The EIS Navigator

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 attractivehow he chose the themes to look atwhether the pace of change in the economy is fast enoughwhether there are enough investmentsthe role of strategic investors and their commitmentprioritising returns over impactapplications in industry and storagetranslating science into a good businessthe challenge of sequencingfinding appropriate metricsinvestor interest in environmental investmentsAlthough 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 himself03:00 introduction to Blackfinch Investments04:45 what is energy transition and why chosen08:10 choosing the themes within that09:00 whether the pace of change is fast enough?11:50 are there adequate investments in the sector15:30 commitment of strategic investors17:45 concern over prioritising impact over returns21:20 what other themes he is seeing25:30 science that makes a good business27:10 prevalence of secondaries29:20 technology dependence and sequencing34:00 energy storage40:40 appropriate metrics42:00 investor interest and demand in environmental areas47:10 favourite questionsLinksBlackfinch - 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/listenSuggested books and mediaWorking Backwards by Colin Bryar & Bill CarrBioReuben WilcockHead of Ventures, Blackfinch VenturesReuben’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.DisclaimerPlease 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.

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 impactdeveloping a theory of changehow to make impact robust in a companyscaling impactbeing intentional about diversitynegative externalities and avoiding themhow to treat items that can't be measuredgreenwashing in the venture industrythe challenges of comparing frameworksWith 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 herself03:30 What is Conduit Connect?09:00 How do we approach measuring impact?11:50 The four buckets of impact in Conduit Connect's framework26:00 The need for fund managers to be intentional about diversity28:30 What are negative externalities and avoiding them32:00 Taking account of what can't be measured35:00 How lockstep works to keep companies impact orientated39:40 Greenwashing in the venture industry41:40 How do investors compare manager frameworks49:00 Prospects for the impact industry in next couple of years54:50 Favourite questionsLinksConduit Connect website - https://www.theconduitconnect.com/Subscribe to the EIS Navigator podcast on most services here: https://the-eis-navigator.captivate.fm/listenSuggested books and mediaRange by Daniel EpsteinMinistry of Time by Kallane BradleyBioGabby MorganSenior Investment Manager, Conduit ConnectGabby 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 ishow the report shows venture is an outlier asset classwhy food & beverage is the most popular sectorhow the variety of crowdfunding companies has improved over timewhy crowdfunding does better than the industry on diversityhow long should investors expect to hold investmentsthe development of Seedrs secondary markethow people use the platform and how that affects their portfolio diversificationthe future for Republic Europe and areas it is looking to expand intoIts 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 himself04:20 Seedrs is now Republic Europe06:20 the motivation behind creating the Portfolio report10:30 the role of outliers 13:00 funding food & beverage companies16:15 do some companies work better for crowdfunding?19:10 Why Seedrs has had more female founders than the market25:50 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 platform37:00 how angels and sophisticated investors use the platform39:10 The future for crowdfunding: international opportunities, funds and blockchain44:50 Favourite questionsLinksRepublic Europe (formerly Seedrs) website - https://europe.republic.com/Seedrs Portfolio Report Winter 2023 - https://europe.republic.com/insights/blog/seedrs-2023-portfolio-reportSubscribe to the EIS Navigator podcast on most services here: https://the-eis-navigator.captivate.fm/listenSuggested books and mediaThe Young Wilhelm by John C.G. RöhlGoing Infinite by Michael LewisBioJeff LynnChairman, Republic EuropeJeff 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 EISthe progress it has madewhat has made it so successfulrenewal of the scheme and the efforts underpinning itwhy EIS is still not as well known as it should behow awareness could be increasedthe progress with improving diversity and regional investingthe effects of the recent changes to SEIS limitsChristiana 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 Association04:00 The founding of EIS and how it has progressed07:25 Why has EIS been successful12:15 How the Patient Capital Review changed the schemes14:00 Lobbying for the scheme extension18:50 Why EIS is not as well known as we would like26:50 How do we increase awareness30:15 Role of financial advisers34:45 Progress with diversity of founders and expanding into regions41:00 Effect of changes to SEIS limits43:00 Looking forward46:10 Favourite questionsLinksEIS 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-202430th 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/listenSuggested books and mediaAlchemy by Rory SutherlandBioChristiana Stewart-LockhartDirector General, EIS AssociationChristiana 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 fintechwhy financial services is so attractive for innovatorshow business models have developedmatching founders to the right producthow incumbents are responding to new entrants and the advantages the latter havewhy the UK is doing well in supporting fintechhow AI fits into their investment thesiswhat areas are attractive for investment todayAlthough 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 themselves02:55 Love Ventures05:15 versions 1 & 2 of fintech08:50 why financial services is so ripe for innovation11:25 blockages to blockchain in the real world yet14:00 finding the correct business models going forward17:00 importance of product/founder fit19:40 Incumbents vs new entrants22:00 report on corporate venture capital25:10 the UK regulatory sandbox27:10 UK as a model for other countries28:45 how the need for capital hasn't changed33:30 looking for right scale of problem to invest in35:20 role of AI - specialist / small models40:45 data confidentiality - importance of specialist data43:40 prime areas for investing now45:30 Favourite questionsLinksLove 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/listenSuggested books and mediaThe Power Law by Sebastian MallabyThe Anxious Generation by Jonathan HaidtBiosMarcus Love, Co-Founder, Love VenturesIn 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 VenturesThe 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 developedthe strengths of the Scottish venture capital eco-systemwhat makes good founders and how he assesses thatgetting alignment between managers/investors and foundersdetermining whether there is a big enough markethow to give a company an international outlook as early as possiblethe mistakes founders makechanging management mindsets as a company progressesMark'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 himself04:50 where Eos is now07:20 how their investment philosophy developed10:30 lack of competition for deals in Scotland11:50 Scottish eco-system - current strengths16:20 what they are looking for in founders 20:30 separating people from company24:20 alignment between founders, investors and managers27:40 how do you determine a market 32:15 internationalising - when and how36:15 how to line up international investors38:40 what mistakes founders make41:00 challenges of funding44:50 changing mindsets in companies as they progress49:25 favourite questionsLinksEos Advisory website - https://eos-advisory.com/Subscribe to the EIS Navigator podcast on most services here: https://the-eis-navigator.captivate.fm/listenSuggested books and mediaCoffee First, then the World by Jenny GrahamBioMark Beaumont, Partner, Eos AdvisoryMark 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.

