Assessing companies for venture capital investment is often more of an art than a science. Richard Blakesley is trying to change that with Venture Cubed. Its rating system aims to objectively assess how investible new companies are. We asked him to talk about how they built their rating system, what it tells us about the venture industry and how it might change it going forward.We had such a good discussion that we have split it into two parts. In this episode, we discuss how he measures companies. In the second part, we talk more about the wider industry. Here we discuss:what their rating system aims to measurehow they assess how good the ratings arewhat are the important factors in the ratingthe weights that are given to those factorshow they quantify factors that are more qualitativethe challenges in analysing financial modelswhere founders don't understand what investors wanthow founders can get good advice on fundraisingthe process of giving feedback to founders and how receptive they arethe mistakes that founders often makethe proportion of companies that are really investiblewhat investible really meanswhere funding gaps areAs you can see, we covered a lot of ground. Whether you are an investor thinking about how to assess companies or a founder considering fundraising, there's a lot for you here. And don't miss part 2!01:00 Richard Blakesley introduces himself02:20 What Venture Cubed does03:45 What are Venture Cubed scoring? - investibility06:00 How he measures the success of ratings09:25 What are the most important factors12:20 How they quantify qualitative factors14:20 Issues are around bias in interviews18:10 Assessing companies without interviewing management19:00 How founders often don't understand the desires of investors22:00 Getting good advice on how to fundraise26:30 How founders get feedback from the rating process30:20 The receptiveness of founders to feedback32:45 What mistakes do founders often make?38:50 How does Venture Cubed weight the factors?42:40 What proportion of companies are investible?45:15 How many companies get funding that deserve it and what's the shortfall in companies not being funded that should?LinksVenture Cubed website - https://www.venturecubed.com/Richard's email: richard@venturecubed.comSubscribe to the EIS Navigator podcast on most services here: https://the-eis-navigator.captivate.fm/listenBioRichard BlakesleyFounder & CEO, Venture Cubed**tbc

Investing in companies that are starting out presents different challenges from when they are more established. Oxford Technology has probably been investing in new science and technology companies for longer than than anyone else in the (S)EIS/UK VC world. We get Director Andrea Mica to discuss how to go about it.In a discussion that is full of examples, both successful and unsuccessful, we cover a wider range of areas:how to validate the science / technology when there is no saleshow to invest without specialist knowledgebuilding appropriate experimentslooking beyond the first experimentthe importance of testing commercialityavoiding solutions looking for a problemdeveloping founder skills and encouraging them to try salesthe value of contrarianismWith lots of experience, Andrea gives lots of great insights into how they approach the challenge and there is plenty for investors and founders to learn from. Hope you enjoy it!00:45 Intro to Andrea 06:00 History of Oxford Technology09:40 Geographically close companies versus distant12:30 Validating the science / product at the early stage16:00 Example - viral pathway21:00 The usefulness of specialist knowledge26:30 How to building experiments - appropriate size and looking to future experiments28:30 Testing commerciality: balancing exploration vs definitive answers33:00 Example - value of testing hand strength vs recovering hand functionality36:00 Solutions looking for a problem40:00 Challenge of products that reduce pay of those buying. example - technology to discriminate moles43:00 Founder skills 46:00 Importance of sales and persuading founders to learn to like it50:00 Recent trends and the value of contrarianism55:30 Favourite questionsLinksOxford Technology website - https://www.oxfordtechnology.com/Subscribe to the EIS Navigator podcast on most services here: https://the-eis-navigator.captivate.fm/listenSuggested book and mediaThinking, Fast and Slow by Daniel KahnemanBioAndrea MicaDirector, Oxford TechnologyInvestment Career Oxford Technology Management Ltd – OT(S)EIS Fund Director. Responsible for souring selecting and supporting companies in the fund. The Fund now has invested £11m. 2009 - Royal Society Enterprise Fund at the Royal Society. Short term role to help structure the investment evaluation process, train an incoming analyst and help carry out due diligence on the first investments. 2005 IP Group Plc - Responsible for selecting investment opportunities in the partner universities, conducting technology and market due diligence , building startup up team and presenting the investment case to the investment board. This was followed by a period as director of the companies formed 1999: CFB Technology, Flintstone Plc - Responsible for investigating the technologies in which the group invested and then in helping the teams/companies get started. Other Oxford Creativity Trainer and Problem Solver Cleansteel Ltd – (Business developing and running a recycling process) Co- FounderOxford University Begbroke Business Development Fellow IntelliKraft Ltd. Oxford, UK Piezoceramic and Battery Technology Founding Director Sales & Marketing, Consultant JRA Technology Ltd, Marlow, UK, Technology Commercialisation Consultancy Senior Project Engineer D’Appolonia S.p.A, Genova, Italy, Engineering & Technology Commercialisation Consultancy Innovation Consultant, Leiden, Netherlands Study Masters Product Design – Delft University of TechnologyGraduate Study – Creativity and Innovation State University College Buffalo

