Patch plants: how to grow a British start up with investment

It’s a great fund-based start-up investment story, but how do you do the same?

Freddie gives us his advice for small business owners looking for funding. “We’ve been very conscious of only taking investment from people who are very careful and diligent,” he explains. “A good tip is to speak to people from the companies that failed – find out what happened when the business nosedived. Did the fund behave well? Were they ethical?” This way you can learn more about a firm’s integrity.

And what if you have no idea how to find or approach the relevant venture capital funds? “The first step is to find venture capital events,” says Freddie. “These can be well publicised on Twitter and have the appropriate hashtags attached to them.” Freddie suggests preparing a very clear summary of what your idea is before attending any events. “Then go along, find the funds you want to speak to, tell them your idea and suggest a further meeting with them,” he explains, simply.