Member Article

Essential guide: Finding start-up funding in a crowd

StartUp Britain, a national campaign run by and for entrepreneurs to stimulate start-up growth in the UK, has launched a free week-long schedule of events for the nation’s budding business talent in a bid to help them battle through the minefield of early stage investment.

As the latest Bank of England figures reveal that lending by banks to small and medium sized businesses fell by £5bn at the three months to February, the London-based events seek to guide entrepreneurs through both traditional and alternative avenues towards successful start-up funding and financial planning.

Access to finance has been identified as one of the biggest single barriers to growth, with only a quarter of UK start-ups considering themselves strong at accessing even basic external finance and four out of five financial decision makers have no formal training in financial matters.

StartUp Britain co-founder Emma Jones said: “When starting out most businesses only need small amounts of capital and crowdfunding sites are playing an increasingly influential role in this and then there are all the incentives for angel investors when it comes to growth capital. We wanted to host events that presented all the options and opportunities to small businesses and brought together entrepreneurs who are at the same stage of funding development.”

A report by small business accounting software firm Intuit called the Three Year Glitch suggests the earlier businesses take up good financial habits, the more likely they are to survive the crucial first three years. A poll of 500 business founders and owners revealed 40% had experienced cash flow problems, 31% said they had found problems getting paid and 23% said they had experienced difficulty managing finances at some point.

“We need more new and emerging businesses to get proper access to the funding they need to grow. We hope these events will provide some help and inspiration – as well as access to both traditional and alternative financial backing,” Emma added.

At the free events, experts and mentors with a range of financial experience with start-ups and growing businesses will talk about how it all works and answer questions from the floor.

From experts in venture capital to crowd-funding, StartUp Britain has brought together people whose business it is to help provide start-up and growth funding and both accelerate and incubate small companies through mentoring and advice.

Starting on Monday May 14, **Entrepreneurs and Finance:**The comprehensive week kicks off with a panel of experienced entrepreneurs from The Supper Club talking about their experiences of sourcing finance throughout their careers. That’s followed up with a panel of experts, lead by ICAEW and the UK200 Group who will explore how to create sustainable growth with finance tools that support, rather than hinder growth.

On Tuesday May 15, Access to Finance: Crowdfunding Platforms & Venture Capital Firms**:** Alternative crowd funding experts will start the session by sharing their knowledge on access to investment; panellists include the inspirational Jeff Lynn from Seedrs. That panel will be followed swiftly by venture capitalists, including David J Bagley, Chairman of Venture Hothouse Limited, with their more traditional route to capital. On top of that the day includes a financial fitness seminar from Intuit with lots of practical hints and tips; accepting payments with PayPal and how to communicate your finances effectively to encourage growth.

On Wednesday May 16, Access to Finance: Corporate Venturing & Business Incubators: Companies will talk about how big corporations often look to invest in up-and-coming firms that complement their strategic goals. This will be followed by a panel talking about how value-added services from incubators can support small businesses starting out.

On Thursday May 17, **Exporting for Growth:**a panel of experts will be explaining how the global market offers many opportunities for British business – and how support exists to grow exports.

On Friday May 18, **Tools for Optimising Working Capital:**There will be a chance to learn more about how harnessing next generation tools can optimise small business growth – and keep costs down; panellists include Samir Desai, co-founder and CEO of Funding Circle. This will be followed up by a panel of experts on microfinance and business and how various companies have been busy providing microfinance to up-and-coming business at grass roots level. Panellists include Emma Jones, co-founder of StartUp Britain and founder of Enterprise Nation and Ginny Lunn, head of policy and strategy at The Prince’s Trust.

To get access to all or any of these free events, all people have to do is register at http://www.startupbritain.org/finance4sub/ and pick and choose which events they wish to attend.

This was posted in Bdaily's Members' News section by Liz Slee .