Equity finance – the topic of today’s conversation over coffee

Like the Sex Pistol’s gig in Penzance all those years ago I can see today’s Conversation over Coffee will be an event which people will claim to have attended even when they did not, such was the buzz around the event.

But fortunately, it was recorded so those of you who missed out can watch here.

The event – overview

Hosted by own Nick Tippett, the subject was equity finance and conversationalists were:

• Ralph Singleton – Cornwall and Isles of Scilly Investment Fund
• Paul Jones – British Business Bank
• Dan Partridge – Michelmores / MAINstream
• Anthony Peake – Intelligent AI (recent equity fundraisers – sharing his insights from the prospective of a business founder)

The conversation itself was free flowing, and extremely engaging, covering some themes such as:

• Sources of equity
• When is equity the right choice of finance?
• Regional imbalances in access to / demand for equity funding (see further below)
• Investor readiness
• Kissing frogs
• Ecosystem in the SW

Interesting points raised…

You will have to listen to the recording to pick up on all of the good points raised but among my takeaways were:

• Pandemic has arguably not only made the South West a more desirable place to live, but has also meant equity funding is more accessible to South West businesses (through a combination of SW based business angels / VCs but also through London and even International based equity providers; as virtual meetings take over from face to face?
• Equity finance may be a source of funding for good cash generative businesses affected by the pandemic (with debt at capacity) but looking to rebound
• Education into what equity is and is not, thought to be a major component of increasing demand for equity funding for SMEs
• The importance of a cornerstone investor in any equity raise
• The business / funding eco system in the SW is developing a pace and this could/ should be brought to business leaders’ attention (as some may be unaware of the opportunities).

But enough of me…

I strongly suggest that if you have the slightest interest in the subject you tune into watch the recording.  It may replace Line of Duty as my viewing tonight…

And, thank you to Nick, Ralph, Paul, Dan and Anthony for sharing their insights.

Video available at link.

Next up

Next up in our Conversations over Coffee is “Blockchain” (Thursday) and “Nature of Business…and the Business of Nature”. The former is open for bookings at link. Details and link to registration for the latter will hopefully appear on our Events page later this week.