In other ventures that have been more capital intensive I’ve worked more closely with VCs. I’ve learnt that it’s best to be as targeted as possible when you start making initial outreach. Look for investors that will add value, ‘get’ your business, and are happy to work with certain criteria (e.g. whether something has EIS benefits or not). There’s a surprising amount of rubbish out there, so it really is worth doing your research upfront.

For early-stage ventures, it’s a lot more about the people and the idea for the investors. They’ll be looking at factors like whether there’s a good founder-market fit, if there’s optionality in the business in case things need to pivot, what the reason is for the founder to have launched the business, as well as their skills, expertise and experience.

Again, it’s important to remember that it’ll be different for different people – some like to find founders who have a few businesses under their belt and feel like a safe bet, while others are looking for the ‘next Zuckerberg’. That’s why it’s so important to find the right investors for you, and to do that you need to be true to yourself.