Making Sense of Term SheetsTo successfully negotiate a term sheet, you need to know what the relevant terms mean and the potential pitfalls to avoid.Here are our top 10 tips to bear in mind when you are presented with an investor term sheet: ValuationUnderstand the difference between pre-money and post-money valuations.Let’s say you need to raise 250k and believe that the company should be valued at £1.5m:If £1.5m is a pre-money valuation, the calculation is £250,000/£1,750,000 x 100 = 14.29% equity to be offered;Whereas if £1.5m is a post-money valuation, the calculation is £250,000/£1,500,000 x 100 = 16.67% equity to be...

Building and running a start-up can be exhilarating but also hard work.  Having set up and developed an events company over four years, I know only too well the late nights, last minute panics and constant drive it takes to achieve each milestone in a new business. It takes a lot of effort to keep moving upwards! And it is on this note that I recently drew parallels between building a business and rock climbing. Driving an idea forwards, getting traction and seeing it all come together are at the heart of building businesses and also working through routes on the wall. But both also come with moments that can seem terrifying (as you’ll see from the look on my face in this picture)!  Pushing through the difficult moments helps you develop resilience and learn the skills you will need to take on the next challenge – and of course you can have tons of fun doing it!

Crowdfunding’s use has grown significantly in recent years to the point where it is now a common method of fund raising for early stage and growth companies.The regulation around crowdfunding is still relatively new and the FCA opened a consultation on the rules around loan-based crowdfunding back in July of this year, an example of how rapidly crowdfunding is expanding.‘Equity-based’ crowdfunding is the form that most will be familiar with. This is where the ‘crowd’ invests through a large amount of individuals, each investing a relatively small amount in return for shares.Crowdfunding can be an invaluable tool for any start-up business...

Earlier this week I had the opportunity to listen to an inspiring presentation by Duncan Logan, the Founder of www.rocketspace.com.  He left Scotland for California about ten years ago and became the Founder and Chief Executive of Rocket Space in San Francisco.  In the past seven years approximately a hundred Rocket Space companies have raised in the region of $US 20 Billion and there are no fewer than seventeen unicorns amongst them.  Having seen companies of all shapes and sizes, success and failure, he offered us a few reflections on the constant themes he has observed in those companies which have...