The Power of Investment and Venture capitalist funding
Investment and Venture Capitalist [VC] funding plays a vital role in driving innovation and supporting economic growth, often in industries and markets that have been stagnant for a period of time. When the investment and VC funding is made into start ups and scale ups it can often offer a potential lucrative return on investment as well as supporting the growth of industries and markets with new jobs too.
The power of a Venture Capitalist fund.
Venture Capital funding, also known as VC funding, is a type of private funding from companies of private investors. The financing provides money to start-ups and scale ups in exchange for a percentage of the business… just like you would see on Dragons Den.
VC’s not only provide monetary funding, but as many have grown and sold businesses themselves they can also offer knowledge and support, meaning when looking for venture capital investment picking the right investor for you and your businesses is imperative.
Many well known businesses have VC funding to thank for their success from Google to Facebook to Gymshark and Deliveroo here in the UK.
Looking for venture capital investment
The process of raising capital is long and can take you down many paths, but the key stages are broken down into 4 parts.
Pre VC funding
This is the very start, before you are looking for funding, when your company is being bootstrapped and funds are being provided by yourself, any co-founders and sometimes friends and family. However there will come a point where scaling is your only option. This is the time you move into the pre-seed stage.
Pre seed stage
This is the stage where you are testing the waters to see if there is a market for what you are creating. Funded is typically provided by a micro VC or angel investor and the funding is focused on product development, market research and or business plan development.
Seed stage
The seed stage comes into play to support your first expansion after you have proven that your product or service is viable. The investment is usually a significant amount and is there to fund hiring, marketing, and operations. The seed stage is also known as Series A funding with any future rounds known as Series B and so on.
Late stage
Late stage funding is for mature companies who have shown substantial growth, have generated revenue and sometimes profits. This stage is less funded by VC’s and more so by private equity firms as the risk is lower and the potential for returns is higher.
How to attract venture capital funding
As a founder or business owner the key to scaling your business lies in the connections you make. ClimbUK is the festival of innovation and business growth where ambitious leaders like you can take their ventures to the next level by making those powerful connections.