This episode is our usual year-end panel. An all-star group of experts get together to discuss what happened in 2024 and the prospects for 2024. This year, Christiana Stewart-Lockhart, Director General of the EIS Assocation; Kealan Doyle, CEO & Director of Symvan Capital and Ewoud Karelse, Specialist-Product at Evelyn Partners bring their knowledge and insight.

In a wide ranging discussion we talk about:

• fundraising in 2024
• the effect of the budget and how it has brought a focus on tax rather than investment
• performance of the underlying funds
• how EIS has become more attractive for IHT planning
• the effect on the market of the changes in SEIS limits
• how closing deals is taking longer
• valuations and the availability of funding
• exit activity
• how AI and climatetech are still popular
• looking forward to 2025

As usual, the panel bring a lot of knowledge and insights. 2024 was an eventful year so listen and find out what it all means for investors and advisers.

00:50 Introductions from Christiana, Kealan and Ewoud

03:00 how has fundraising been

08:00 the effect of the budget

12:00 the focus on tax rather than investment in 2024

15:30 performance of the underlying funds

19:00 increased attraction EIS for IHT planning

24:00 the administration challenge

27:30 effect of SEIS limit changes on the market

31:50 EIS investing - length of time to close deals

36:00 valuations and down rounds, availability of funding

38:00 exit activity

47:30 hot sectors - AI

53:00 hot sectors - climatetech

59:30 looking forward to 2025

62:30 activity in the regions

66:15 Predictions for 2025

Links

EIS Assocation - https://eisa.org.uk/

Symvan Capital - https://www.symvancapital.com/

Evelyn Partners - https://www.evelyn.com/

Subscribe to the EIS Navigator podcast on most services here: https://the-eis-navigator.captivate.fm/listen

Bios

Kealan Doyle

Kealan is CEO and co-founder of Symvan Capital. He has worked with venture capital companies for 15 years, both in a corporate finance advisory capacity as well as a fund manager. He prefers to invest in a wide range of technology companies, but is also very interested in finding synergies within the Symvan portfolio of companies. Company interests include big data analytics, fintech, SaaS, 3D printing and network security. Before his involvement in venture capital investing, Kealan previously lead a structured equity products team at HSBC, and has worked at Deutsche Bank, Merrill Lynch and UBS. Together with Nicholas, he has since founded his own entrepreneurial businesses to focus on VC investing. Kealan holds degrees from the London School of Economics and the University of Toronto.

Christiana Stewart-Lockhart

Christiana Stewart-Lockhart is the Director General of the Enterprise Investment Scheme Association (EISA). She previously spent more than a decade working in Westminster including ten years at the Institute of Economic Affairs. She also founded EPICENTER, a Brussels based network of some of the most respected think tanks from across Europe. Christiana holds a BA in Politics from the University of York. She is a member of TISA’s Children’s Financial Education Policy Council and also sits on the Advisory Board for the All Party Parliamentary Group for Entrepreneurship.

Ewoud Karelse

Ewoud started his career in financial services with Allenbridge in 2000 and joined Towry Law in 2008 before joining Tilney in 2016, and Evelyn Partners in 2022. Ewoud is responsible for the research and selection of Venture Capital Trusts; (Seed) Enterprise Investment Schemes; Business Relief for Inheritance Tax Planning (AIM and non-AIM), and Social Investment Tax Relief products. He is also well versed in the use of Business Investment Relief for International clients.

Disclaimer

Please note this podcast/interview does not constitute a financial promotion and is provided for informational purposes and should not be construed as an invitation or offer to buy or sell any investments. Please be aware that investments into unquoted companies are high risk, long term and illiquid investments.  Your capital is at risk. Past performance is not a reliable indicator of future performance.  Target returns are not guaranteed and forward looking statements are illustrative only and must not be relied upon. Investors should only invest on the basis of reading the full offer documentation.

Tom Wilde helped start and now heads up the EIS and VCT tax practice at Shoosmiths. He has seen a wide range legal issues founders, companies and investors make when setting up and receiving EIS or VCT investment. He pulled together some for a recent presentation and we get him to expand on them.