Yet again, the EIS navigator team has got its all-star panel to discuss what happened in 2023 and how 2024 is shaping up. Christiana Stewart-Lockhart, Director General of EIS Association, Neil Cole, Head of Private Markets Distribution, UBS Wealth Management, and Kealan Doyle, Director, Symvan Capital join Brian to pick through the events of the past year and the prospects for 2024.We chat through many areas of interest:how has fundraising gonewhether some VCTs are sitting on too much cashhow easy is it for companies to raise moneythe need for discipline when making follow-on investmentswhether valuations have bottomedhow UK venture capital compares with the US and Silicon Valleythe renewal of the tax advantaged schemes (EIS, VCT and SEIS)whether the increase in SEIS limits is having an effect yeteffect of the new Consumer Duty ruleswhether some risk warnings are flawedAnd, as usual, we get our guests to look forward to 2024 and make some predictions.Links:EIS Assocation - https://eisa.org.uk/Symvan Capital - https://www.symvancapital.com/UBS Wealth Management - https://www.ubs.com/uk/en/wealth-management/home.htmlSubscribe to the EIS Navigator podcast on most services here: https://the-eis-navigator.captivate.fm/listenBiosNeil ColeNeil Cole is the Head of Private Markets Distribution at UBS Wealth Management. He has responsibility for the Private Markets product range offered to UBS clients in UK and Jersey, which includes all of the tax efficient investment world including EIS, VCTs, inheritance tax, ISAs, and other relevant product types.Kealan DoyleKealan 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-LockhartChristiana 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.

In this episode we take another look at debt funding for high growth companies. Juice has a novel approach using marketing data and its CEO, Katherine Chan, comes on to discuss their approach and the wider funding market.We cover a lot topics., including:why alternative funders have arisen in the marketthe pros and cons of using revenue based fundingwhen debt finance is appropriate in high growth companieshow Juice uses marketing data in its approachwhat makes reliable marketing datahow to navigate the risk of rising CAC/CPAhow lenders can give support to companiesthe concerns that borrowers have and how these can be addressedWe finish off by discussing some recent market trends, including the change in availability of funding. Its a great discussion!LinksJuice website - https://velocity-group.com/Subscribe to the EIS Navigator podcast on most services here: https://the-eis-navigator.captivate.fm/listenSuggested books / mediaClara and the Sun by Kazuo IshiguroAtomic Habits by James ClearBioKatherine ChanChief Executive Officer, Velocity JuiceKatherine serves as the Chief Executive Officer of Juice, a forward-thinking financial services company dedicated to providing growth capital for digital-first businesses. Katherine's journey in the financial sector spans over 19 years, marked by roles in banking and risk management at institutions including Commerzbank AG, HSBC, and Deutsche Bank.Transitioning from banking to the startup world, Katherine joined Juice in 2019 as the Chief Financial Officer and has played a pivotal role in the company's development and rebranding from Velocity Juice to Juice. Her expertise in finance and risk management has been a key driver in Juice's evolution, leading to her recent advancement to the position of CEO.

