Have you ever seen a story about a start-up firing its investors? Me neither. The reality is that investors don’t get fired. They may get squashed in a recapitalisation, minimised in a down round, or bought out, but they don’t get removed. Because the minute they give you money, they aren’t going anywhere. Unlike an employee that quits or a founder that gets replaced, your investors aren’t walking away until they get their money back, regardless of how painful the process is. Investors are professional at one thing: Investing. Yes,
Read more →Government funding schemes are attracting increased interest from start-up companies in the UK. The Enterprise Investment Scheme (EIS) and Seed Enterprise Investment Schemes (SEIS) are being used a whole lot more. According to recent figures released, the number of companies which applied to HMRC for approval under EIS and SEIS rose from 2,147 in 2011/12 to 4,075 in 2012/13. At 4oceans we would point to changes brought in back in April 2012 which expanded the scope of EIS, and saw SEIS introduced as the catalyst helping to increase awareness and
Read more →TMT start-ups are set to benefit from a £440million investment in the Government agency for innovation and growth – the Technology Strategy Board. Every pound invested by the board returns £7 to the economy by helping TMT start-ups to develop and bring ideas to market, according to research carried out for the agency. Digital Shoreditch, which starts today in East London’s Tech City, was founded 3 years ago with the backing of the board. The annual technology festival, the brainchild of Kam Star who also founded games firm Playgen,
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