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We talk with Mark, a Dutch angel investor in the Algarve, about how his group backs pre-seed startups in southern Portugal and why sustainability and regional impact drive their decisions. We also unpack what founders get wrong in pitch decks, how AI changes investor evaluation, and why revenue and team quality beat inflated market claims at the earliest stage. 

• how Sotavento Angels invests in the Algarve with €75k to €150k tickets 
• why sustainability and Faro University partnerships shape the thesis 
• what “archangel” ownership looks like inside an investor syndicate 
• portfolio examples across healthtech, food innovation, and algae protein 
• the reality of Portuguese public funding schemes and compliance demands 
• real estate culture and legal perceptions that affect foreign investment 
• building a south Portugal startup ecosystem with accelerators and community 
• linking Portugal to London through university networks and demo nights 
• entrepreneurship as social mobility and a focus on female founders 
• why team, data access, and early revenue matter more than TAM slides 

Connect with Mark https://www.linkedin.com/in/mark-p-haaksman-76512

More about the fund https://www.sotaventoinvest.pt

Scribe
Find and connect with angel investors in the UK

Founded by Rob Cossins

Revolut
Business banking from Revolut

SeedLegals
The platform for Startup Legals including SEIS Advance Assurance.

Virtual Incubation at Canopy
Virtual Incubation for new and emerging Founders. Zero to One.

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Note: you can also watch these episodes on youtube.com/@canopycommunity617 

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We talk with Matt O’Donovan about what it really takes to sell a tech business, then switch viewpoints to what he looks for when investing as a UK angel. We dig into due diligence, founder integrity, SEIS and EIS, and the big open question of exits as AI reshapes software. 

• Matt’s path from telecoms to building Spark Wi-Fi and exiting during Covid 
• What surprised him most in financial due diligence and how to defend your numbers 
• Why hype and “hockey stick” forecasts damage trust with acquirers 
• How angel investors assess founders first, then market, product and competition 
• Investing at pre-revenue versus waiting for traction and why AI changes the risk 
• When SEIS and EIS matter and why they are not the core strategy 
• Why meeting founders in person still matters even with remote work 
• How efficient, automated businesses become more attractive acquisition targets 
• The human unpredictability inside deals and why there is no one formula 
• Best advice to first-time founders: answer the investor’s why with honesty and purpose 

Scribe
Find and connect with angel investors in the UK

Founded by Rob Cossins

Virtual Incubation at Canopy
Virtual Incubation for new and emerging Founders. Zero to One.

SeedLegals
The platform for Startup Legals including SEIS Advance Assurance.

Revolut
Business banking from Revolut

#TRIBE
Community Membership at Canopy

Disclaimer: This post contains affiliate links. If you make a purchase, I may receive a commission at no extra cost to you.

Note: you can also watch these episodes on youtube.com/@canopycommunity617 

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We sit down with Michael McDowell from Seed Legals to talk about making early-stage fundraising faster, cleaner, and less mentally draining for founders and funds. We dig into Northern Ireland’s startup ecosystem, the reality of SEIS and EIS rounds, and where AI can remove admin without replacing human judgement. 
• why Northern Ireland produces resilient founders and strong university spin-outs 
• Michael’s path from commercial roles to crowdfunding and legal tech 
• teaching early-stage basics through Raise Ventures like cap tables and term sheets 
• when shutting down early and returning cash can be the most mature move 
• what Seed Legals handles across SEIS and EIS documentation and compliance 
• how funds use the platform for term sheets, negotiation, signatures, and cap table updates 
• AI support for founder questions using up-to-date HMRC and Companies House guidance 
• why speed matters most at the exact moment founders need to build and sell 
• the shift in the market towards traction, efficiency, and revenue focus 
But come on to your platform and it'll explain it all beautifully and it'll become perfectly clear.

SeedLegals
The platform for Startup Legals including SEIS Advance Assurance.

Scribe
Find and connect with angel investors in the UK

Founded by Rob Cossins

Revolut
Business banking from Revolut

#TRIBE
Community Membership at Canopy

Disclaimer: This post contains affiliate links. If you make a purchase, I may receive a commission at no extra cost to you.

Note: you can also watch these episodes on youtube.com/@canopycommunity617 

Send us a text

Oli from Fuel Ventures unpacks the firm's investment strategy across their pre-seed and seed funds, sharing his personal "Venture Playbook" that guides their decision-making process. He reveals counterintuitive insights about founder profiles and what makes a business truly "VC-able" in today's funding landscape.

