Dealroom data shared by Sifted shows funding for UK tech fell to $18.4bn in 2023 from $31.3bn in 2022 and from $41bn in 2021. Described as being a ‘sobering year’ for UK tech, following the post-Covid boom, 2023 was hard for fundraising and 2024 will likely be the same.
Factors such as inflation, the cost-of-living crisis, 运营成本的增加和市场的波动影响了可用资金的水平.
But give up at your peril, 因为对于一个前途光明、潜力巨大的年轻企业来说，总有资金可用——即使筹集资金要困难得多.
To this end, 这是一个投资者的观点，它不遵循风投界各个角落不断兜售的通用建议……
1. 给自己打上品牌，而不仅仅是你的企业——风投记住的是人，他们并不总是记住创意
Most founders would rather let their business do the talking for them, preferring to let their story, mission statement or case studies sell their vision. But as our co-founder and Managing Partner David Foreman points out, investors are often buying into a person as much as they are an idea.
你与投资者的第一次互动不一定是在推销环境中. It may be a brief introduction; however, 如果投资者已经知道你是谁以及你在做什么，你给他们留下印象的机会就会大大提高, making it easier to pitch later down the line.
作为早期创始人生态系统的活跃成员，参加各种活动, 开始考虑你的在线形象，创造内容来激起投资者的兴趣. Treat your own personal brand as if you already have the funding you’re seeking; it will make you appear more backable.
2. 更残酷地利用你的时间，砍掉不重要的事情，加倍投入重要的事情
你很容易去参加每一场活动，并把剩下的一点时间花在和同一群人交往上. At some point, 你得问问自己哪些活动值得参加，哪些圈子值得参与. If these events are simply a social occasion and aren’t opening new doors, cut them, and focus on the events that have a reputation for benefitting founders.
Events aside, if you are early-stage, 你可能想把节省下来的额外时间花在申请加速器项目上, such as Baltic Ventures or the Exchange programme from Department. Alternatively, refine your pitch, 开展业务，或者(如果可能的话)安排与天使投资人面对面的会面, mentors or investment directors in a more informal setting, 在一群有着相同议程的人群中脱颖而出的压力更小.
3. 不要只关注投资后的六个月是什么样子，要为接下来的几年做好计划
所有投资者都有一个退出的时间表，以及他们期望开始看到回报的目标年份. For us, this tends to be between four and seven years, so when we’re assessing a business, we’re thinking far into the future. Yes, 不可避免地会有全球最大的博彩平台投资后资金最初如何使用的讨论, but you should be thinking about the long-term – what is your big vision? What territories will you be in? What does the team look like in 2028?
在推销时，你如何传达长期愿景对你的成功至关重要. Saying you want to be the next unicorn will not win you favour with an investor; plotting out how you plan to build and futureproof a growth-oriented business and weather potential headwinds can be the difference between getting what you want and your fundraising efforts dragging on.
Remember, as money tightens, investors become more selective and guarded with their cash, which heightens the need for evidence, reassurance and accurate forecasting. Your vision may sound impressive, and your IP may have a high level of defensibility, but your plans must be able to weather increased levels of scrutiny.
4. Put yourself in an investor’s shoes, 预测他们选择不投资和解决这些问题的原因
创始人最常犯的错误之一就是没有研究潜在的投资者. 下一个最常见的错误是快速浏览一下投资者的网站，然后在那里总结你的研究. In this tough fundraising environment, where money and opportunities are much more finite, 这种方法是不够的，只会给你一个表面的理解.
正如我们的投资总监路易丝•查普曼(Louise Chapman)所解释的那样:“创始人对我们的尽职调查应该和我们对他们的尽职调查一样多. Speak to companies within our portfolio, 了解我们超越金钱的方法，阅读我们的投资组合和投资手册，了解我们是谁以及我们是如何成为的.”
This isn’t just to make an investor feel special; it’s to help you get into their mind and understand – with complete clarity – what they are looking for in a business and what their investment appetite is for certain sectors.
设身处地地为投资者着想，可以让你在推介前找出需要解决的问题. For example, 如果你(从研究和与其他创始人的交谈中)知道某个投资者青睐那些有强大案例研究和可靠回报记录的企业, 你可能要考虑等到你有了这些证据后再去推销, 或者寻求天使投资，如果投资者可能认为你还处于早期阶段.
最后，决定什么时候停止你正在做的事情，考虑改变策略
Venture capital isn’t the only investment route available to founders, 所以如果你已经向风投投了很长时间，但还没有取得任何进展, there is nothing wrong with changing tact, either by seeking debt, crowdfunding or another alternative investment route. Bootstrapping may have fallen out of fashion in recent years, but it can form resilient long-term habits that help you in tough times.
