The Startup Story

Helena Murphy, founder of Raising Partners

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About this episode

My guest this week is Helena Murphy, founder of Raising Partners. Raising Partners is an investing firm seeking to make it easier for startups to raise early-stage capital. They do this through expert guidance and direct connections with her wide network of investors.

Helena, and the Raising Partners team, boast a 98% success rate on fully managed campaigns. They have helped brands like Thread, Equipsme, Penfold and many raise about $41 million, or £30 millions for my UK listeners.

You and I both know, or have at least heard, that there is money out there to be had and is ready to invest. Yet there are also tens of thousands of startups pitching their decks hoping to get a chance to pitch in person. Well, much like anything else in this world, who you know truly does matter. And Helena has built a business around helping startups and making introductions to those that she knows and the network is extensive.

In this episode, you'll hear:
  • Helena shares how she grew up in a small town in Glasgow from a working-class family. Her parents had split when she was young and she didn’t experience entrepreneurship until she was older.
  • Helena shares how she has always been driven to do better and at the age of 8 knew that she wanted to study at St Andrew’s University. She worked from a young age to save up and to be able to support her dream and when she found out she got in she left her small town.
  • At University she did a degree in Sustainable Development and in her final year she had her first entrepreneurial experience though Entrepreneurial Scotland. With this, she had the opportunity to go to America and work in a startup. This sparked her entrepreneurial interest and when she returned home she knew she wanted to start her own startup. Helena started an Ecommerce business selling sustainable clothing.
  • She shares how she made multiple mistakes which lead to the company folding. This took a toll on her mental and physical health but she quickly picked herself up and was determined once again to find the root of the problem. Helena spent 12 months speaking to investors about why the company failed and how she could have prevented it. The answer was that she didn’t know how to keep track of the bottom line data and numbers.
  • Helena shared how she took this information and started to help other people with their startups for free, then with the vast amount of clients approaching her for her help she was able to monetize the business. With this, her company organically grew through word and mouth.
  • She shares how Raising Partners is helping startups in all areas of investment, from creating exciting and informative pitch decks to understanding why investors don’t invest.
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    The Startup StoryBy James McKinney