Have you ever found yourself drowning in fundraising legals and language? This is the interview you’ve been waiting for…

In this episode, we're joined by the brilliant Sam Simpson, Co-founder of FounderCatalyst, who's on a mission to simplify and accelerate the early-stage investment legal journey. Sam's not just talking the talk; he's walked the walk, having co-founded and exited several tech start-ups, including the 17th fastest growing company in Europe in 2017. Oh, and did we mention he took that company from £0 to £27m in less than 4 years?

But Sam's not just a founder; he's also an active angel investor with 32 investments under his belt in just 6 years. Plus, he's a sought-after board advisor. In other words, when it comes to navigating the minefield of fundraising and investment, Sam’s who you want to learn from.

In this episode we discuss:

• Simplifying the early-stage investment legal journey
• Insider tips on SEIS/EIS and equity investment
• Strategies for finding the right investors for your startup
• Lessons learned from co-founding and exiting successful tech start-ups
• How to think about valuing your early stage startup
• What Sam looks for as an angel and what really puts him off even a seemingly “great” deal

So, whether you're a first-time founder trying to wrap your head around the legal jargon or a seasoned entrepreneur looking to optimise your fundraising game, this episode is packed with actionable advice and hard-won wisdom. Don't miss out on this incredible opportunity to learn from one of the people I trust most in this ecosystem!

Links:

1. All about valuation: https://www.foundercatalyst.com/blog/all-about-funding-round-valuation-2
2. Toxic Term sheets: https://www.foundercatalyst.com/blog/avoiding-toxic-term-sheets-everything-you-ever-wanted-to-ask-answered
3. Understanding how an angel thinks: https://www.foundercatalyst.com/blog/understanding-how-angel-investors-think-2
4. The end of an angel investment: https://www.foundercatalyst.com/blog/the-end-of-an-angel-investment-from-the-magic-to-tragic-2
5. Founder Catalyst: https://www.foundercatalyst.com/company
6. Sam’s LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/samsimpson1/?originalSubdomain=uk

🚀 What’s it like to go Corporate Employee> Founder > Founder > Corporate Employee? At Not My First Guess we love a squiggly career path! 🏁

That’s why we’re so excited to have serial founder, and once again corporate employee, Adam Goodall share his journey and lessons learned, from taking the first leap into full-time entrepreneurship, to deciding when to sell, to why he's enjoying being back in someone else's company. 🌐💡

Adam is a serial founder with two startups under his belt - ProConfirm and Coconut. With a background in accounting at PwC, Adam has focused on innovating in spaces that may not seem “sexy” but have huge potential for growth.

Adam first co-founded a startup with his room mate Samuel O'Connor (who he would also co-found Coconut with too), when their work at PwC led them to spot an opportunity to digitise the manual process of verifying client finances.

They originally built ProConfirm as a side hustle while working corporate jobs but one of Adam’s biggest lessons was when to take the leap to full time. They soon gained traction, leading to acquisition interest from a major U.S. player. Post-acquisition, Adam discovered his love for product management, setting him on the path to their next venture, Coconut, on a mission to simplify tax and accounting software for sole traders, landlords & their accountants.

Since selling Coconut, Adam has now returned to employee life at Funding Circle and is brilliantly honest about what it was like to try to get a job as a serial founder (the hard and easy bits).

🧠 Together we’ll explore:

- How to find great ideas, when you are and aren’t looking for them

- Adam’s hard won lessons on fundraising for Coconut, even as a second time founder with an exit under his belt

- How to know when an acquisition offer is right for you

- Advice on validating your idea before building the right product: what an MVP should and shouldn’t be

- And how we build a robust identity as founders so we can fully embrace a squiggly career path

Don't miss it! #Entrepreneurship #StartupLife #FounderStories #fintech #startups #innovation #podcast

Links:

• Coconut: https://www.getcoconut.com/

• Adam’s LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/adamjgoodall/?originalSubdomain=uk

Are you worried you’re not using enough AI as a founder? I promise you’re not alone. In fact, after interviewing our incredible guest today, I went away and automated a LOAD of my own processes - sometimes you just need to understand the art of the possible!

This episode is a GREAT start - we’re joined by AI advocate Cien Solon, who is on a mission to make “AI for All” with her latest startups Launch Lemonade and Scale that Thing! Cien is a Product-Led Growth expert, a start-up consultant and a constant builder. She is also a Techstars mentor and part of the Angel Investing School team.

She has developed a portfolio of products from fintech, to AI tools to B2B SaaS and had a previous career in Marketing giving her an amazing view of the full journey.

Today, with Launch Lemonade, she allows anyone to build AI chat bots to help with very specific tasks - from a sales chatbot to speak with customers, to creating marketing copy, writing reports, the possibilities are mostly bound by our own creativity; that’s why her consultancy startup Scale that thing helps businesses build their AI and Product-led Growth strategies and implement them.

So in this episode, as well as product building insights and advice from an incredible expert, expect plenty of inspiration on how you can implement AI in your own business!

Links:

Cien’s Website:

• https://ciensolon.com/

Launch Lemonade App:

• https://launchlemonade.app/

Scale That Thing Website:

• https://www.scalethatthing.com/