Investors and founders all-to-often see legals as a necessary evil. SeedLegals is changing that, thinking about how how to get better and solutions for all parties. In this episode its Founder, Anthony Rose, talks about what they are doing and how they have developed one the past few years.We discuss what the aims of legal documents really are, how investors and founders should think about them and how they are involved in a kind of social engineering. We also chat about how good legal documents can help solve problems and the mistakes that investors and founders make when creating them.As well as what it does for investors, SeedLegals is still a relatively new business. Anthony also talks about product development, how they balance automation and customisation and how playing the long game is paying off for them.Website - https://seedlegals.com/LinkedIn - https://www.linkedin.com/in/anrose/Twitter - https://twitter.com/anthonyrose

Video gaming is a huge market, but relatively niche within EIS. Steve Iles has spent his whole career working in and helping the video games industry and his current focus is at the intersection with funding. We start off by talking about the history of video gaming and how it has shaped the industry as it stands today. This leads into the attractions of the different business models and what what does or doesn't make a good video game. Steve then talk about lower risk ways create games, trends, how investors should or shouldn't diligence video game companies and why gaming hasn’t taken off in EIS yet.Website - http://originvp.com/Suggested reading:https://www.gamesindustry.biz/https://newzoo.com/https://gamasutra.com/

EIS & VCTs have been described by several guests as one of finances best kept secrets, which makes the job of advisers challenging when they recommend them. Stephen Jones has a lot of experience dealing with these, and has won several awards for the quality of his services in the tax-advantaged area.This is the second part of a really good discussion which is split over two episodes (see episode 29 for the first part). In this one, Stephen goes into more details about some aspects of EIS and VCT product selection. We talk about how he looks at fees and what fee structures he likes, past performance and the challenges of getting good reporting systems.Website - https://www.clearsolutionsifa.co.uk/Phone - 01283 730080Suggested books:Family Inc by Douglas McCormick

EIS & VCTs have been described by several guests as one of finances best kept secrets, which makes the job of advisers challenging when they recommend them. Stephen Jones has a lot of experience dealing with these, and has won several awards for the quality of his services in the tax-advantaged area.We had a really good discussion which will be split over two episodes. In this one, Stephen talks about the framework that he uses for giving advice and how & where tax-advantaged investments fit into that. We discuss some of the issues around suitability and how to choose between EIS and VCTs. We also talk about product selection at a high level, but will dig into that more in next week's bonus episode.Website - https://www.clearsolutionsifa.co.uk/Phone - 01283 730080

International expansion is key to success for many startups, but also fraught with difficulties. Tofiq Qureshi of Innvotec has worked in several countries and brought technology to many more, so has lots of experience of internationalising.Getting timing right is the first challenge and we discuss when is right for a startup to look overseas, and when is too early. We also talk about figuring out when to find a local partner, what sort of partner and how to find them, as well as when to go direct and build a local presence instead. Tofiq also gives his views on overcoming language, culture and local regulatory challenges. We don't ignore the pandemic either, as this has changed how several of these can be approached. InnvotecWebsite - https://www.innvotec.com/LinkedIn - https://www.linkedin.com/company/innvotec/Twitter - @innvotec1986Suggested books:Exponential Organizations by Salim Ismail The Lean Startup by Eric Ries

We've touched on angel investing several times on the podcast, so it was time we got a business angel on. Kirsten Connell is an unusual angel, in that she has a background in venture capital, but, like many angels, has strong experience in one area, which in her case is cybersecurity.We talk about how she got into angel investing and what her approach is. We talk about sourcing deals and diversification, particularly balancing her sector expertise against a desire to broaden her exposure. We also discuss what is the right diligence to do and who you can trust while doing it. She also gives some tips for those who want to start angel investing.LinkedIn profile - https://www.linkedin.com/in/kirstenconnell/Twitter - @kirstSuggested books:Delivering Happiness: A Path to Profits, Passion and Purpose by Tony HsiehBad Blood: Secrets and Lies in a Silicon Valley Startup by John Carreyrou

Generating sales in critical for any business, so its good to get someone on who has a playbook that works. Mads Jensen of Superseed focusses on B2B SaaS and helping his investee companies get those early sales and, when appropriate scale up.We talk about the challenges for startups: how to find those early customers, the difference between soliciting enough customer feedback and losing focus, when you know you have customer market fit and when to start scaling your sales up. We also talk about pricing and the role investors can play.Superseed - https://www.superseed.com/Suggested books:Good Strategy/Bad Strategy: The difference and why it matters by Richard Rumelt

While multi-stage venture capital management is common in the US, few firms have, so far, managed to develop it successfully here. Mercia is has probably developed the widest range of capital pools in the tax-advantaged world. We get Dr Paul Mattick on discuss their approach.While the benefits of multiple pools are clear, it does bring challenges to. We discuss how Mercia addresses these, building up strong processes and using its scale to its benefit.We also discuss Mercia's regional focus - the advantages and challenges, why the regions are underfunded and whether that can change. Paul also explains his idea of geographical arbitrage, to buy at low regional valuations and sell at a premium in the south east!Mercia Asset Management - https://www.mercia.co.uk/Paul.Mattick@mercia.co.ukSuggested books:The Time Traveler's Wife by Audrey Niffenegger

We all can see big ideas, but its often not clear how to translate them into investible ideas. Impact investment is one of the highest profile ideas just now, so we have Dan Somers of impact investors Boundary Capital to talk about this.He talks about how they drew investible themes out of the big idea, and how that works when it comes to looking at companies. Inevitably, this involves measuring impact. We discuss the Boundary approach, how the market looks at it and the challenge of comparability. We also give investors ideas about how to get started in this area.Boundary Capital - https://www.boundarycapital.com/Dan would love more book ideas, and to discuss anything we raised on the podcast, and can be contacted at dan@boundarycapital.com.Suggested books:Thinking, Fast and Slow by Daniel KahnemanDescartes' Error: Emotion, Reason and the Human Brain by Antonio Damasio

Corporate finance is an essential aspect of venture capital investing. Steve Harris is CEO of Committed Capital, with a strong corporate finance background and a long history of venture capital investing.In a widely ranging discussion, we cover many important areas, including company valuations, how to assess financial projections and plans for what happens when things go wrong. We also ask whether corporate financiers or former entrepreneurs make better venture capital investors!Committed Capital - https://www.committedcapital.co.uk/Suggested books:The Passion Of The Western Mind: Understanding the Ideas That Have Shaped Our World View by Richard TarnassThe Doctor and the Soul: From Psychotherapy to Logotherapy by Victor FranklA Man's Search for Meaning by Victor Frankl