What we learnt helping 200 companies get investor ready.
We started our business in 2016, on a mission to make an impact on London’s fast-growing funding eco-system.
More than 200 clients later, a nomination for the ‘Best New Entrant to the Start-up Ecosystem’ award and many late nights, we wanted to share a few things we’ve learnt as we’ve helped our clients get their businesses (or ideas) ready to pitch:
The proposition and narrative matters: We often find that clients (regardless of whether they are a brand-new start-up or had several years of growth) struggle to package their business in a way that made sense for an investor. Investors are typically overwhelmed by the volume of pitches they receive, and often over-estimate their ability to identify great opportunities regardless of the way a pitch or business plan is structured. Building a narrative that is compelling, authentic, defensible and helps the business stand out from literally thousands of other pitches often makes all the difference.
Traction is critical: One of the biggest mistakes early stage companies make is over-valuing their business out of the starting gate, or assuming they’ll only ever do one huge initial funding round. The reality is usually more complicated. Having a realistic go-to-market and growth strategy (that can be defended) helps entrepreneurs and boards understand timelines, risks and wether they'll need additional funding (and when). This can also help manage investor expectations and provide them with a plan for achieving higher valuations later on.
Showcase strong management: Many entrepreneurs and leaders are notoriously bad at selling their skills and expertise, but a business is all about the people. Investors are looking for great people, who have the ability to execute. This can also help investors better measure and understand risk.
How do we help?
The Summerhill Group works with clients from tech, fintech, professional services, hospitality and other industries to help them get ready to raise funding from investors.
Our job is to help businesses get investor ready. Wether they are a start-up, early stage business or an established, growing company, we have a proven methodology and process for building compelling business cases, business plans and pitch materials.
You can view more about our services here, or contact us on 0203 468 1239 for more information.