In a wide ranging discussion we talk about:

• starting the right way
• the independent investor rule
• raising SEIS and EIS funds together
• the challenges that buybacks present
• doing subsidiaries correctly
• the types of shares that can be used
• the current state of the EIS and VCT market
• mental health in the workplace

The Shoosmiths practice is deeply involved in EIS, giving Tom great experience and knowledge. Take advantage of that here!

00:40 Tom introduces himself

01:35 what Shoosmiths does in EIS

03:40 starting the right way

04:10 need to use a new company

06:10 get founder shareholdings right

08:00 independent investor rule

11:20 raising SEIS and EIS funds together

13:45 risks of buybacks and losing tax reliefs

19:10 changing trades

25:10 getting subsidiaries right

29:15 types of shares that can be used

33:50 do the rules work effectively?

38:50 state of the market

42:15 current challenges for companies

47:10 favourite questions - mental health discussion

Links

Tom on Shoosmiths website - https://www.shoosmiths.com/people/cvdetails/tom-wilde

Tom on LinkedIn - https://www.linkedin.com/in/tomwildeshoosmiths/

Subscribe to the EIS Navigator podcast on most services here: https://the-eis-navigator.captivate.fm/listen

Suggested books and media

A Path Through the Jungle by Steve Peters

Bio

Tom Wilde

Partner, Shoosmiths

Tom is the head of Shoosmiths’ EIS tax practice. Tom is one of the UK’s leading experts in this field and has extensive experience advising a wide range of investors and investee companies on structuring and implementing tax efficient investments, reorganisations and exits in compliance with the EIS regime. Tom is also a qualified Chartered Tax Adviser, a member of the EIS Association’s Tax and Technical Committee, and a member of the QCA’s Tax Expert Group.

James Segal cofounded finance-as-a-service house Fin--house and has seen the inside of many startups. His post on 24 founder fails caught my eye, so we asked him onto the podcast to discuss them in more detail.

In a wide ranging discussion we talk about:

• scaling too quickly
• forgetting about accounts receivable
• the importance of modelling and stress testing
• confusing cash flow with profit
• over-optimising for short-term gains
• misinterpreting break-even point
• misreading profit margins
• what James sees in companies when he starts with them
• when you need a CFO

James's experience from working with many small companies means he has seen all of these and more so he brings great insights. Enjoy!

00:56 James introduces himself

02:00 what Fin-house does

04:50 scaling too quickly

06:30 forgetting about accounts receivable

10:00 importance of modelling and stress testing / scenario planning

14:15 confusing cashflow with profit

17:20 over-optimising for short-term gains

23:45 misinterpreting break-even point

28:00 elasticity of CAC

30:45 misreading profit margins

34:00 how are companies when you first go in to them

40:00 difference between a CFO and financial controller

44:00 when do you need a CFO?

49:20 favourite questions

Links

Fin-house - https://fin-house.co.uk/

James on LinkedIn - https://www.linkedin.com/in/james-segal/

24 founder fails (LinkedIn) - https://www.linkedin.com/posts/james-segal_24-founder-finance-fails-activity-7254107025771565056-vZeO?utm_source=share&utm_medium=member_desktop

Subscribe to the EIS Navigator podcast on most services here: https://the-eis-navigator.captivate.fm/listen

Suggested books and media

Good to Great by Jim Collins

Bio

James Segal

Co-founder, Fin-house

James Segal is the co-founder of Fin-House, a company specialising in providing flexible, in-house finance teams tailored to the needs of startups, scaleups, and SMEs. Founded in 2021, Fin-House supports businesses through their growth journey by delivering finance functions that evolve alongside them, integrating seamlessly into their operations.

Prior to starting Fin-House, James held finance leadership roles at Benchmark Sport International, Decathlon, and SynergyMode. He is a Chartered Accountant with the ICAEW and holds a BSc in Accounting and Finance from the University of Leeds.

