Harry Stebbings

Fast £25k Equity Funding for “Day-Zero” Founders. Tired of funding barriers before you even start? After 25 years as an angel investor, I’ve seen how hard it is for first-time UK founders to access funding, particularly when there is no team, no product and no customers. Avonmore Developments invested £400k in pre-seed and seed deals last year, but these were often in syndicated, larger rounds. That’s why we're launching a new initiative: £25k into ambitious, “day-zero” entrepreneurs just stepping out of the lab or leaving a job. This combines fast financial backing alongside my time and ongoing support. At least half the awards will go to female founders. This is for UK founders who are tackling a fundamental problem with venture-scale potential. Those founders with the intelligence, knowledge and drive to succeed but who don't necessarily have access to initial financial support from family and friends. The criteria and process? ·       UK based. Not raised external funding before (grants are fine) ·       6 questions → follow-up due diligence → a decision in 2 weeks. ·       Either a solo £25k investment under an ASA or participation in a larger pre-seed round. ·       The bar will be high, but not every founder, team or idea is venture-scale. Ready to build something big? Apply here: https://lnkd.in/e4hPPyax

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𝗠𝗼𝘀𝘁 𝗳𝗼𝘂𝗻𝗱𝗲𝗿𝘀 𝗮𝗿𝗲 𝗽𝗹𝗮𝘆𝗶𝗻𝗴 𝘁𝗵𝗲 𝘄𝗿𝗼𝗻𝗴 𝗴𝗮𝗺𝗲. This week on Nothing Ventured, I sat down with Timothy Armoo who went from a council estate in South London to an 8-figure exit and a portfolio doing £47m+ annually. He's now building Billion Pound Exits to help founders think through and execute on exiting their businesses. This podcast had no sugar coating, just frameworks that move the needle. Here are 5 takeaways that stayed with me: 𝟭. 𝗕𝘂𝗶𝗹𝗱 𝘄𝗵𝗲𝗿𝗲 𝘁𝗵𝗲 𝗲𝘅𝗽𝗲𝗿𝘁𝗶𝘀𝗲 𝗴𝗮𝗽 𝗲𝘅𝗶𝘀𝘁𝘀 The gap between what you know and what your customer knows = value. That gap is shrinking fast in old markets… and exploding in AI. 𝟮. 𝗦𝘁𝗼𝗽 𝗯𝘂𝗶𝗹𝗱𝗶𝗻𝗴 𝗳𝗼𝗿 𝘀𝗼𝗺𝗲𝗼𝗻𝗲 𝗲𝗹𝘀𝗲 School trains you to get your “paper marked.” Too many founders carry that into business — chasing VC approval instead of building for their own outcome. 𝟯. 𝗧𝗵𝗲𝗿𝗲 𝗮𝗿𝗲 “𝗽𝗵𝘆𝘀𝗶𝗰𝘀 𝗼𝗳 𝗯𝘂𝘀𝗶𝗻𝗲𝘀𝘀” — 𝗮𝗻𝗱 𝘆𝗼𝘂 𝗰𝗮𝗻’𝘁 𝗰𝗵𝗲𝗮𝘁 𝘁𝗵𝗲𝗺 “But my case is different” is how founders waste years. Supply, demand, pricing, value… the rules don’t change just because you think they do. 𝟰. 𝗧𝗵𝗲 𝗯𝗲𝘀𝘁 𝗽𝗲𝗼𝗽𝗹𝗲 𝗮𝗿𝗲𝗻’𝘁 𝗽𝗮𝘀𝘀𝗶𝗼𝗻𝗮𝘁𝗲 𝗮𝗯𝗼𝘂𝘁 𝘁𝗵𝗲𝗶𝗿 𝗯𝘂𝘀𝗶𝗻𝗲𝘀𝘀 They’re obsessed with being excellent at their craft. Your business is just the vehicle. 𝟱. 𝗬𝗼𝘂’𝗿𝗲 𝗻𝗼𝘁 𝗯𝘂𝗶𝗹𝗱𝗶𝗻𝗴 𝗮 𝗽𝗿𝗼𝗱𝘂𝗰𝘁. 𝗬𝗼𝘂’𝗿𝗲 𝗯𝘂𝗶𝗹𝗱𝗶𝗻𝗴 𝗮 𝘀𝘆𝘀𝘁𝗲𝗺 Processes > people. You don’t sell a business — you sell a machine that runs without you. Bonus: 👉 Hard work is overrated. What you work on matters more. 👉 Date your buyers early. Don’t wait until you’re desperate. This one’s a reality check for any founder still caught in the hype cycle. 🎧 Episode live now - links in comments.

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🚀 We launched (yet) another fundraising accelerator last week! 💰 This particular investment-ready programme supports under-represented founders in London, and is funded with the support of Mayor of London, Sadiq Khan via the UK Shared Prosperity Fund, delivered in partnership with Funding London. 📈 We covered a whole host of topics including types of investors available at different stage, how they think, building FOMO in a fundraise and what best-in-class investor documents look like. 👉 Our mission - to increase the number of funding rounds led by female or ethnic minority founders and have a material impact on the fundraising statistics over the next 12 months.

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Jonny Clifford came on the show to talk about how they realise ambition Entrepreneurs First. Here's what he's seen after two years of taking portfolio companies to the US: - Founders calibrate their ambition to the people around them - European ecosystems often set that bar too low - Dropping founders into the US market resets what they believe is possible The common take is that the US just has more capital. That's true, but it misses the bigger picture. Theres a real unlock in customer culture. American companies will take a bet on an unproven startup if they think the product could transform their business. That willingness to engage with early stage companies has meant his portfolio companies have grown revenue significantly faster after US exposure. Then there's the network effect. In Europe, people tend to guard their personal contacts. Introductions are earned slowly. In the US, the default is generosity — people open up their address books freely. There's no single hack that closes the ambition gap. But in Jonny's view, getting founders out of their local ecosystem and into rooms where the pace, the urgency, and the willingness to take risk are operating at a completely different level is the closest thing to one.

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Sencillo Making Education Financing Work for UK Families Sencillo, a UK-based #fintech startup, has raised over £350,000 in a pre-seed round led by Fuel Ventures 🚀, with contributions from senior executives at PensionBee UK , Premium Credit Ltd , and the London Stock Exchange. Founded by Adam Amos, a former Pigzbe co-founder and ex-EY innovator in banking and credit, Sencillo empowers parents to visualise and plan the full cost of their children’s education journey. With #UK families spending between £3,600–£15,000/year on early childcare, £19,000–£50,000 for independent schooling, and over £22,700/year for university, #Sencillo’s platform uses smart calculators and responsible credit to provide tailored financing straight to schools and universities. The new funds will fuel team growth, product development, and a full public launch planned for early 2026. Read More - https://lnkd.in/dz6y5PUh

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2 Year Fhunded Snapshot: 💰£21M+ early-stage equity raised through the Fhunded VC community 🧑‍💼 Around 40 new, high-skilled jobs created across Lancashire 🌹 19 leading VC's engaged with Lancashire-based deals via Fhunded events 🪽 Launch of the Fhunded Angel network 💻 Roll-out of Lancashire's bespoke Dealroom platform Read more: https://lnkd.in/eCX353jb

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