funding, investment, united-kingdomThere are similar questions to this on the US Funding/Investment process, but the business landscape in the UK seems a little different, particularly in terms of the levels of investment and the criteria that investors are wanting before entering a particular stage of funding.
Going through Seed, Angel, Series A, B, C … I expect some can be skipped, depending on the product/service.
My question has a few aspects
I can’t say I have any experience beyond A (and I haven’t actually raised series A myself, just simply spoken with series A investors to warm things up)
Seed round: this usually required two founders and a plan. Perhaps an MVP depending on the funding source. If it is funding from an accelerator then MVP is not always necessary and instead you are expected to have MVP afterwards and be ready for your first Angel round.
Angel Round (SEIS): I’d say entry requirements as minimum are two founders, perhaps first employee, MVP in place and SEIS tax relief available as it makes getting investment so much easier. At this stage the Angel investors wont necessarily help run the business, but will mentor and open their networks to the company
EIS Round: I’m putting this in here as in my experience there is often a pre-series A round after the Angel round. It is at this stage you are expected to have begun making real revenue or showing real growth. have an expanded network, perhaps a board in place with an influential non-exec. This round is usually for around less than £1m
Series A: this is where my experience starts to wane.. one of the higher bars I came across was: (this is an excerpt from an email exchange with a VC):
sold to several customers in increasing numbers in the last 6 months
beyond that I and those around me have little experience but the above is kinda the shape of the companies I have had dealings with
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