How early should we start preparing to raise?

Six months before you intend to open conversations is a reasonable minimum. Readiness work that begins when runway is short reduces optionality and is visible to investors.

Are you a broker or placement agent?

No. We are advisers. We prepare companies, support the process and help boards interpret terms; we do not intermediate transactions on a success-fee basis.

What makes a financial model investor-grade?

Driver-based logic that ties to how the business actually operates, unit economics that hold under scrutiny, scenarios including a credible downside, and internal consistency between the model, the plan and the narrative.

Can you help us evaluate a term sheet we have already received?

Yes. We review valuation, preferences, control and governance provisions, founder terms and the long-term implications of individual clauses, working alongside your legal advisers.

Do you advise on funding other than equity?

Yes. Depending on the situation we consider debt, grant and agency funding, revenue-based structures and staged approaches, so the capital structure matches the risk profile of the plan.

Service 03

Capital readiness and fundraising advisory

Fundraising rewards preparation far more than it rewards optimism. Investors are underwriting a small number of things: whether the market is real, whether the company can execute, whether the numbers hold under pressure, and whether the team will behave predictably. We prepare companies to answer those questions on the evidence — before the process starts, not during it.

Start a conversation See our workshops

Who this is for

Founders approaching a first institutional round
Scale-ups raising growth capital or structuring debt alongside equity
Leadership teams whose last process stalled and who want to understand why
Companies whose plan requires capital for international expansion
Boards seeking an independent view of funding options and timing

Common triggers

Twelve to eighteen months of runway and no agreed funding strategy
A financial model that cannot withstand scenario or sensitivity questioning
Investor conversations that progress politely and then go quiet
A growth plan that assumes capital without defining what it buys
A term sheet arriving before the company has a view on what good looks like

Our approach

How we work through it.

01 —

Establish the capital requirement

What the money is genuinely for, what it buys, and what milestones it must reach to make the next round or the exit possible. Raising the wrong amount is as damaging as raising nothing.

02 —

Build the financial architecture

An integrated model with defensible drivers, unit economics, scenario and sensitivity analysis, and a downside case the board can live with. Investors test the logic, not the presentation.

03 —

Sharpen the investor narrative

A coherent story connecting market, product, commercial evidence, team and capital plan — with the awkward questions anticipated rather than avoided.

04 —

Target the right capital

Stage fit, sector focus, cheque size, jurisdiction, portfolio conflicts and behaviour after investment. A well-targeted shortlist consistently outperforms a broad circulation.

05 —

Run a disciplined process

Sequencing, data room preparation, diligence readiness, term sheet interpretation and negotiation support — with an operator's view of which terms shape the company for years.

Typical deliverables

Funding readiness assessment and gap analysis
Integrated financial model with scenarios and sensitivities
Business plan and capital strategy
Investor narrative, materials review and management presentation support
Investor targeting and shortlist
Data room structure and diligence preparation
Term sheet review, comparison and negotiation support

Relevant experience

Our capital work draws on both sides of the table: raising institutional capital as operators, and assessing companies as investors. It spans venture and growth equity, private equity processes, debt structures, public agency funding and public market transactions, alongside workshop delivery on investor readiness with founders, advisors and public agencies.

More about our operator-led model

Engagement example

Anonymised illustration — editable content block

Context

A scale-up preparing a growth round whose model could not survive scenario questioning and whose narrative did not connect its expansion plan to the capital being sought.

What we did

We rebuilt the model around defensible operating drivers, established the true capital requirement and milestone set, reframed the narrative around commercial evidence, and prepared the team for diligence.

Outcome

The company entered its process with a consistent plan, model and story, and could answer downside questions without renegotiating its own case mid-process.

FAQs

Questions we are asked often.

How early should we start preparing to raise?: Six months before you intend to open conversations is a reasonable minimum. Readiness work that begins when runway is short reduces optionality and is visible to investors.
Are you a broker or placement agent?: No. We are advisers. We prepare companies, support the process and help boards interpret terms; we do not intermediate transactions on a success-fee basis.
What makes a financial model investor-grade?: Driver-based logic that ties to how the business actually operates, unit economics that hold under scrutiny, scenarios including a credible downside, and internal consistency between the model, the plan and the narrative.
Can you help us evaluate a term sheet we have already received?: Yes. We review valuation, preferences, control and governance provisions, founder terms and the long-term implications of individual clauses, working alongside your legal advisers.
Do you advise on funding other than equity?: Yes. Depending on the situation we consider debt, grant and agency funding, revenue-based structures and staged approaches, so the capital structure matches the risk profile of the plan.

Talk to us about capital readiness & fundraising.

Tell us where you are and what decision is in front of you. We will tell you honestly whether we are the right people to help.

Start a conversation