In this episode of the EIS Navigator we get a great founder story. Despite not having a medical background, Clare Brenner founded Myogenes which specialises in pharmocogenetic testing. She has a very personal story about her motivation for initially focusing on mental health to begin with, as well as her experiences in starting in a new area.In the discussion, Clare talks about:how she found a good area to work onthe initial focus on clozapinewhy she seeks out the best people to work withthe challenges of getting initial fundinghow patient advocacy is playing a rolemaking a business case to convince the NHSmoving into the US marketwhere we are in developing personalised medicineClare's story is both inspiring and insightful, as well as being a great follow-on to the previous episode about female founders. 00:45 Clare introduces Myogenes04:55 establishing proof of concept06:40 how she found a test08:30 how does the test work and the importance of working with doctors11:50 finding the top people15:00 why she focused on clozapine 18:00 how they developed the test 19:00 founding the company 21:00 marketing into the NHS: establishing cost/benefit and business impact models25:00 progress with individual health trusts28:00 the role of patient/family lobbying29:00 getting funding for preventative medicine32:30 moving into the US37:10 where are we in personalised medicine41:00 prospects for Myogenes 43:45 Favourite questionsLinksMyogenes website - https://www.myogenes.com/Telephone - 020 8387 1266Subscribe to the EIS Navigator podcast on most services here: https://the-eis-navigator.captivate.fm/listenSuggested books and mediaThe Diary of a CEO by Steven BartlettBioClare Brenner, Founder & CEO, MyogenesClare Brenner, CEO & Co-founder Clare began her working career at the BBC, moving from radio to television and then to writing and producing. Her interest in genetics started in 2010 working for a private hospital and launching their DNA testing programme. She started on her own in 2016 and has dedicated the last six years to becoming expert in the field of genetics and forming her own company Myogenes.