Amongst EIS funds and VCTs, consumer companies is less popular than B2B investments but still have their attractions. VGC Partners is one of the few managers that focus on this area and we get Investment Director, Phoebe Scriven to discuss it.In a fascinating discussion we cover many topics:why consumer is still attractive despite the economyhow the dynamics of returns in consumer venture capital investments is different from B2Bhow to understand the consumer when its not something that you would buy yourselfgetting conviction when data is limiteddeveloping investment thesesfinding quality within a group of companies within the same spacehow creative companies can find a formula for repeat successPhoebe brings lots of real life examples and really brings out her thought processes and approach to making investments. 01:00 how Phoebe became involved in venture capital02:40 what VGC does04:45 why is consumer attractive now07:00 consumer brands don't scale as quickly - don't need unicorns to get good returns13:00 B2C vs B2B investing - 14:00 understanding the consumer if you aren't the consumer19:00 how to get insights into consumers - qualitative insights23:15 quantitative insights26:45 thinness of data and using opinions: testing beliefs and getting conviction32:45 looking for differentiation when you see a lot of similar companies36:45 example of circular economy companies41:30 other areas of current interest - VR gaming, 46:45 creating formulas for repeated creative success49:50 favourite questionsLinksVGC website - https://vgc.partners/Phoebe's email - phobe@vgc.comLinkedIn - https://www.linkedin.com/in/phoebescriven/Subscribe to the EIS Navigator podcast on most services here: https://the-eis-navigator.captivate.fm/listenSuggested books Creativity Inc by Ed CatmullCulture Code by Daniel CoyleBioPhoebe ScrivenInvestment Director, VGC PartnersPhoebe leads early-stage EIS investing at VGC Partners.After reading English at Oxford, Phoebe began her career in product innovation and strategy, working with major FMCG companies and travelling across the globe to better understand different consumers. From there, she moved into consulting and development finance, while (outside of her day job) getting increasingly involved with the London start-up ecosystem via DevelopHer, a non-profit organsiation. In 2019, Phoebe made the move into venture capital, joining Supernode Global, where she made her first investments and exit. Phoebe joined VGC Partners at the beginning of 2023.

B2B SaaS is a very popular business model amongst venture capital and (S)EIS/VCT investors. Haatch Ventures specialise in investing in this sector and we get Partner Fred Soneya and Principal Jeremy Luzinda to talk about how they work and how they help the companies scale.We look at several topics about managing these companies:what B2B SaaS is and why it is attractive to investors. We discuss the merits of additional service revenue and when its a positive or a distraction.when a company should add new features or when it should expand its product range.what metrics are of interest, with Jeremy going deep into how they look at a couple of these.Haatch has a particular interest in supporting sales processes. Within this we talk about:how to develop the right channels and what factors to consider.how lead times on sales affects how companies operate.how investors can support companies in developing their sales.We also discuss some of the typical mistakes that founders make and the prospects for the future for B2B SaaS and venture capital investors in this area.00:45 Fred & Jeremy introduce themselves04:30 What Haatch does05:50 What is B2B SaaS08:00 Why is B2B SaaS attractive for investors12:00 Merits of recurring revenue versus service revenue15:00 adding features, roadmaps18:30 12 metrics of interest - net revenue retention21:30 how to develop the right channel23:00 lead times in sales cycles28:00 expanding from narrow to broad32:30 when to expand product ranges36:30 how managers can support companies in these processes40:45 typical mistakes founders make: 47:00 prospects for the future 51:20 Favourite questionsLinksHaatch website - https://www.haatch.com/Fred Soneya - fred@haatch.comJeremy Luzinda - jeremy@haatch.comSubscribe to the EIS Navigator podcast on most services here: https://the-eis-navigator.captivate.fm/listenSuggested book and mediaMy Life and Work by Henry FordAshville Weekly by Daniel Ashville (Youtube)https://www.youtube.com/@thisisashvilleBiosFred Soneya, Co-founder & PartnerFred was responsible for a number of high-profile, large-scale innovation projects across Kiddicare.com and, post-acquisition, Morrisons. Fred created award-winning digital customer experiences by working with cutting-edge early-stage technology start-ups, bridging the online-offline gap at Morrisons. This included the launch of browse-and-order points, mobile payments and electronic shelf-edge labels.Having co-founded Haatch in 2013, Fred is responsible for the day-to-day running of the Haatch funds. He has led both the completion of over 150 investments into 70+ companies over the lat 10 years and the on-boarding of over 600 investors into the funds.Jeremy Luzinda, PrincipalJeremy began his career as Chief Operating Officer at a VC-backed start-up that raised from venture funds Forward Partners and Founders Factory, as well as esteemed angel investors such as Sir John Hegarty and Tom Teichman, amongst the first investors in the likes of lastminute.com, MADE.co and notonthehighstreet.com. It ultimately failed, but he learnt a lot in the process.He then became Managing Director at Surechill, a software-enabled cold-storage company co-founded by Peter Saunders OBE, which raised more than £10m. Following this experience, he joined Playfair Capital, an early-stage VC that has backed companies like Stripe, Thought Machine and Trouva. He worked on exciting companies like Omnipresent which he saw go from £0 to over £500m in value in under 18 months. He leans on this wealth of experience to offer hands-on support to our portfolio post-transaction, particularly on B2B SaaS sales.Alongside Haatch, he's a GTM consultant at Vencha, built by the early commercial team who built and sold MessageLabs for $700m, supporting B2B SaaS companies with GTM challenges.

