I’ll look at small-ticket cash investments – both directly into the firm’s account, or by settlement of 3rd party accounts. These cash investments are normally alongside another deal type: fundraising (post-traction firms) or sweat-equity (idea/MVP stage firms).

Fundraising can be a time-consuming, expensive and uncertain process. To give you the best chance, I provide cash to support the fundraising process. This includes funding the production of materials (e.g. videos), and the marketing activities needed to make the round a success.

My money is 100% at risk – if you don’t raise, I don’t get it back. Typically, I’d also look to invest in the round as well (subject to tax status). The round sizes sought range from mid-sized (250K base to 500K stretch) to large (1M base to 2M stretch).

Lots of firms want to engage with smart people. They need to locate capable external individuals: who can challenge their management decisions; or execute key sections of work. Consultancy gives an easy way to do this – without forming permanent relationships, as an investment would. Look at my ‘terms’ page, to see how this works in my particular case.

Various firms I encounter have products and services they’d like to sell. If I have access to a ready market, I’ll take on prospecting deals. Typical terms are 10-15% of the business I bring, depending on the contract duration. These deals can range from simple intros, through to full sales deals.

For cash-poor firms who want to get expert help and advice as they grow, I can look at sweat equity deals. These firms have an open-ended relationship with me, giving them as much call on my time and support as they feel they need. This can be either individually, or as part of an advisory board. For firms at the idea stage, this can be in the range of 10-20%, split by the number of investors/advisors who are involved. For more developed firms, this figure is more likely to be around 4-10%, again divided out among the advisors who are involved. A cash contribution may accompany the sweat investment – and this can take the form of payment for third-party services (e.g. IT work).

I’m open minded about all forms of other opportunities. I’ve discussed or executed deals based on successfully completing everything from finding suppliers; to planning company mergers, sales or floats. If there’s something particular you’d like help with, let me know.

Last but not least – most of my meetings are actually giving unpaid help to startups. Generally, I’m happy to help any firms who’d like my support with one or two meetings worth of advice and assistance. There’s no assumption that either party will want to take this forward thereafter.