In talking to different funders, you get the constant message that they have plenty of cash to make use of, but that, as ever, finding the right companies to invest in, or lend to, is the challenge. When you dig a little deeper this is rarely a judgement on whether the underlying business model is any good, or the individuals involved. It’s more about whether the business involved is sufficiently clear on why and what it needs in terms of funding combined with a basic lack of “readiness” and ability to clear basic due diligence.   

During my long business career I’ve personally faced multiple funding challenges, and resolved them every time – whether that’s by improving cash flow through cutting costs, changing supplier terms, doing a private equity round or raising money through an IPO. Finance is complex, and the fact that someone might get a loan for you (and no doubt some short term relief from cash pressures) is frequently NOT the right result in the medium and long term.

Informed Funding aims to be the leading source of information and education on funding for SMEs, and over a 1,000 businesses have already made use of what we offer. We are now adding to the offer by providing access to real “non-executive expertise” via short, confidential one to one sessions – these are delivered by individuals such as myself and others with wide experience. We are not selling or recommending – we are listening, and helping businesses ask the right questions and think more clearly about their funding challenges. Please drop me a line at [email protected] if you are interested – and note that the service is completely free to customers of the Workspace Group.