While there is much discussion in the media of the macro-economy, its effect on startups is not always a obvious as it is for quoted companies. Ewan MacKinnon, a Partner at Maven, has been investing for almost a decade and half and draws on this experience to give us some insights.In the discussion we focus on three big areas:recruitment and wages: we talk about the tightness in the job market and how the effect on startups has changed over the past year. We also talk about hybrid working and how the balance of power in negotiating terms seems to be changing.inflation and pricing power: Ewan discusses the different ways that inflation and its various causes are affecting different companies. We also look at pricing power and how startups set prices and negotiate with customers.funding: interest rates and the money supply both affect the availability of funding for SMEs. We discuss the lending market and how that has evolved, particularly the difficulty of getting bank funding.Finally, we look forward to how the economy will develop over the next couple of years and whether founder optimism is justified.01:00 Ewan introduces himself04:00 what Maven does06:30 how the macro economy affects startups10:00 recruitment challenges13:00 knock on from big tech redundancies15:00 hybrid working and trends21:30 Inflation - differential effect, supply chains23:40 price setting and price raising - push back, 27:00 different client types - SME vs enterprise 32:40 Interest rates, money supply, ease of funding34:30 difficulty of bank funding40:25 Looking forward44:50 Favourite questionsLinksMaven website - https://www.mavencp.com/Subscribe to the EIS Navigator podcast on most services here: https://the-eis-navigator.captivate.fm/listenSuggested bookBad Blood by John Carreyou BioEwan MacKinnonPartner, MavenEwan joined Maven in September 2009 and is based in their Glasgow and Edinburgh offices. He is responsible for new Private Equity investments across Scotland and North East England and is a member of the Maven Investment Committee.Ewan has 25 years’ experience managing, advising and investing in SMEs.  He joined Maven in 2009, having previously worked in Johnston Carmichael’s corporate finance team. Ewan has extensive industry experience, having been managing director of MacKinnons of Dyce Limited, a specialist retail business which was sold to a FTSE 250 listed company in 2006. He has a first-class honours degree from the Aberdeen Business School and is a Fellow of the Association of Chartered Certified Accountants.Outside of work, Ewan enjoys keeping fit, following Manchester United and Aberdeen FC and has a keen passion for music.

Elliot Limb is co-founder and CEO of Cubed and spends his days supporting fintech companies scale. Having worked with many startups, he has a broad insight into their challenges and difficulties. He also has some strong views, which makes for a very interesting discussion!We covered a huge number of areas, including:- why fintech has a long way to go- what causes startup companies to fail: Elliot gives the two most essential metrics monitor- the relationship on boards between founders and VCs and how both sides often get it wrong- the importance of getting the right staff and board members - how to thrive with a weak board- the merits of generalist vs specialist investors- whether work/life balance is possible for founders- how founders can pull through when crisis hits- how keeping the wrong customers can ruin a business- generating a path companies in crisis to recovery- the importance of transparency between founders and investors.And this only scratches the surface! We planned to focus on fintech, but ended up with a much wider discussion which is essential listening for any founder, VC or investor.LinksCubed website - https://www.cubed.company/LinkedIn - https://www.linkedin.com/company/cubedcompany/Subscribe to the EIS Navigator podcast on most services here: https://the-eis-navigator.captivate.fm/listenSuggested booksThe Ride of a Lifetime: Lessons in Creative Leadership from 15 Years as CEO of the Walt Disney Company by Bob IgerRules For Revolutionaries: The Capitalist Manifesto for Creating and Marketing New Products and Services by Guy KawasakiFrom Brian:The Power Law by Sebastian MallabyLying for Money by Dan DaviesBioElliot LimbCo-founder and CEO, CubedIn a career spanning over 20 years, he has held multiple prestigious positions in the Banking and Fintech industry.Realising the depth of opportunities available as the finance industry reached an inflection point, he founded CoBa - where collaboration and agile (cross eco-systems) operating models have true alignment from strategy through to value realisation, digging deeper than technology, API and standard platform level. CoBa is his vision of how to build sustainable business models, based on collaboration between banks, fintech, regulators and corporates to maximise profitability on an individual and collective basis.His expertise in Banking & Fintech stems from the major challenges and opportunities he faced over his career, most notably as the technology head for Citibank’s transaction banking business in EMEA, overseeing the strategy, delivery and support of all of the transaction banking services across 53 countries. Post Citibank, he was the head of Corporate Banking for the world’s 3rd largest fintech company Finastra (formerly Misys) which also gave him the experience of how to grow a technology business. In addition, he has also held senior positions at Barclays, Travelex and a subsidiary of the Lloyds banking group, as well as running his own consulting business and Payments advisory. He has been involved in all aspects of the transaction banking business and provided thought leadership in various aspects of payments and transformational change, regularly speaking at industry events around the globe.Currently a Board Member at World Trade Board, he is a passionate leader and founder of multiple ventures that aim to foster a bridge between the financial sector with disruptive technology.Based in London, he is a musician at heart, a published author and an experienced keynote speaker offering industry insights, sharing his experiences gained across UK, EMEA, New York, Singapore, India and Australia.

