From Start-up to Scale-up

What funders expect at each stage

Kevin R Smith

• Publisher: Novaro Publishing
• Year: 2021
• eBook ISBN:
  9781838067496
• Print ISBN:
  9781838067489

Many dream of high growth. Few achieve it. The reality is that it's a harder cycle to complete than entrepreneurs and founders expect. The risks are numerous and intense. The right investors will give you the space and the fuel to perfect your idea and connect with your market. However, they are going to ask you a series of searching questions about how you are actually going to perform. Kevin R Smith knows all about the pressures that entrepreneurs and founders face. He has helped hundreds of them to plan, fund and scale their ventures. Often when they're short of time or not sure which way to turn. Based on all these experiences, his book highlights the decisions and the capabilities that make the difference between those who accelerate and those who plateau. Written as a realistic guide to meeting the expectations of investors, he gives you a step-by-step guide to what you have to put in place to become fundable and put yourself on the path to scaling up.

Table of contents

• Start-Up to Scale-Up
• Titlepage
• Copyright
• Contents
• Foreword
• Preface
• 1. Entrepreneurs and founders
• 2. Your business idea and vision
• 3. Ready for the challenges
• 4. Getting help
• 5. Your business shape
• 6. Business plans
• 7. Customers, markets and data
• 8. Financials, assumptions and forecasts
• 9. Building your market
• 10. International sales
• 11. Valuing early-stage businesses
• 12. Your fundraising campaign
• 13. Alternatives to equity
• 14. The right investor
• 15. Business angels
• 16. Crowdfunding
• 17. Making your pitch
• 18. Tell your story
• 19. Build your team
• 20. Build your network
• 21. Your operating platform
• 22. Cashflow management
• 23. Why it’s hard to scale
• 24. How to adapt and pivot
• 25. Growth capital
• Appendices 1. Tax relief for investors: SEIS and EIS
• Appendices 2. R&D tax credits
• Acknowledgements