Raise better. Invest better.
45 guides — what we tell founders before, during and after they list, and what we tell investors before they write a cheque. Free, plain, written by people who have raised, invested and lent. The founder plan adds the tools that do the arithmetic.
Before you raise
Are you ready to raise? The twelve-point check
Most failed raises were never going to work, and the founder could have known. Twelve questions to answer honestly before you list — on the business, the numbers, the structure and you.
How much to raise: the milestone method
Not 'as much as possible' and not 'eighteen months of runway'. How to size a round from the milestone that makes the next one possible, with a worked example and the two mistakes that cost founders the most.
Pre-seed, seed and Series A: what the labels actually mean in the UK
The stages, what evidence each expects, the typical raise and valuation ranges in 2026, who invests at each, and why calling your round by the wrong name costs you investors.
Angels, VCs, family offices, crowdfunding and platforms: who funds what
The five kinds of money available to a UK founder, what each one wants, what each one costs you, the cheque sizes, and which to go after at your stage.
Debt versus equity: which money should you actually take?
The plain economics of giving away a share versus paying interest, the kinds of debt available to a small UK company, when a loan beats a round, when it is dangerous, and how founders combine the two.
Grants, R&D tax credits and Innovate UK alongside equity
The non-dilutive money most founders leave on the table: how R&D tax relief works in 2026, what Innovate UK actually funds, how grants interact with SEIS/EIS and a raise, and the order to do things in.
Your listing
How to write a business plan investors actually read
Investors give a plan ten seconds, then ten minutes if you earn them. What goes in each section, the numbers that matter, a worked example, and the seven things that get a plan passed on before page two.
The pitch deck that works on a phone
Investors on Find open your deck after they've already hearted you, on a phone, to check they were right. Twelve slides, what each one is for, the three that decide everything, and the production rules that keep it readable at five inches wide.
How to make a two-minute pitch video with your phone
The single biggest lever on whether your listing gets read to the end. A script with timings, how to film it in one take with what you already own, and the five mistakes that make founders look less credible than they are.
What investors look for before they heart a listing
What actually happens in the ten seconds an investor gives a new listing, the ten minutes after if you earn them, the five things that make them heart and the five that make them pass — from watching what they do, not what they say.
Building a financial model investors will believe
Why the forecast matters more than the valuation, the five drivers every model is built from, how to set assumptions you can defend, the sanity checks investors run in their heads, and what to do when the model says no.
Due diligence: what investors ask for, and the data room that answers it
The forty documents a seed investor will want, in the order they ask, how to assemble them in a week, and the five findings that kill deals late.
Structure and terms
SEIS and EIS, explained for founders
What the two schemes actually give an investor (with the maths), which companies qualify, the limits and the traps, why 'advance assurance received' is the line that converts, and how to get it before you list.
Valuation and terms: a plain-English guide for first-time founders
Pre-money and post-money with the arithmetic, how early-stage valuations are actually set, the instruments you will be offered and what each one does to you, the five terms to understand before you sign, and a worked example of a £400k round.
Negotiating valuation without losing the investor or the company
How to arrive at a number you can defend, the four arguments that work, the three that don't, when to hold and when to move, and the trade-offs that are worth more than a higher price.
Cap tables and dilution, with the arithmetic
What a cap table is, how to build one in ten minutes, how each round dilutes everyone, what an option pool does to founders, and the three cap tables investors refuse to fund.
Convertible loan notes and advance subscription agreements, explained
What a convertible actually does, the discount and the cap with arithmetic, why an ASA exists and when to use one, what each does to SEIS/EIS, and the three clauses that bite founders at the next round.
The term sheet, line by line
Every clause you'll see in a UK seed term sheet, what it means in plain English, what's market in 2026, what's a try-on, and which three to push back on before you sign.
Warranties and the disclosure letter: the founder's real protection
What a warranty is, why investors ask for forty of them, how the disclosure letter turns a liability into a shield, what to disclose, and what happens if you get it wrong.
Founder vesting: why investors ask for it and how to make it fair
What vesting is, why it protects founders from each other as much as investors from founders, the standard schedule, what to negotiate, and the leaver provisions that decide whether it is fair or a trap.
EMI share options: the scheme that lets you hire people you can't afford
What EMI is, why it is the most generous option scheme in the world, who qualifies, how to set one up, what to grant and at what price, and the mistakes that cost the tax relief.
Running the raise
How long a raise takes, and how to run it so it doesn't take longer
The realistic timeline for a £100k–£2m round in 2026, the four phases, why raises stall in phase three, how to create momentum without lying, and the week-by-week plan.
Finding a lead investor, and why the first £50k is the hardest
What a lead does, why every round needs one, where to find them, how to ask, and what to do when nobody will go first.
