising companies which
qualify for SEIS status, interviewing
founders, conducting due diligence, and
now providing mentoring, contacts, and
investment through the Fund he is a
partner in.
Stephen and Innvotec, his fund manager
partner, are acutely aware of the need
to provide a blend of investment to
help hedge risk and provide peace of
mind, and thus Start-up funding club
has 3 channels through which it helps
companies find investment. Firstly, they
invest via the fund, secondly, they run
events, such as the networking event
held last night at Private Members
club Home House (both Stephen
and Angelica look remarkably fresh,
considering), and finally through Angel
investment, many of whom are to be
found at Funding club events. The next
ones are at Home House again, (15.09),
Century Club (23.09), and the Arts Club
on Dover Street (01.10), by the way.
The fund, called Funding Alpha is
regulated and can invest on behalf of
High Net Worth individuals, although
SEIS relief is capped at £100k per
person. Funding Alpha takes 30% of
investment gains after distributing the
initial investment to shareholders, and
charges the minimum management
fee of 1.5% p.a. The management are
hands on, but with a light touch, allowing
founders to follow their instincts and
grow their businesses organically, just
the way Stephen likes to operate. He
says he needs to be clear about 2 things:
how the cash is spent, and where the
sales and revenues are coming from.
The products on offer tend to speak for
themselves, he observes.
Stephen’s goal is to be the number 1
place for start-ups to come to for seed
funding, and it’s a big, open tent, which
welcomes founders of all ages, and
from all walks of life. He and his team
accept that not every Company will
succeed, but the spread of investment
is impressive, from future Tech, to the
arts, musicals, social ventures, cosmetics,
food and many others besides. The exit
strategy timeframe is officially 3-5 years,
but it’s negotiable. The goal is to create
sustainable, successful, companies
which deliver value for investors.
Stephen knows the game inside out, he’s
the role model, mentor and friend every
start-up needs.
And so to Angelika, who knows better
than most what it is like to work with
Stephen. Well-travelled, ambitious, and
with 1 start-up already under her belt,
Angelika is the miss fix-it of the Start-up
Funding Club, arranging the events,
running the office and managing 4
handpicked interns, who are learning on
the job, primed for success. Angelika is
somebody who has followed her dream,
from Poland to Kings Cross, via Spain,
the Czech Republic, Belgium, Monte
Carlo and Italy.
It was watching “Dragons Den” and
reading about Duncan Bannatyne and
co, that finally convinced her to try
London, and perhaps it’s appropriate
that she first met Stephen at the “Lions
Cage” pitching event. They met for
coffee, she showed no fear, and soon
convinced Stephen that she was the
right choice for the Funding Club. That
was 6 months ago, and she has been
instrumental in setting up a pipeline of
business opportunities from known and
trusted sources.
Reading between the lines, Stephen
and Angelika are not short of business
partners, and keeping them all happy
is exactly the kind of job they both
relish. They are problem solvers,
with “an endless list” of things to do,
now they have “bedded down” the
Company, moving it swiftly from infancy
to maturity. You’d have to get up very
early in the morning to fool these two.
Failure just isn’t in their nature. Business,
entrepreneurship, leadership, on the
other hand, most definitely are.
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