ASK Hn: Funding a "small" startup in London • Hacker News Board

Re: ASK Hn: Funding a "small" startup in London

#11

Post by gstar » Thu, Feb 17, 2011, 1:06 PM UTC

fredoliveira wrote: post #2

You could probably try getting started by reaching out to some EU-focused angel investors - there's quite a few in london. I keep a list on Twitter with a few who are active: http://twitter.com/#!/list/f/eu-angels There's also AngelList for Europe here: http://angel.co/europe There are also other options. Since you're aiming for 20k, which is not a high amount, you may want to try the 3 f's first - Friends, Family, F…

And definitely apply to Seedcamp, €50k funding is available, and it's by all accounts an excellent programme.

Re: ASK Hn: Funding a "small" startup in London

#12

Post by ig1 » Thu, Feb 17, 2011, 1:07 PM UTC

Your best bet might be to apply to seed accelerators for that amount of money. £20,000 seems an odd amount of money to want to raise, accountancy and legal fees will probably eat up a decent chunk of that, if you're going after angels it might be easier to raise a large amount. What's your plan for spending that money?

How far developed are you products and what markets are you working in? - if you're in the b2b space another option might be to approach potential customers and see if they're willing to finance you (or even if they can provide an letter of intent saying they intend to buy your product; you may be able to use that to get a bank loan).

Another option could be to become a contractor for a while, 20k isn't a huge amount of money, you could easily earn that much money in 3-6 months (if you take payment through your company and re-invest it in your startup products it also means you won't have to pay any tax on it).

Re: ASK Hn: Funding a "small" startup in London

#13

Post by eftpotrm » Thu, Feb 17, 2011, 1:21 PM UTC

Do you really need to live in London? If we're talking the classic example here of ramen profitability, you can do that for about half as much cash by moving out along the train lines and commuting in when you need to. I'm about an hour from the city by a relatively reliable rail service, and weekly season tickets really aren't that expensive.

Re: ASK Hn: Funding a "small" startup in London

#14

Post by Robin_Message » Thu, Feb 17, 2011, 1:23 PM UTC

You could apply to http://springboard.com/. It's a startup accelerator in Cambridge, which is a little cheaper than London and only an hour away by train if you ever do need to be there. Application deadline is this Sunday I believe, so ideal timing ;-)

Re: ASK Hn: Funding a "small" startup in London

#15

Post by hugoH » Thu, Feb 17, 2011, 1:38 PM UTC

why not get a 3-6 month contract, live normally, then use the surplus as runway funding? contracting rates in london are normally pretty good.

that way, you don't risk financial ruin, and you can bootstrap yourself.

(i did this succesfully over a period of 2-3 years, while not London I am UK. pm me if you like!)

Re: ASK Hn: Funding a "small" startup in London

#16

Post by MicahWedemeyer » Thu, Feb 17, 2011, 1:43 PM UTC

Any reason not to keep going as you are? Or, perhaps you could request to reduce your work time to 50%? This can be tough to do, but many places would rather negotiate than see you just walk out.

Funding yourself (with job, contracts, etc.) is rarely discussed here, but it's a much more reliable way to get money than seeking investment. It's tough to find the time balance, but there's something to be said for having a basically endless runway.

Re: ASK Hn: Funding a "small" startup in London

#17

Post by pbhjpbhj » Thu, Feb 17, 2011, 2:06 PM UTC

MicahWedemeyer wrote: post #16

Any reason not to keep going as you are? Or, perhaps you could request to reduce your work time to 50%? This can be tough to do, but many places would rather negotiate than see you just walk out. Funding yourself (with job, contracts, etc.) is rarely discussed here, but it's a much more reliable way to get money than seeking investment. It's tough to find the time balance, but there's something to be said for having…

>but there's something to be said for having a basically endless runway.

That you never have any motivation to take off?

Re: ASK Hn: Funding a "small" startup in London

#18

Post by will_critchlow » Thu, Feb 17, 2011, 2:07 PM UTC

I'd love to chat. I may not be your 'fool' (see other comments) but I may know some. I'm based in central London. I have some contacts.

One day I'd like to be making investments like this (he says, not really knowing what you're planning to do).

Can you share more info privately?

Re: ASK Hn: Funding a "small" startup in London

#19

Post by axod » Thu, Feb 17, 2011, 2:08 PM UTC

quii wrote: post #4

JacobAldridge wrote: post #3

Firstly, this is not financial advice, I'm not a vc (I am a business coach, fwiw) etc. See these as generalisations, not guaranteed cases for any individual situation (such as your startup). As a general guide, Banks won't lend money against a start-up business. The business is not a secured asset at this point. For £20K, you may be able to get a loan against other assets you have (such as a house, though if you've j…

Just to note, I live in central London (as in Zone 1), on around £1500 a month quite comfortably. £2k a month is excessive

quite comfortably? What sort of house do you have? :/

Re: ASK Hn: Funding a "small" startup in London

#20

Post by malux85 » Thu, Feb 17, 2011, 2:14 PM UTC

will_critchlow wrote: post #18

I'd love to chat. I may not be your 'fool' (see other comments) but I may know some. I'm based in central London. I have some contacts. One day I'd like to be making investments like this (he says, not really knowing what you're planning to do). Can you share more info privately?

Yes absolutely, I'm just at work at the moment, but will send you my contact details (email + instant messenger etc) tonight, cheers :)