On the hunt for funds?
Atom CTO February newsletter
Welcome to the latest Atom CTO newsletter where we share tech news and stories for founders and entrepreneurs who are starting and scaling businesses.
Editor’s Note
I was recently at an event run by our friends at Phase One which had a series of PE and VC investors talking about what businesses that are seeking early stage funding need to know about how to get it.
I’ve been to many of these events and I have to say that I was very impressed with the calibre of speaker and the fact that much of the advice was well worn:
Be humble
Have a problem to solve
Know your competitors
Build a strong team
Show some product-market-fit i.e. traction
Know your numbers
What I found most refreshing was the honesty of the investors - times are tough, you’re going to find it hard to get funding so your better have a great product in a market that can scale in order to raise funds from them.
There were two things that were missing for me though. One was the lack of representation of Angel Investors on the panel - we think very differently to VCs and PE and the lack of thought to how minority founders can access funds and here is my gripe - each one of the panellists said that cold outreach was no good - you needed to have a warm introduction.
I’m sorry (and I am about to go on a bit of a rant here) but that is not good enough. How do you get the warm introductions? Most of the VCs / PE crowd aren’t ethnically diverse, they didn’t grow up in the deprived neighbourhoods and the ones on the panel at least all had banking / finance backgrounds.
Funders in general need to to better, we can’t have a system where the only way to access money is to know the right people. Yes, “go to events” they say, but how do you find out about them? I do mentoring in local communities near where I live so I can make intros but I can guarantee you that not one of the start-ups I have mentored would have known about that event I went to.
Rant over. In this month’s newsletter we’ve added a link to Europe’s most active angel networks - its a small gesture but going forwards, we’re going to try harder to connect minority businesses to funding - especially since the change to the accredited investor rules have changed and the fact that funding is tight. All this means is that those that are underserved will remain that way.
As ever, if you are interested in learning more or have a tech challenge you need to solve, then we are here for you! Email bhairav@atomcto.com
Bhairav Patel
Managing Director
Atom CTO
Interesting insights
Latest events and articles in tech and entrepreneurship collected by the Atom team:
Looking for funding? We hear that ore and more solo investors are coming together to form angel investor networks and our friends at Sifted have put together a list of Europe’s most active angel networks. 👼
Is marketing a joke? CEOs are concerned that marketing metrics tied to business impact less than 60 percent of the time. Fret not marketers, there are ways to restore trust in your business leaders. 🤝
Ready to converge with other start up leaders AND investors? Secure your spot for this year’s EU-Startups Summit in Malta! From reputable speakers to networking opportunities, it’s the event to be at as a European start-up. 🎉
What is is like to be a CEO in a PE or VC backed business? Our friend Mark Farrer-Brown has written a series of articles that talks about what it is like to actually work for companies that have received both types of investment, a must read if you are thinking about a raise. 💰
Atom CTO Podcasts
If you’ve yet to put your customers first, this is your sign to do so 🥇 In this new episode of the latest season, Alan Clarke and Bhairav Patel discuss the steps in creating a more customer-centric business.
From the archive
Whilst we are gearing up for the next season of the podcast, we thought we share some gems from past, podcasts where the guests provide timeless information:
Back in 2020, we interviewed Joanna Vargas, entrepreneur and host of The Get Up Girl podcast. In this episode, Joanna talks about her inspirational journey 🛄 through the world of business as well as how she inspires other women to wake up, live life to the fullest and achieve their goals.
Who thought a travel book could also be a guide to starting and running your own business? Back in 2021, we interviewed Dina Preson-Ortiz and Don Ortiz who had written a book called 31 Cents to 43 Countries which outlined their journey around the 🌎as penniless musicians. This interview is fascinating in that they relate all of the choices and experiences they had to entrepreneurship, a truly fascinating listen.
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Keeping in touch ✉️
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