When an fund manager jumps into a new area, its always tempting to ask why. Blackfinch Ventures has launched a fund focussing on the energy transition, we asked Head of Ventures Reuben Wilcock back on the podcast to discuss it.

In a wide ranging discussion we talk about:

• what the energy transition is and why he thinks its attractive
• how he chose the themes to look at
• whether the pace of change in the economy is fast enough
• whether there are enough investments
• the role of strategic investors and their commitment
• prioritising returns over impact
• applications in industry and storage
• translating science into a good business
• the challenge of sequencing
• finding appropriate metrics
• investor interest in environmental investments

Although this is a known area, it is interesting to get the perspective of a new entrant who has analysed the market and found it attractive. There's lots of insights as usual from Reuben - enjoy!

01:00 Reuben introduces himself

03:00 introduction to Blackfinch Investments

04:45 what is energy transition and why chosen

08:10 choosing the themes within that

09:00 whether the pace of change is fast enough?

11:50 are there adequate investments in the sector

15:30 commitment of strategic investors

17:45 concern over prioritising impact over returns

21:20 what other themes he is seeing

25:30 science that makes a good business

27:10 prevalence of secondaries

29:20 technology dependence and sequencing

34:00 energy storage

40:40 appropriate metrics

42:00 investor interest and demand in environmental areas

47:10 favourite questions

Links

Blackfinch - https://www.blackfinch.com/

Blackfinch Ventures - https://blackfinch.ventures/

Subscribe to the EIS Navigator podcast on most services here: https://the-eis-navigator.captivate.fm/listen

Suggested books and media

Working Backwards by Colin Bryar & Bill Carr

Bio

Reuben Wilcock

Head of Ventures, Blackfinch Ventures

Reuben’s expertise in advising early stage companies has developed through a background spanning academia, technology start-ups and start-up acceleration. He has founded or co-founded four technology start-ups including Joulo, a smart home energy spinout which won the 2013 British Gas Connected Homes award and was acquired by Quby in 2014, and Bar Analytics, an IoT start-up that enables global brands to monitor beer quality and sales.

With a PhD in Electronics, Reuben has extensive product design experience with deep technical knowledge of hardware, software and manufacturing. He is an inventor on five patents and named author on over 45 peer reviewed publications ranging from integrated circuit design to genetic algorithms. Before joining Blackfinch, Reuben was a leading figure in entrepreneurship at the University of Southampton where he sat on its IP Panel for five years, guiding the commercialisation of research innovations through licensing and spinouts.

Reuben is a Royal Academy of Engineering award winning entrepreneur, and the lifetime membership that affords has offered visibility of some of the most innovative university spinouts in the UK. In 2015 Reuben founded and ran the Future Worlds accelerator, mentoring over 250 entrepreneurs and 50 companies over a four-year period. Companies included 5G silicon IP spinout Accelercomm, AI computer vision company Aura Vision, IoT transport startup Route Reports and HGV data analytics company Dynamon. Whilst at Future Worlds, Reuben also developed the business plan and was the execution partner for the Z21 Fund, run in partnership with the Solent LEP.

Disclaimer

Please note this podcast/interview does not constitute a financial promotion and is provided for informational purposes and should not be construed as an invitation or offer to buy or sell any investments. Please be aware that investments into unquoted companies are high risk, long term and illiquid investments.  Your capital is at risk. Past performance is not a reliable indicator of future performance.  Target returns are not guaranteed and forward looking statements are illustrative only and must not be relied upon. Investors should only invest on the basis of reading the full offer documentation.

The lack of female founders and investors in UK venture capital is much discussed, but inconsistently addressed: Jordan Dargue is trying to do something about it. A former entrepreneur and active business angel, she co-founded Lifted Ventures and has several initiatives going to improve the eco-system. We take advantage of this to dig into where the market is at, what needs to change, the benefits of changing and how to go about it.

