January is a month of new beginnings and a perfect time to think about your plans for the year ahead, including your financial ambitions.
With this in mind, and to kick 2022 off, here are a few thoughts on what you should demand from us and the rest of the VC community this year…
- A UK-wide investment strategy
Some VCs only invest in businesses that are close to where they’re based in the capital. But what benefit does it serve you if your VC is missing key opportunities?
Founders outside of London are 50% less likely to get investment and yet the UK is brimming with backable early-stage businesses, including companies like XR Games (Leeds) or Reacta (Deeside), which make up our portfolio.
The equity funding gap in the North has been acknowledged by institutions such as the British Business Bank and presents a competitive advantage for those willing to look further afield.
- A close eye on trends in emerging or evolving sectors
VCs who specialise in a specific sector may pigeonhole themselves to the areas they’re most comfortable with and may be blind to other unique opportunities.
Good VCs tend to keep their ear to the ground – whether it’s attending webinars or carrying out diligence on relevant but lesser-known spaces. It helps with both identifying growth sectors, as well as portfolio diversification.
2022 is set to be a transformational year for many sectors, from PropTech through to the metaverse, which could be an $800bn market by 2024, so test your VC about emerging markets and trends you’ve heard about.
- Complete transparency when mistakes happen
No VC is infallible… mistakes or misjudgements can and do happen.
In these instances, you should pay attention to how your VC puts things right and how transparent they are about what’s happened and why.
Are you more likely to trust a VC that’s honest and offers to rectify a mistake or one that tries to hide their tracks to save face?
- Superior communication
There’s no reason why a good VC shouldn’t be able to communicate with its investors or advisers clearly, consistently and as often as is necessary.
But outside of emails and phone calls, VCs can always do more to enhance the level of communication and the quality of information they deliver.
This is one of the reasons we use an investment portal, twice-yearly portfolio updates and push all announcements through our own channels.
- A VC-founder relationship that goes further
The additional support a VC provides to early-stage businesses is crucial to the future of any new company and the chances of a successful exit.
We’ve always followed a mantra of ‘more than money’, including support from our operational partners as well as access to the wider team and our portfolio toolkit, simply to help founders build the best business they can.
Keep these things in mind to ensure you’re getting as much value as possible from your VC – this year and every year!
- Myrto Lalacos, Investment Executive
