Funding the seed of an idea

You’ve come up with a great idea, thought about your value proposition, undertaken market research, maybe even created a slick brand pack, all in your time and investing your own money. But then, you reach the stage of development where things are getting serious.

Maybe you made it to MVP but now need to dive into the build phase, or you need to purchase a piece of critical infrastructure, take on professional services, and step into the marketplace. This is the point where we often see entrepreneurs reach out and ask about funding.

Depending on the type and stage of businesses, different routes are available such as: equity finance, debt finance and contacting investors. At the very early stages of development, funding may look a little less formal with support coming from personal savings or even investments from family or friends. Often a business loan that can be planned into a budget and cash flow forecast is a good option for those looking to purchase equipment for their business.

Depending on the type of business, you may look to private investment, an angel investor or venture capitalist, for support.  We recently caught up with Digital Greenhouse member and tech investor Marc Cohen, on the topic of investment.  As an active VC, he shared with us what he looks for in businesses and founders.  He identifies three fundamental skills that founders need in order to peak his interest as an investor. Two initial impressions Marc looks for are, exceptional founders and an opportunity that has a huge potential. In addition, Marc believes that key skills such as sales knowledge, decision-making and tenacity are the drivers for an investment decision. A full podcast with Marc can be listened to on the Guernsey Press website, a must for anyone who is approaching this stage!

Here at the Digital Greenhouse, we can support you at all stages of your venture-building journey, and for those in the early build stage, the Guernsey Venture Challenge is open for 2023. As the islands funded business accelerator, it gives local tech businesses the opportunity to join a select cohort this summer.  Working with our expert venture-building partners Blenheim Chalcot over 6 weeks, the final pitch opens the opportunity to secure early funding to accelerate development. Even for the businesses that did not win one of the three prizes at the pitch night last year, the exposure for our 2022 shortlisted businesses helped create new opportunities and connections for their ventures.

This article was originally printed in Business Brief: June 2023 Issue