Nick Dimmock founded 350PPM as an incubator for various environmental businesses, but has followed a different path from many incubators. In this episode, he discusses how he developed the 350PPM business model, developing companies more generally and the state of environmental investing.Amongst other items, Nick discusses:how he developed 350PPM's business modelthe importance of the right systembalancing doing things for a company versus developing internal capabilitieshandling areas that are capital intensivewhere we are in the demand cycle for environmental investmentshow we generate more interest in themthe need for political support and changeNick is naturally forthright and brings some strong opinions which make for a very interesting conversation.01:50 Nick introduces himself05:00 what 350PPM is and does07:40 how did the business model develop - developing a system13:00 doing stuff for a company vs developing internal capability18:35 what sorts of companies are of interest and why22:35 capital intensity27:30 demand for environmental investments31:45 how do we sustain interest in environmental investments33:00 need for removal of subsidies39:40 next steps41:15 Favourite questionsLinks350PPM website - https://350ppm.co.uk/Subscribe to the EIS Navigator podcast on most services here: https://the-eis-navigator.captivate.fm/listenSuggested books and mediaWhat You See is What You Get by Alan SugarBillionaire: The Life and Times of Sir James Goldsmith by Ivan FallonThe Fifth Risk: Undoing Democracy by Michael LewisBioNick Dimmock, Founder & CEO, 350PPMNick has worked in the environmental sector since 2007 and has so far been involved in over 50 environmental projects from Municipal Solid Waste Composting in India, to 1500 MW Hydroelectric projects in Ecuador. Overall, the projects Nick has been involved in have created on-going emission reductions over 9 Million tons of CO2e per annum. From 2017, Nick has been involved with incubating, accelerating and venture building early stage cleantech businesses.

Software-as-a-Service (SaaS) founders rightly focus on their product and market, but sound finances underpin any success. Anthony Nitsos founded fractional CFO business SaaS Gurus after working in a couple of successful exits. He has seen the inside of many SaaS businesses so has lots of experience in developing good practice and seeing the mistakes that founders make. In this episode, we tap into that knowledge.Amongst other topics, Anthony discusses:balancing different financial metricssensible gross margin targets and when companies should be hitting themchanges in SaaS valuation multiplesthe value of market expertise in generating successsales cycles and how they differ in B2B and B2Cfinding the right first sales person and who the next recruits should bewhen to bring in a CFO (and its earlier than most think)the value of benchmarkingthe difference between finance and accounting in companieshow to prepare for an exitIts a great conversation, with Anthony bringing lots of insights from his vast expertise for founders and investors alike.00:50 Anthony introduces himself04:45 what financial metrics matter and the difference between venture-backed and bootstrapped businesses09:45 gross margin - good targets and when you should be hitting them13:30 how valuation multiples have changed in SaaS15:45 patterns in CAC and trends in software purchasers18:05 how to you know you have product/market fit 20:00 difference in sales cycles between B2B and B2C23:30 the value of market knowledge and how startups are not for on the job training 24:30 why its easier to move from enterprise to SME than vice versa25:45 how finding the right first sales person is the biggest challenge31:45 building a sales team37:00 when to bring in a CFO39:30 the merits of building finance function when its pre-revenue42:20 the value of benchmarking43:15 most companies have problems45:00 the difference between accounting and finance49:20 preparing for exits - how acquirers look at finances 56:00 why founders should know what short of exit they want60:00 favourite questionsLinksSaaS Gurus website - https://saasgurus.io/Free ebook on "SaaS Secrets for Financial Triumph" - https://saasgurus.io/labSaaS Gurus contact page - https://saasgurus.io/contact/Subscribe to the EIS Navigator podcast on most services here: https://the-eis-navigator.captivate.fm/listenSuggested books and mediaMeasure What Matters by John DoerrDuneBioAnthony Nitsos, Founder & CEO, SaaS GurusAnthony Nitsos elevates your financial strategy to meet challenges and drive your company value. Working with pre-seed to Series B stage SaaS startups, he ensures that founders have reliable metrics and a solid understanding of the true economics of their business to maximize valuation. He optimizes financial operations, sales operations, human resources operations, and risk management systems. He’s worked with various startups, including two unicorn exists. Learn more at SaaSGurus.io.

Rob Bell, an expert in EIS funds and VCTs, discusses choosing the right scheme for clients, diversification strategies, assessing manager track records, SEIS in financial planning, specialist vs generalist managers, ESG and impact investments, and improving investor perception of venture capital.