Funding
Grant funding, revenue-based finance and angel money all price differently. Here is how to sequence them.
Founders often treat funding as a single event. In practice the cheapest capital is sequenced: grants first, then debt against predictable revenue, then equity only for the part that genuinely needs risk capital.
Innovate UK and regional growth grants are slow but non-dilutive, and a live grant makes later diligence easier because someone independent has already stress-tested your plan.
Revenue-based finance suits businesses with recurring income and gross margins above roughly sixty per cent. Read the effective annual cost rather than the headline fee, and check whether the facility takes a debenture over the whole company.
When you do raise equity, raise on a real forecast. SEIS and EIS advance assurance takes weeks, so start it before you begin conversations with angels.
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