Episode Details

Capital-raising is an absolutely core-skill for entrepreneurs and their growing businesses – and every tech business de facto needs to grow (margins low and intense competition).

Peter Keenan, CEO and co-founder of merchants-payments provider Apexx Global, has raised capital in a total of five companies and thus talks to us from a position of considerable personal experience.

Most capital raisings most of the time for most companies are challenging processes. Thus all can benefit from hearing experiences and case studies – whether one has never done it, or whether one has done it many times.

Topics discussed include:

• Arsenal football club
• Irish school ball games
• Peter’s career journey and breadth of business experience
• Peter’s experience of many differently-funded businesses
• there is not one route of raising funds – it varies between different types of business
• how it works from day 1 – sweat equity and dividing the company ownership between founders
• the perversity of employee equity schemes in fast-growing companies
• Case Study re founding Apexx and how it worked out in the early days including initial raise
• early market feedback before raising from initial investors
• initial investors are backing the people as well as a initially market-validated plan
• the importance of key milestones in getting to the next raise and creating confidence
• super-important – how on earth to approach the question of what price to sell x% of the company in such early days??
• Case Study thereof
• “naughty Angels” – caveat founder
• the importance to experienced Angels and VCs of the founders having enough skin in the game – even in later rounds
• this is vital especially in times of pain and difficulty – need founders lashed to the mast
• how to avoid being fleeced in early days – how Peter solves that challenge
• how to value your company when it’s super-young
• the importance in NewCos and also the biggest Cos in the world of “valuation” meets “marketplace” – this process key
• the importance of “leading” the market to a valuation
• how many potential funders does Peter approach in an early raise?
• having got the initial marker you look for at least 100% growth in the valuation p.a. every year after that
• “going in cold to Angels is very hard” 
• the importance