In a great discussion, Jordan talks about:

• the current state of the venture capital market
• how education can lead to enablement for founders
• the lack of high profile examples
• how having more female gatekeepers can change the market
• the importance of male allies
• how to reach founders and investors
• cultural norms
• building a new virtuous cycle of female founders and angels
• why making angel investing accessible will help
• how long before we see a real improvement
• Lifted's blueprint for helping ADHD founders
• how the resilience from a disability can help make a good founder

Jordan is a superb champion of bringing the neglected parts of the population into venture capital and this should be compulsory listening for anyone interested in broadening venture capital founders and investors.

00:50 Jordan introduces herself

02:50 what Lifted Ventures does: angels, VC community, consulting and blueprints

07:00 how good are things for women and diverse founders

10:00 how education can lead to enablement

11:00 the challenges of dealflow and lack of high profile examples

15:00 fundraising is hard and lack of female gatekeepers

19:00 the importance of male allies

25:45 how Jordan reaches female founders

26:50 differences in cultural norms

30:40 educating angel investors

34:00 constructing a virtuous cycle between founders and angels

36:00 how do to broaden the initiatives around the country

37:50 how long before we see a significant improvement

40:40 blueprint for ADHD - how should investors address their processes

43:15 encouraging self-disclosure

47:00 how disability can breed the resilience that founders need

48:45 favourite questions

Links

Lifted Ventures website - https://liftedventures.co.uk/

Subscribe to the EIS Navigator podcast on most services here: https://the-eis-navigator.captivate.fm/listen

Suggested books and media

Zero to Hero: the Gareth Southgate Story by Rob Mason

Bio

Jordan Dargue,

Co-Founder, Lifted Ventures

Jordan Dargue, is a founder, senior executive, investor, NED and seasoned investment expert. Her boundless passion for innovation, coupled with a remarkable track record of achievements, positions her within the realms of growth and investment.

Jordan's transformative influence is evident through her leadership in orchestrating multi-million equity-based investment rounds, cultivating award-winning investor networks, and offering unwavering support to thousands of SMEs on their journey toward expansion and investment. Jordan is Co Founder of Lifted Ventures. Lifted exists to increase the flow of early stage capital to female founders and promote the significant business benefits of backing women. The Lifted Ventures flywheel has an angel network at its core, alongside education, community and consultancy.

Previously Jordan was co-leader and Board Director of multi award winning NorthInvest, and in 2020 she co-founded Fund Her North and Women Angels of the North, a collective of women in VCs and Angel investors who support female founders to get equal access to finance.

We all have idea of what impact investing means, but how do you measure and systematise it? Conduit Connect is an impact venture capital investor and we have asked Senior Investment Manager Gabby Morgan onto to discuss this. She was hands on in developing their own impact framework and reporting so understands the issues and can talk about how Conduit Connect solved them.

In a wide ranging discussion we talk about:

• approaches to measuring impact
• developing a theory of change
• how to make impact robust in a company
• scaling impact
• being intentional about diversity
• negative externalities and avoiding them
• how to treat items that can't be measured
• greenwashing in the venture industry
• the challenges of comparing frameworks

With the new SDR Regulations coming in, this is a very timely discussion. Gabby has thought deeply about many of the issues and applied them in practice, so has some great insights.

01:20 Gabby introduces herself

03:30 What is Conduit Connect?

09:00 How do we approach measuring impact?

11:50 The four buckets of impact in Conduit Connect's framework

26:00 The need for fund managers to be intentional about diversity

28:30 What are negative externalities and avoiding them

32:00 Taking account of what can't be measured

35:00 How lockstep works to keep companies impact orientated

39:40 Greenwashing in the venture industry

41:40 How do investors compare manager frameworks

49:00 Prospects for the impact industry in next couple of years

54:50 Favourite questions

Conduit Connect website - https://www.theconduitconnect.com/

Subscribe to the EIS Navigator podcast on most services here: https://the-eis-navigator.captivate.fm/listen

Range by Daniel Epstein

Ministry of Time by Kallane Bradley

Gabby Morgan

Senior Investment Manager, Conduit Connect

Gabby is a Senior Investment Manager at the Conduit Connect, responsible for screening and performing due diligence on opportunities for the Conduit EIS Impact Fund. She is also responsible for fundraising and investor relations for the Fund. She is an investor mentor at Carbon13, a leading climate-focussed accelerator, and a Board Advisor at Thalamos, one of the Conduit Fund’s portfolio companies. She has advised early-stage impact ventures through the Huckletree Alpha programme, Village Capital and Founders Intelligence.

