Tag Archives: investors

Rigour to drive 11:1 ROI in 3 years but still possible!

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We are rigorous in both our assessment of new businesses but more so in the support we provide to the businesses with which we engage to drive value. We believe this is one of the cornerstone reasons for our success in driving an 11:1 return on investments in three years. Many small businesses today are burning cash and having to go back to investors as they are running out of money. In turn investors are having to follow their investments just to prop up companies failing to unlock the value and generate revenue. The big question is how do you know when and if they are going to yield?  Our success comes from over 10 years of working with early stage businesses in the technology sectors mainly taking the guesswork out of this. Conduit Partners run a workshop on each business. The workshops are intensive sessions that put a business into context within Conduit Partners Commercialisation Architecture that enables all stakeholders to visualise the current status of the opportunity. The workshops develop an environment that yields rapid, aligned, powerful team experiences and decisions, and uses proprietary methods and tools in the critical business disciplines of opportunity prioritisation. The workshop days drive an internal consensus from the management team and stakeholders on the business strategy and initiatives designed to deliver both:

  • Commercial Visibility
  • Go to Market Strategy/Viability

During the workshop Conduit produce a bespoke commercialisation map (architecture) to provide the team with a visual representation of the current status, and future vision of the business.

The Strategy Workshops are intense, stimulating and enjoyable days.  They are led by expert facilitators who are skilled at drawing out insights and making sure that the whole team contributes.  Consequently, the environment is informal, with openness and honesty encouraged, creating positive constructive debate.  It is vitally important that one opinion does not dominate the proceedings and that all issues – however unpalatable – are uncovered.

The teams are taken through a series of exercises that address each of the six pillars that make up the Conduit Commercialisation Architecture.  For example:

1)      Customer needs and expectations

2)      Segmentation values, data and trends

3)      Points of pain and market needs

4)      Market sectors, intermediaries, channels and routes to market

5)      Products, core methods systems and infrastructure

6)      Services, added value and support

7)      Value proposition offers and promise

8)      Decision Quality, prioritisation and reduction of risk

9)      Organisation and culture environment and capability

10)   Integrated tactical execution and communication strategy

11)   Business objectives goals and imperatives

We manage the inputs creatively so that the team is stimulated and the group’s energy levels stay high. The discussion, issues, and vocabulary surrounding each of the pillars are captured and presented graphically on the single, flowing “Visual Map”, which acts as the repository of knowledge and a ‘snap-shot’ position of the potential business strategy.

Importantly, the outputs are presented graphically and rapidly in such a way that they provide a planning framework.  This means that insight is gathered-up and can be taken forward, developed, acted upon and used to drive business transformation and inform investor decision making.

The workshops come in various formats and are a cost effective starting point for investors to evaluate whether to follow on or walk away. They are hugely beneficial to the businesses as they are designed to get them to market quicker by highlighting and prioritising the areas that need focus. We regularly reduce the sales cycles of these businesses to weeks rather than months.

To learn more about the low cost of entry to using Conduit services together with information on how our clients receive 11:1 ratio return on their investment please email Holly Munns; hollymunns@conduitpartners.co.uk or telephone 01235 831777.

Conduit Partners Deliver 11:1 Return on Investment

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Conduit Partners are delighted to have our contract with the Carbon Trust extended for a further two years, this follows on from an extremely successful three years whereby Conduit have delivered and 11:1 ratio return on their investment in our services to the Carbon Trust. During this period the Carbon Trust has build renowned reputation as the premier support service of choice devoted to low carbon entrepreneurs and, as such, Conduit demonstrated exceptional expertise and experience to be selected as one of a small number of preferred suppliers.

The services provided, delivered and managed by Conduit to 30 companies included:

  • Understanding Market Opportunities
  • Supporting Patenting and Intellectual Property Policies
  • Finding Customers and Partners, and Assistance in Negotiations with them
  • Securing Sales and Building Pipeline
  • Providing Interim Management and Mentoring
  • Building the Case to Attract External Investment, and making introductions to Investors
  • Supporting Companies to Define and Refine their Business Strategy
  • Teambuilding
  • Venture Due Diligence
  • Research and Development Grant Project Appraisals, Mentoring and Project Management.
  • Fundraising

Conduit also provided Carbon Trust client companies with valuable insights into technology commercialisation and venture business development and made a material difference to the success of some of the UK’s most innovative clean tech ideas through the Carbon Trust relationship. Conduit engaged directly with venture teams and industry and have a “hands-on” approach that enables us to deliver practical solutions and resolve complex problems; we have proven that this approach  adds much more value than purely providing generic advice. The Carbon Trust benefitted from our ten years of experience and found it particularly useful that we were able  to communicate and work equally well at board and senior management level as well as with technical, sales and operational teams. They found us effective at tackling difficult situations in which conflicts or tensions are present. The Carbon Trust held regular formal KPI performance reviews and Conduit consistently came out a top-rated, high quality supplier.

The success of these services can be judged by the success of the companies supported. Conduit was involved in over 30 Carbon Trust early stage companies, which subsequently leveraged £11.1m of external funding or direct sales revenue. These figures made Carbon Trust the most successful low carbon entrepreneur support service in Europe, a result which was to a very large extent due to the direct support to entrepreneurs provided by Conduit, and one of which we are extremely proud of being involved in.

