Founder Handbook

TLDR Structure - Incubators offer startups an open-ended, flexible environment in which to build the foundations of a startup and subsequently grow.Investment - Incubators do not typically provide seed investment but provide a number of other financial benefits/cost savings e.g. free/discounted work spaces & professional services,

TLDRTalent - For many startups, equity forms a common part of the compensation package they offer employees, particularly early hires. It can be an effective way of attracting and hiring talent when a startup is at an early stage and is financially restrained from being able to offer high salaries.

TLDRDeciding how, and when, to split equity with your co-founder(s) is a fundamental part of the early stages of setting up a company. Many factors should be taken into consideration when deciding on the equity split amongst the founding team.Structuring your founding team and laying the foundations of

TLDRIt depends - A ‘good’ investor depends on lots of factors and a good investor for one company might not be a good investor for another.Stage - Does the investor’s average ticket size reflect how much you are trying to raise?Reputation - Is the investor known for

TLDRQuality not quantity - Just because there are thousands of investors out there, does not mean you should reach out to every one of them. You should only need to contact 20-30 investors, maybe a maximum of 50. Build an investor profile - Create the profile of your ideal investor.

TLDRBank loans are one way founders can finance their business without giving up equity. Due to the high risk associated with financing startups, it is more difficult to obtain funding via a bank loan. However, there are various banks that specialise in offering startups loans. Like with all financing options,

Reward-based crowdfunding is likely the most well known form of crowdfunding options where capital is raised from a group of individuals by offering ‘rewards’ for money ‘pledged’ to the company through a crowdfunding platform.   If consumers like the idea or product, they can ‘invest’ in the company by providing money

Equity-based crowdfunding enables a large group of individual investors to come together and fund (provide capital) to a business in return for pieces of that business (equity). On most platforms, companies are vetted before being posted for investment and different platforms usually have different requirements for companies looking to raise.

Donation-based crowdfunding offers groups of individuals the opportunity to donate money to causes and projects they care about in order to help such projects succeed. They are typically used for not-for-profit projects, social enterprises, personal causes or community based programmes but can also be used for business projects and startup