Since its founding eight years ago, British Business Bank has established itself as an important participant in the funding markets for UK SMEs and startups. In this episode, its CEO Louis Taylor tells us what it is doing and how it is going about it.We start by discussing how the Bank fits into the UK ecosystem. Louis discusses the bank's mandate and how it goes about fulfilling it. It aims to change market failures through a variety of projects. Louis discusses several of these and how the Bank aims to catalyse others to fill the gaps.There are several specific areas that concern EIS and VCT investors and we look at some of those. The gap in regional equity funding is well known and BBB has some tailored programmes to address them. We also talk about the challenges of improving diversity and addressing issues in the green economy. LinksBritish Business Bank website - https://www.british-business-bank.co.uk/Subscribe to the EIS Navigator podcast on most services here: https://the-eis-navigator.captivate.fm/listenSuggested bookThe Entrepreneurial Myth: A manifesto for real business by Louise Nicolson BioLouis TaylorCEO, British Business BankLouis Taylor is CEO of the British Business Bank, the UK’s government owned economic development Bank. Prior to that, he was Chief Executive of UK Export Finance (UKEF), the UK’s export credit agency, for seven years. He also held roles as a Director General in the Department for International Trade, and a member of its Executive Committee and Management Board.Before joining UKEF, Louis held a range of senior roles at Standard Chartered Bank, including from 2013 to 2015 as Chief Operating Officer of Group Treasury, based in London. Before that, he spent three years as the bank’s CEO for Vietnam, Cambodia and Laos, based in Ho Chi Minh City. During this time he was also Vice Chairman of the European Chamber of Commerce in Vietnam (Eurocham). He joined Standard Chartered in London in 2004, working in Group Corporate Development, which undertakes the bank’s acquisitions, divestments and other inorganic growth initiatives.His earlier career included eight years working for JP Morgan in debt capital markets and mergers and acquisitions, and five years in corporate development and strategy with two industrial companies, Cookson Group plc and BTR plc.Louis is a trustee of the charity Sightsavers, which prevents sight loss and avoidable blindness, and promotes equal rights for the disabled. He is also a former chair of trustees of the charity Music in Prisons, which runs music education projects to help rehabilitate offenders, and a former chair of governors of the Royal Grammar School in Newcastle upon Tyne. He has an MA in Law from the University of Cambridge.

Hardware startups have often struggled to get funding, but Damon Bonser of British Design Fund is trying to change that. In this episode, he talks about his experiences and how hardware can be more attractive than many investors think.The first half of our discussion focusses on how companies can mitigate risk. Damon discusses how he avoids investing in a warehouse of unsold goods, focussing instead on more normal VC ideas of satisfying customer needs by getting the product into their hands early on.We discuss how and when companies should tool up and start production. We also talk about where, with Damon highlighting how reshoring into the UK is starting again, especially post-pandemic. We also talk about intellectual property and how to protect it.LinksBritish Design Fund website - https://www.britishdesignfund.co.uk/Subscribe to the EIS Navigator podcast on most services here: https://the-eis-navigator.captivate.fm/listenSuggested bookRebel Ideas by Matthew SyedBioDamon BonserCEO, British Design FundDamon Bonser is the Founder and CEO of the British Design Fund. A serial entrepreneur with over 20 years’ experience building and running product development and manufacturing businesses.