I have been showing anyone who would take notice the NESTA figures proving that expert support intervention delivered in the early stage of a companies gets them to revenue quicker and builds valuation. The returns on this early investment by a ratio of 6:1 (NESTA FIGURES) these latest Carbon trust figures go to further prove that experienced focused and dedicated expert intervention, working closely with management teams, stake holders and investors delivers nearly double that return and helps significantly mitigate risk. Whilst many investors believe they can do this themselves or leave it to the management team, we, having proven this, believe that if that were the case fewer portfolio companies would be needing follow on money today.

Is anyone taking notice?

Cleantech entrepreneurs prepare to pitch to sophisticated investors

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Conduit Partners is giving the chance for start-up and early-stage cleantech businesses to pitch to equity investors in a sophisticated investment forum.

If you’ve been following Dragons Den, you may believe that pitching to a room full of investors involves quaking in your boots in front of a panel of multi-millionaires who dismantle your dream and send you packing. We can’t promise the investors at our investment forum won’t give the entrepreneurs a tough time, because investors need to do their due diligence and understand how they can add value to the business and when they’ll receive a return on their investment. But what we can assure you is that they’re looking for quality investment opportunities.

What makes this investment forum different is the level of commercial preparation compared with many of the entrepreneurs in the Den. I was amazed by the range of innovations presented for investment this series. There were great ideas with no commercial plan whatsoever; wacky ideas that people may buy as a one-off but created no consumer need at all; and products that needed more work and fine-tuning than the dragons were prepared to deliver.

But what truly astounded me was the astonishing lack of preparation from many of the company owners in Dragons’ Den. They didn’t know figures, projections or costs, and they couldn’t even articulate their value proposition. Not a great way of convincing the dragons to invest.

In contrast, the five companies pitching at the Conduit Partners investment forum  in central London this autumn have been primed and prepared for investment by taking part in the Carbon Trust Entrepreneurs Fast Track (EFT) programme.

Working with Conduit Partners, which is an EFT partner, the entrepreneurs have benefited from professional advice on how to prepare for market, develop an investable business plan and commercialise their products or services. They’ve had expert input on their market positioning, their value proposition, their sales pipeline and their team structure – and, most importantly, how to communicate to investors what a valuable investment opportunity they are offering.

We’ll be revealing more information about the Conduit Partners investment forum, and who’s taking part, over the coming weeks.

Whether you are an investor or early-stage business if you would like to register your interest in the Conduit Partners investment event, or if you’re a start-up business or early-stage cleantech venture looking for assistance from the EFT programme that may lead to investment, then we’d love to hear from you. Email info@conduitpartners.co.uk or call 01235 831777.

The Psychology of Investment: Keep Emotions Out of It

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I believe that passion has a pivotal part to play in fuelling and sustaining your business – and don’t accept what the Dragons have to say about passion not producing profit. Without passion, you won’t get your idea off the ground, you won’t have that ‘buzz’ that gets you bouncing out of bed in the morning, and you won’t have the inner conviction that cushions the knock backs along the way.

But when I say passion I mean that drive, excitement and inner belief of knowing that you’re bringing an unbeatable idea to market, and trusting that you’ll find the internal and external resources to fuel and fire your business. What I don’t mean is making strategic or tactical decisions about your business with your emotions on show. Yes, go with your gut feel, but don’t let the heat of your emotional reactions affect the cool head you’ll need to face investors, partners and clients.

Emotions have been evident in a recent episode of Dragons’ Den – from the Dragons as well as the companies – which saw two entrepreneurs declare their preference as to which Dragon they’d like to go into business with. It’s generally best not to show your hand, even if you do have a preference, as it’s better to see what offers emerge to work out which one is best for you.

For example, I think the guys from Jog Post should have chosen distribution expert Hilary Devey as their investment partner; it was an obvious fit, and Hilary knows every single postcode in the UK. But they didn’t want to give away too much equity, and they got the Dragon they wanted – Deborah – while Hilary maintained a dignified silence at having lost out.

Kate Castle from Bog in a Bag (brilliant idea, by the way, and I can see myself gifting it to many of my friends and colleagues) was less cool about it, and took a high-risk strategy by stating that she wanted retail expert Theo Paphitis to be her Dragon – even before he’d made an offer. He was initially reticent about investing, making his usual point the business was still in the early stages, and why should he give his expertise and contacts and not just his money. Well, in my opinion, because that’s what good investors do: they mentor and coach and advise and help grow the business and share in the success, ensuring that they all get a good return on the investment.

However, the point here is that Kate’s risk nearly didn’t pay off because not only was she showing her hand but, in doing so, I saw Deborah act like a Dragon scorned. At the first sign of her offer not being the preferred one, she immediately withdrew it and declared herself out. Kate eventually secured Theo, but she could have walked away with nothing.

In the negotiating room, power resides with the investors. If you find yourself in a situation where several investors (who may not all be in the same room together!) are interested in you, then keep negotiations balanced, don’t show your hand, and certainly don’t let any of them know who your preferred partner is. Most importantly, keep a cool head and your investors hot.