• Fuel Ventures operates two vehicles: a pre-seed fund (30-40 deals yearly at £250k max) and their flagship seed fund (10-12 deals yearly at £1-2.5 million)
• Their investment remit covers marketplaces, platforms and SaaS model businesses across B2B and B2C sectors
• Oli's "Venture Playbook" includes eight rules developed through investment experience, including avoiding "mediocre founders with good ideas" and requiring total founder commitment
• Previously successful founders often make better investments as they can take bigger risks without worrying about basic financial security
• Fuel Ventures prefers observation rights over board seats to better allocate resources across their portfolio
• Not all businesses are "VC-able" - venture funding requires potential for £50-100M+ in annual revenue and comfort with burning capital
• Different funding sources (angels, corporate ventures, VCs) have fundamentally different expectations and criteria for investment

Know what you're trying to achieve before approaching investors. Save yourself time and effort by understanding if your business truly matches what VCs are looking for or if another funding path might be more appropriate.

Virtual Incubation at Canopy
Virtual Incubation for new and emerging Founders. Zero to One.

#TRIBE
Community Membership at Canopy

Scribe
Find and connect with angel investors in the UK

Founded by Rob Cossins

Revolut
Business banking from Revolut

SeedLegals
The platform for Startup Legals including SEIS Advance Assurance.

Disclaimer: This post contains affiliate links. If you make a purchase, I may receive a commission at no extra cost to you.

Note: you can also watch these episodes on youtube.com/@canopycommunity617

Send us a text

Cintia, CEO of Core Angels, shares insights into how angel investing communities can democratize early-stage investing while providing powerful frameworks for investment decisions.

• Core Angels operates 14 angel funds where investors pool capital and make collective decisions about startup investments
• Their book "Angel Investing Explained" aims to break down misconceptions and bring more women into angel investing
• Women investors typically gather comprehensive information before investing while men often learn through direct experience
• When evaluating startups, the market potential and founding team quality are the two most critical factors
• Team dynamics must be complementary with clear distribution of responsibilities across technology, sales, and product
• AI is enabling founders to accomplish more with smaller teams but human judgment remains essential
• Secondary cities offer promising startup ecosystems with potentially more reasonable valuations
• Entrepreneurship serves as a powerful tool for social mobility and regional development
• Education is evolving toward experiential learning and human-centric capabilities
• First-time founders should carefully consider whether external investment aligns with their goals

Connect with Cintia to learn more about angel investing and Core Angels' community approach to early-stage funding.

#TRIBE
Community Membership at Canopy

Virtual Incubation at Canopy
Virtual Incubation for new and emerging Founders. Zero to One.

Scribe
Find and connect with angel investors in the UK

Founded by Rob Cossins

Revolut
Business banking from Revolut

Disclaimer: This post contains affiliate links. If you make a purchase, I may receive a commission at no extra cost to you.

Note: you can also watch these episodes on youtube.com/@canopycommunity617

Send us a text

Ben Cooper, co-founder of Angel Investors Bristol and director of Tech Southwest, shares insights on building the largest angel investment network in Southwest England and redirecting capital to support regional tech innovation.

• Angel Investors Bristol formed in 2023, now has 150 members and has completed 10 investments
• The group receives 30-40 investment applications monthly but can only fund about two companies
• Current market conditions have shifted investments toward later-stage companies with existing revenue
• Average investments range from £50,000 to £200,000 at valuations of around £3-4 million
• 85% of angel investment from Southwest investors currently goes to companies outside the region
• Key investment criteria include market opportunity and strength of founding team
• New angel networks are launching across the Southwest including North Devon, Cornwall, and Cheltenham
• Founders need commercial capabilities alongside technical skills to be successful
• Self-awareness about personal limitations and team gaps is critical for startup success

To apply for funding, visit www.angelinvestorsbristol.co.uk and follow the application process through the founders page.

#TRIBE
Community Membership at Canopy

Scribe
Find and connect with angel investors in the UK

Founded by Rob Cossins

Virtual Incubation at Canopy
Virtual Incubation for new and emerging Founders. Zero to One.

Revolut
Business banking from Revolut

Disclaimer: This post contains affiliate links. If you make a purchase, I may receive a commission at no extra cost to you.

Note: you can also watch these episodes on youtube.com/@canopycommunity617

Send us a text

Drew Ellis joins us from South Devon to share his entrepreneurial journey from designing iconic album covers for stars like Radiohead and Pink Floyd to running Eye to Eye Capital, a funding firm focused on projects aligned with the UN's Sustainable Development Goals.

• Started as an art student working with Hypnosis, the famous design company behind Dark Side of the Moon
• Founded Icon, a record sleeve design agency with clients including Robert Plant, David Gilmour, and ABBA
• Sold his first business in 1989 to a UK print company looking for creative capabilities 
• Left corporate life after his board responded to his internet proposal with "the internet's a fad"
• Now runs Eye to Eye Capital, providing debt funding for sustainable projects
• Works with philanthropic funds offering 10-year interest-free loans that convert to grants
• Personal investment philosophy centers on understanding the product and trusting the people involved
• Currently considering investing in a South Devon rum company
• Key advice for founders: build resilience gradually and research potential investors carefully
• Emphasizes the importance of the founder-investor relationship: "You've got to like them"

#TRIBE
Community Membership at Canopy

Virtual Incubation at Canopy
Virtual Incubation for new and emerging Founders. Zero to One.

