‘A simple investment to get to somewhere quite extraordinary’

In this episode, Nick looks in detail at how to raise funding to scale up your business. He examines the various types of funding available exploring the opportunities and risks for your business at differing times in its development and growth.

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KEY TAKEAWAYS

Funding is important, you need it to fuel your growth, but you also need to make sure you have the fundamentals of your business in place so that growth is successful.

• Personal investment

If you have the money then investing it in yourself is the least stressful way to raise finance for your business.

You can also use the retained earnings from your business to fuel the growth of the business.

You will have to achieve a balance, such as not paying yourself so much, or leveraging so much. You are taking a shorter amount of pain for something that is more compelling for you financially in the longer term.

• Friends and family

Often if you are at an early stage with a fantastic idea that you think will get wider investment from a community, later on, then you can look for an investment that will be developing proof of concept.

This is a way of driving entrepreneurship and innovation through the system.

You are going to people you know for investment in your business idea and often that is at an earlier stage in your business.

• Angels

This is usually a high net individual or consortium. These are people who have been successful in their careers and business and want to put their money directly into ideas. You may not know the angel, but you are pitching for them to invest directly in your business.

Angels are looking for quite large returns from investing in clever ideas and it can become a tax efficient way for them to drive investment.

Across Angels and Venture Capital you are often giving up a percentage of the business to secure the investment you require.

• Venture Capital

You must be well aware of what you are going into as you are getting a significant injection of capital so you can realise your idea.

Venture Capital investors are looking for fast growth and quick returns and this can be stressful but if you are prepared and need that amount of investment then they are a good option to consider.

• Business Accelerators

These can sometimes be government or state-funded when a nation is trying to drive growth in a particular area. They are often suited to early stages and can be part of a suite of support offered to businesses who are just starting up.

• Crowd Funding

This works well if you have a strong brand or something unique, interesting and topical in the niche you are trying to serve because that is where you will get productive groundswell.

• Government Grants

These are a great option as you often don’t have to pay them back however they can be subject to matched funding by you and the application process can be very involved.

• Debt

Most small businesses will use loans as a way of scaling their business.

If borrowing is low you can leverage debt to grow your business effectively.

• How you put yourself in the best possible place to secure investment

The person

The most important thing is the person their clarity, conviction and vision when speaking with potential investors.

The pitch

The pitch is about what you are why are there and how you are going to create value. Often it’s the pitch that enables you to inspire them so that they can buy into your energy.

The business plan

This is where you will talk about the current state to the desired state for your business. You need to demonstrate a good understanding of the market, of where you are now and where you want to be and explain how compelling the numbers are.

Raising funding for your business is important depending on where you are but it's important to recognise it’s not a panacea or something that you have to achieve it in a dramatic way.

 

BEST MOMENTS

‘A simple investment to get to somewhere quite extraordinary’

‘They were buying into me, the rest of it was important but it was me as a person’

‘Sometimes a portfolio of investment into your business is the best option’

‘It’s how you are realising a capital event and creating your own wealth’

‘Drive growth and aspirations for you and your business’

‘Don’t do anything that is going to get you in an onerous position, get the amount of money you need in the right structure to fuel growth’

‘If you are trying to grow your business it’s not a lack of resources it’s a lack of resourcefulness that can hold you back’

‘In many cases, you would be paying that sort of money in tax anyway’

‘That’s where you show you have the winning team’

‘It takes the person on the other side of the table to another place’

ABOUT THE HOST

Nick Bradley is a renowned entrepreneur, investor, speaker, and business growth expert.

His background is growing and scaling Venture Capital and Private Equity backed businesses globally. Over the last decade, he has completed 117 acquisitions and 25 business exits with a combined valuation of over $5bn dollars.

His mission is to help business founders build valuable businesses and create life-changing exits so they can realise freedom, wealth, and impact. 

CONTACT METHOD

Nick’s Facebook page: https://scaleup.vip/FB  
Nick’s LinkedIn: https://scaleup.vip/LI  
Nick's Instagram: https://scaleup.vip/IG  
Scale Up Your Business, coaching/consulting: https://suyb.global

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