Handling a no: what to ask, what to change, and when to stop
The five kinds of no, the one question to ask every time, how to tell a problem with the pitch from a problem with the business, and the rule for when to close the listing and go back to work.
After the money lands
Investor updates after the raise: the monthly email that gets you the next round
Why the update matters more than the board meeting, the five-section format that takes an hour a month, what to do when the news is bad, and how updates turn twenty small investors into your best source of introductions.
The first board meeting: what investors expect, and how to run one in an hour
Why a board is useful even when nobody requires one, the standing agenda, the pack, what investor directors actually do, and the mistakes first-time founders make in the first three meetings.
For investors
How Find works for investors: first move, matching, and what happens next
The investor-first rule, what a listing shows you and what it doesn't until you indicate, the message, the deal room, committing, and the rules investors agree to — plus what Find is not.
Self-certification explained: why Find asks, and what you're signing
The high-net-worth and sophisticated-investor tests in 2026, what the statement actually commits you to, what the protections you give up are, and why every listing on Find sits behind it.
SEIS and EIS for investors: the arithmetic of a £20,000 cheque
What the reliefs actually do to your money — income tax relief, CGT exemption, loss relief, carry-back and reinvestment relief — with the 2026 limits and a worked example showing the real downside on a £20k SEIS investment.
How to read a seed deal in twenty minutes
The order experienced angels read a listing in, the six numbers to find first, the questions the documents must answer, the red flags that end it early, and what to do before you heart.
Due diligence for a £10k–£50k cheque: what's proportionate
What to check yourself, what to rely on the lead for, the eight things that take an hour and catch most problems, the documents to insist on, and the call questions that reveal whether the founder knows the business.
Reading Companies House like an investor: what the filings tell you in ten minutes
What to look at on a company's record and its directors' records, how to read a confirmation statement, charges, and accounts, what the new identity-verification flag means, and the patterns that should make you ask a question.
Building an angel portfolio: why one great pick is the wrong plan
The maths of early-stage returns, why twenty cheques beat two, how to size cheques to your tax position, follow-on strategy, sector spread, and the discipline that separates angels who make money from angels who have stories.
The term sheet from the investor's side: what to ask for, and what breaks SEIS
The protections a minority investor actually needs, the ones that are market at seed, the ones that destroy tax relief, and how to read a lead investor's terms before you ride on them.
Leading a round as an angel: what you take on and what you get
What a lead does, the time it costs, how to set terms fairly, running the diligence the others will rely on, and the board seat — when to take it and what it obliges you to.
After you invest: certificates, updates, follow-ons and exits
The SEIS3/EIS3 certificate and how to claim, what to expect from founder updates and what to do when they stop, how to decide on follow-on cheques, and what an exit actually looks like for a minority angel.
Loan notes, MBOs and income deals: investing for yield, not just exits
Why some of the best deals for a certified investor pay a coupon rather than promising an exit, how secured loan notes into profitable businesses and buy-outs work, what protection you actually have, and how they sit alongside SEIS equity in a portfolio.
Angel networks, syndicates and EIS funds: the other ways in, and how Find sits alongside them
What each route gives a certified investor, what it costs, the trade-offs in control and deal flow, and how experienced angels combine them.
By sector
Raising for a software business: the metrics that decide the valuation
MRR, growth, churn, gross margin, CAC and payback — what each one means, what good looks like at seed in 2026, how to present them honestly, and the AI question every investor now asks.
Raising for a hospitality business: cafés, restaurants, bars and bakeries
Why hospitality is fundable when the unit economics are visible, the numbers investors want per site, how to present a multi-site plan, what SEIS/EIS does and doesn't cover, and the debt-and-equity mix that usually works.
Raising for a professional services firm: accountancy, legal, consultancy and agencies
Why services firms are undervalued by venture investors and overvalued by their founders, what recurring fees are worth, how to present a firm that depends on people, and the routes — platform, buy-out, growth capital — that actually work.
Raising for manufacturing and physical products: stock, machines and working capital
Why product businesses need more money than software and less of it as equity, the working-capital cycle investors will interrogate, how to fund machines and stock without dilution, and the evidence that convinces.
Raising for a consumer brand: what investors need to see beyond the Instagram
Why brands are the hardest raise to judge and the easiest to fall for, the repeat-purchase numbers that matter, channel economics, when crowdfunding beats angels, and the trap of marketing-funded growth.
Management buy-outs: raising money to buy the business you already run
How an MBO is structured, where the money comes from, what the vendor will accept, the numbers that make it work, and why investors on Find like them.
What can't be listed on Find, and why
The businesses and structures that fall outside the platform — property development, funds, crypto, anything needing FCA permission itself, and raises outside £100k–£2m — with the reasons, and where those founders should go instead.