Scribe
Find and connect with angel investors in the UK

Founded by Rob Cossins

Revolut
Business banking from Revolut

Disclaimer: This post contains affiliate links. If you make a purchase, I may receive a commission at no extra cost to you.

Note: you can also watch these episodes on youtube.com/@canopycommunity617

Send us a text

Renato shares his journey as an investor in the clean energy space, bringing his unique perspective from corporate venture capital, pan-European investment, and angel investing experiences.

• Background in engineering with over 10 years in clean energy investment
• Energy sector facing multiple challenges: decarbonization, affordability, reliability, and availability
• Team importance varies by stage - critical in early stages, less dominant as companies mature
• Different investment vehicles require different approaches but always treated with the same ownership mentality
• Energy investments more challenging due to physical nature - "electrons and molecules are not bytes"
• Building trust requires putting yourself in others' shoes and understanding their position
• Successful exits require careful investor selection and managing expectations about potential failures
• Best advice for first-time founders: balance incorporating feedback while staying true to your vision

#TRIBE
Community Membership at Canopy

Virtual Incubation at Canopy
Virtual Incubation for new and emerging Founders. Zero to One.

Scribe
Find and connect with angel investors in the UK

Founded by Rob Cossins

Revolut
Business banking from Revolut

Disclaimer: This post contains affiliate links. If you make a purchase, I may receive a commission at no extra cost to you.

Note: you can also watch these episodes on youtube.com/@canopycommunity617

Send us a text

Marwa shares her unique perspective as both a former founder and current investment analyst at Hatch VC, providing insider insights into what early-stage investors truly look for in B2B SaaS startups.

• Hatch VC backs B2B SaaS startups at SEIS and EIS stages, founded by successful entrepreneurs who've exited multiple businesses
• 72% of Hatch's portfolio companies successfully raise follow-on funding
• Three key criteria: founders solving deep pains, clearly defined customer personas, and experienced teams with industry knowledge
• Evidence trumps talk - successful founders provide proof of traction through signed contracts, POCs, and quantifiable metrics
• Multi-founder teams outperform solo founders who often struggle with burnout and lack of distributed responsibilities
• First-time founders should recognize investors back the person as much as the idea
• View investor meetings as learning opportunities, not just funding pitches
• Building the right community of advisors, co-founders and supporters is crucial for the entrepreneurial journey

If you're building a B2B SaaS startup and looking for investment, connect with Marwa at Hatch VC to explore how they partner with founders to scale from zero to over a million in ARR.

#TRIBE
Community Membership at Canopy

Virtual Incubation at Canopy
Virtual Incubation for new and emerging Founders. Zero to One.

Scribe
Find and connect with angel investors in the UK

Founded by Rob Cossins

Disclaimer: This post contains affiliate links. If you make a purchase, I may receive a commission at no extra cost to you.

Note: you can also watch these episodes on youtube.com/@canopycommunity617

Want to demystify the world of early-stage investments? Promise no more: this episode unpacks the labyrinth of SEIS and EIS tax relief and early-stage tech investment as we sit with Ed, an Investment Manager at SFC Capital. A fund that's not afraid to make bold moves, SFC Capital specializes in supporting startups from a variety of sectors, closing deals with the speed of a cheetah, and even offering follow-on funding to a select 10% of their portfolio companies each year.

Dive headfirst into the discussion as we uncover the secret sauce that makes or breaks an application at SFC Capital. How does their scoring system work? What does the ideal candidate look like? Ed shares his valuable insights on the key factors that influence SFC Capital's investment decisions - from the importance of a solid team composition to a steadfast commitment to the business and well-researched market analysis. We also get a peek into Ed's journey into investment, his personal criteria for choosing businesses to bank on, and his knack for spotting successful founders.

But it's not all about the start - what happens when it's time to make the shift from the initial stages to the later ones? We discuss the challenges of navigating late-stage investor expectations, the crucial need for a viable business model, and the undeniable importance of cash flow for success. Get a word of advice or two about early-stage investment strategies and tips, and learn about the thrill of finding the right investors, the role of luck in investment success, and the time it takes for returns to materialize. We also touch upon exciting developments in the space, including the potential of a secondary market to turbocharge investment and a novel fund designed to provide liquidity for founders. Time to sharpen your investment acumen with insights straight from the horse's mouth - tune in now!

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Note: you can also watch these episodes on youtube.com/@canopycommunity617