Prior to joining the Conduit Connect in November 2019, Gabby was an investment research analyst for a US-based impact investing firm called Align Impact supporting their investment research and direct investment strategies. In 2019, She completed her MBA at the Said Business School at the University of Oxford, where she focussed her studies on impact investing and social entrepreneurship. During her MBA, she was a Director of the MBA Impact Investing Network and Training (MIINT), Oxford Said Chapter, and was accepted into the annual Impact Lab run in coordination with the Skoll Centre for Social Entrepreneurship.

Prior to getting her MBA, Gabby was a Director at Euromoney Institutional Investor in New York City. In this position, she founded and ran a number of their private investment memberships for wealth managers, family offices, HNWIs, pension plans and large asset managers.

Gabby was born in the UK but spent most of her life in the U.S., having grown up in Connecticut and spent four years in Boston for her undergraduate degree.

The Seedrs Portfolio Report gives an insight into how equity crowdfunding in the UK has progressed over the past decade from an idea to a firm part of the venture capital market. Jeff Lynn was a co-founder of Seedrs and has been President since its purchase by Republic. He's ideally placed to give a myriad of insights into what lies behind the data and the report.

In a wide ranging discussion we talk about:

• what the aim of the report is
• how the report shows venture is an outlier asset class
• why food & beverage is the most popular sector
• how the variety of crowdfunding companies has improved over time
• why crowdfunding does better than the industry on diversity
• how long should investors expect to hold investments
• the development of Seedrs secondary market
• how people use the platform and how that affects their portfolio diversification
• the future for Republic Europe and areas it is looking to expand into

Its clear that crowdfunding will continue to be a meaningful element in the the startup and venture capital market in the UK. That makes this interview with Jeff a must listen for anyone involved in the market.

00:50 Jeff introduces himself

04:20 Seedrs is now Republic Europe

06:20 the motivation behind creating the Portfolio report

10:30 the role of outliers

13:00 funding food & beverage companies

16:15 do some companies work better for crowdfunding?

19:10 Why Seedrs has had more female founders than the market

25:50 How long is an investment for?

28:45 what has made the secondary market successful

31:30 investor diversification and the different use cases for platform

37:00 how angels and sophisticated investors use the platform

39:10 The future for crowdfunding: international opportunities, funds and blockchain

44:50 Favourite questions

Links

Republic Europe (formerly Seedrs) website - https://europe.republic.com/

Seedrs Portfolio Report Winter 2023 - https://europe.republic.com/insights/blog/seedrs-2023-portfolio-report

Subscribe to the EIS Navigator podcast on most services here: https://the-eis-navigator.captivate.fm/listen

Suggested books and media

The Young Wilhelm by John C.G. Röhl

Going Infinite by Michael Lewis

Bio

Jeff Lynn

Chairman, Republic Europe

Jeff Lynn is the Co-Founder of Republic Europe (formerly Seedrs), which he led as CEO from 2009 to 2017 and has served as Chairman since then.  Jeff is a qualified lawyer who began his career practicing corporate law with Sullivan & Cromwell LLP in New York and London. He also serves as the Chairman of The Startup Coalition and as a member of the Prime Minister's Advisory Committee for the King's Awards for Enterprise. Jeff holds an MBA and a BCL (advanced law degree) from the University of Oxford, a JD from the University of Virginia and a BA from the University of Pennsylvania.

The Enterprise Investment Scheme (EIS) is now 30 years old! To celebrate, we asked Christiana Stewart-Lockhart, Director General of the EIS Association, onto the podcast to discuss the past, present and future of the scheme.

