How Kelpi nailed our funding round
So Kelpi successfully closed our pre-seed funding round. As for any start-up, it’s a massive milestone – an endorsement of our focus and approach as well as a signal that we’re operating in a valuable and valued space.
Already, I’ve had a couple of discussions with other tech founders eager for pointers on successfully closing a round. So here are a couple of things we learned along the way.
1. Use the right platform to run the round. Kelpi used the FounderCatalyst online platform to create all of our legal funding round paperwork and manage engagement with our investors. As a result, for a fixed fee we avoided needing to draw on bespoke legal advice which might have cost five or ten times as much. From term sheet onwards, FounderCatalyst guided us through the whole process of due diligence, setting up and populating the data room, making it really effective and straightforward, keeping the deal momentum going and presenting a professional interface to our angel investors.
2. Get the SEIS/EIS advance assurance in place before you start. Again, this is something that FounderCatalyst can help with. Having this in place before you even open discussions with investors will just mean that there’s one less reason for delay as those discussions gain momentum. How much time advance assurance takes may depend upon the time of year (closer to tax year-end HMRC can take far longer to issue AA).
3. Discuss your pitch deck with a number of mentors. Kelpi won a place on Innovate UK Edge’s “Pitchfest” which was immensely helpful in challenging our deck, forcing us to refine the messaging, tailoring the pitch for different times and audiences, and anticipating the questions we would face from investors.
4. Research your potential investors. This seems self-evident, but spending time looking at the focus of angels or funds enabled us to quickly identify the common ground and focus our time on building a relationship with a much smaller shortlist.
From our first session at Pitchfest to successfully closing the round took Kelpi around four months. I know companies that have closed a pre-seed round in less, but many which have found it taking them longer, so I’d estimate we’re in the middle. But the most important thing is that we have a lead investor and two individual angel investors who are the ideal partners for our next stage, worth much more than just the funding they have brought. They have bought into our sustainability mission, our team and our vision. And it’s with investors like them that we’ll change the world.