Lesson Progress:

Module 5 - Funding & investment

1. Advice for your personal finances

Raising money is a key part of being an entrepreneur. Agrifood has some specific challenges around finance given the typically slower growth rates, the seasonality of cashflow and time needed for a return on investment. Whilst some businesses can grow organically and don’t require any external funding, the majority need cash injection whether it’s in the form of debt, equity or grant money. This chapter will take you through types of funding available, offer tips on pitching to investors and browse through everything related to the financing of your business. Before getting into that, we thought it’d be useful to talk about personal finances.

Access to funding for women and ethnic minorities is also much more difficult, despite the growing body of evidence which shows that they are smart investments (Source 1 Source 2). Female-led startups may find this list of sources of funding useful, and this list of useful resources and support networks may be helpful for both female and BAME-led startups.

“Figure out how much money you think you need, then double it and go get that money.”

– Marc Zornes, Co-Founder at Winnow Solutions

  • Figure out how much personal runway you have & what you will do to support yourself when things take twice as long as they should (because they always do). Some entrepreneurs start working on their idea whilst still fully employed elsewhere and only take the plunge once they’ve saved up enough money or received some initial funding. You might consider working part-time in the first phases of your startup or consider whether there is other freelance work you can do to extend your runway.
  • Why does your personal runway matter? The last thing you want is to build an awesome startup but have to quit because you’ve personally run out of money when things are about to kick off. Financial stress can also significantly impact your wellbeing, how productive you are and how you lead your team.
  • Important questions to ask yourself: Can you handle not paying yourself for a month or two (or longer) to smooth out cashflow because you have to pay your team? Are you willing to sacrifice certain expenses or certain aspects of how you lived your life to run a startup?