In a wide ranging discussion we talk about:

• the founding of EIS
• the progress it has made
• what has made it so successful
• renewal of the scheme and the efforts underpinning it
• why EIS is still not as well known as it should be
• how awareness could be increased
• the progress with improving diversity and regional investing
• the effects of the recent changes to SEIS limits

Christiana brings together both the big picture on the importance of the tax advantaged schemes and the small scale that each company and investor represents. Its a great discussion - enjoy!

PS This was recorded before the recent Treasury announcement that the EU has approved the extension of EIS.

00:50 Christiana introduces herself and the EIS Association

04:00 The founding of EIS and how it has progressed

07:25 Why has EIS been successful

12:15 How the Patient Capital Review changed the schemes

14:00 Lobbying for the scheme extension

18:50 Why EIS is not as well known as we would like

26:50 How do we increase awareness

30:15 Role of financial advisers

34:45 Progress with diversity of founders and expanding into regions

41:00 Effect of changes to SEIS limits

43:00 Looking forward

46:10 Favourite questions

Links

EIS Association website - https://eisa.og.uk/

HMRC 2023 EIS Statistics - https://www.gov.uk/government/statistics/enterprise-investment-scheme-seed-enterprise-investment-scheme-and-social-investment-tax-relief-may-2024

30th Anniversary of EIS event - https://eisa.org.uk/30th-anniversary-of-eis/

Subscribe to the EIS Navigator podcast on most services here: https://the-eis-navigator.captivate.fm/listen

Suggested books and media

Alchemy by Rory Sutherland

Bio

Christiana Stewart-Lockhart

Director General, EIS Association

Christiana Stewart-Lockhart is the Director General of the Enterprise Investment Scheme Association (EISA). She previously spent more than a decade working in Westminster including ten years at the Institute of Economic Affairs. She also founded EPICENTER, a Brussels based network of some of the most respected think tanks from across Europe. Christiana holds a BA in Politics from the University of York. She is a member of TISA’s Children’s Financial Education Policy Council and also sits on the Advisory Board for the All Party Parliamentary Group for Entrepreneurship.

While fintech has perhaps fallen out of the spotlight in venture capital, it remains a significant part of the UK venture capital scene. It is one of Love Ventures three specialist areas, and in this episode co-founders Marcus Love and Adrian Love give their views on how the sector has developed and what matters now.

In a great discussion, Marcus and Adrian talk about:

• the difference between v1 and v2 of fintech
• why financial services is so attractive for innovators
• how business models have developed
• matching founders to the right product
• how incumbents are responding to new entrants and the advantages the latter have
• why the UK is doing well in supporting fintech
• how AI fits into their investment thesis
• what areas are attractive for investment today

Although Love Ventures is a relatively new manager, both Marcus and Adrian have strong backgrounds in entrepreneurship and investing. This experience allows them to being some great insights into how the world of fintech is progressing today.

PS This was recorded while travelling, so apologies for the echoes in the background for the host.

00:55 Marcus and Adrian introduce themselves

02:55 Love Ventures

05:15 versions 1 & 2 of fintech

08:50 why financial services is so ripe for innovation

11:25 blockages to blockchain in the real world yet

14:00 finding the correct business models going forward

17:00 importance of product/founder fit

19:40 Incumbents vs new entrants

22:00 report on corporate venture capital

25:10 the UK regulatory sandbox

27:10 UK as a model for other countries

28:45 how the need for capital hasn't changed

33:30 looking for right scale of problem to invest in

35:20 role of AI - specialist / small models

40:45 data confidentiality - importance of specialist data

43:40 prime areas for investing now

45:30 Favourite questions

Links

Love Ventures website - https://loveventures.co.uk/

Love Ventures on LinkedIn - https://www.linkedin.com/company/love-ventures/

Report on corporate venture capital - https://loveventures.co.uk/navigating-cvc/

Subscribe to the EIS Navigator podcast on most services here: https://the-eis-navigator.captivate.fm/listen

Suggested books and media

The Power Law by Sebastian Mallaby

The Anxious Generation by Jonathan Haidt

Bios

Marcus Love,

Co-Founder, Love Ventures

In the first part of his career he spent nearly 10 years in Paris working in consulting for Cap Gemini then in a start-up and in various sales roles. In 2005 he moved back to London and worked for 14 years in the City selling global equity research to fund managers.

