This event took place on Tuesday 29th March 2022 in Central London.
ABOUT
We brought consumer brand founders together for a discussion on raising venture capital investment, revenue based finance, media-for-equity, crowdfunding and loans. Uncapped, UKTV Ventures, Wayflyer, Market Finance and Crowdcube were on hand to provide insight on funding growth and managing cashflow.
The discussion – and debate – gave founders an opportunity to share experiences and opinions on the growing number of finance options available to consumer brand businesses.
THE DISCUSSION
Raising VC investment isn’t right for every founder or business. Many find the pre-investment pitching process time consuming, and worry about finding the right fit.
Post-investment pressure and reporting can be frustrating too, not to mention losing total control of strategy and the dilution that comes with taking external funds.
There’s also concern of being left ‘out in the cold’ by VC investors if the business isn’t experiencing the growth rates of other investments in their portfolio, boding badly for any potential of a future injection of cash.
The kind of growth venture capital firms are looking for can often be at odds with the strategy and forecast put forward by a founding team, leading many to seek alternatives to raising venture capital investment.
Brands with big ambitions can use media-for-equity to get to the next level. By advertising on TV can they put themselves in front of a new audience without needing big budgets.
In this scenario the media owner acts as an investor, providing advertising space instead of cash. These types of deals can be done alone or alongside a traditional raise.
Revenue based finance operators have shaken up the funding market for digital and e-commerce brands, giving businesses access to cash with no security or equity requirements.
A big order from a retail partner can put a temporary stress on cash flow. It’s just one of the reasons consumer brands turn to invoice finance and loans.