He started angel investing in 2015 and built up an angel portfolio of 20 companies, building an angel syndicate along the way. HE formed Love Ventures in March 2020 at the start of the pandemic and hasn’t looked back since.

He loves helping portfolio companies where he can, and is super excited by the growth of their first two funds and their super team! Outside work, he enjoy sports, culture and travel. Most recently he cycled 458 miles in eastern Turkey for a charity called 1morechild.

Adrian Love,

Co-Founder, Love Ventures

The early part of his career was spent at The Instant Group, a high growth pioneer within the global flexible workspace sector where he focussed on enterprise sales before its acquisition by MML Capital – their digital assets have now merged with IWG Group. From 2016, he worked at Dorrington PLC, a £1.4Bn private investment company, where he was an investment manager of a £200m portfolio of assets.

During this period, he began his own entrepreneurial journey within property development and also started angel investing, building up an angel syndicate alongside his brother Marcus. Having been in business together since 2009, they co-founded Love Ventures in 2020 and enjoy using their extensive networks to help the founders across our portfolio.

Outside of the world of start-ups, you can usually find him on the sports pitch whether it’s regular five-a-side football, squash, golf or skiing. He also loves an adventure and has been recruiting founders for a round the world cycle to Sydney, starting off with London to Paris in September.

Eos Advisory are rapidly building a solid reputation in science-based venture capital investing. In this episode, Partner Mark Beaumont discusses their roots, philosophy and how that translates into practice, with lots of real-life examples.

In an in-depth discussion, Mark talks about:

• how the Eos investment philosophy developed
• the strengths of the Scottish venture capital eco-system
• what makes good founders and how he assesses that
• getting alignment between managers/investors and founders
• determining whether there is a big enough market
• how to give a company an international outlook as early as possible
• the mistakes founders make
• changing management mindsets as a company progresses

Mark's background gives him a very different perspective, both individually and as part of a team that brings very diverse experiences. His insights into the people side in particular are tremendous. There is much for any founder or investor to learn here.

01:00 Mark introduces himself

04:50 where Eos is now

07:20 how their investment philosophy developed

10:30 lack of competition for deals in Scotland

11:50 Scottish eco-system - current strengths

16:20 what they are looking for in founders

20:30 separating people from company

24:20 alignment between founders, investors and managers

27:40 how do you determine a market

32:15 internationalising - when and how

36:15 how to line up international investors

38:40 what mistakes founders make

41:00 challenges of funding

44:50 changing mindsets in companies as they progress

49:25 favourite questions

Links

Eos Advisory website - https://eos-advisory.com/

Subscribe to the EIS Navigator podcast on most services here: https://the-eis-navigator.captivate.fm/listen

Suggested books and media

Coffee First, then the World by Jenny Graham

Bio

Mark Beaumont,

Partner, Eos Advisory

Mark Beaumont became a Partner at Eos Advisory in 2019 and has helped lead the business through a period of significant growth, investing in predominantly Scottish science and technology companies addressing key global issues in healthcare and environmental health. Mark Beaumont spent the first chapter his career building teams around sporting success and is publicly known as an athlete and BBC broadcaster. He still holds the 18,000-mile circumnavigation cycling record in a time of 78 days. Mark’s degree education was in Economics & Politics, and for a decade and a half worked with a leading UK mid-market private equity firm. Mark is Patron for Entrepreneurial Scotland, Honorary President for Scottish Student Sport, Fellow of the Royal Society of Edinburgh and was honoured in the Queens New Year’s honours for services to sport and charity.