CROWDFINDERS

WHO'S WHO IN THE ZOO?

This is a message, from us to a few, about something that’s coming to a Zoo near you! We’ve got so much to show you and things to tell too, so do come along to London Zoo, in just a few weeks at the end of June…! We’ll have entrepreneurs and business investors, contesters, suggesters, a handful of jesters and everyone else between here and Manchester – from William Hague to the Earl of Leicester!

We’ll talk about everything that we need to talk about, from Brexit to Bitcoin and lots more to squawk about! We’ll discuss it, dissect it, correct it, reflect it and do what we can to damn well perfect it! We’ll have the EISA and people with villas, accountants and lawyers and great big gorillas, ICOs, IFAs, experts with money – in crypto we’ll dip toe, come on, that was funny! From block chain to pitches, we’ll cover it all - investment assessments from the big to the small but one thing’s for certain, we’re having a ball!

We’ll have everyone and everything, packed into one day, so make sure you do it the Crowdfinders way! Who’s Who in the Zoo? Why, surely it’s YOU!

Crowdfinders – Putting the FUN back into FUNDING!

Now here’s the science part….. WHAT DOES THE EISA HAVE TO SAY?
As we close the doors on yet another eventful tax year, it was fitting that at the Spring Statement 2018, Philip Hammond, Chancellor of the Exchequer should comment that the UK “are the champions of small businesses and the entrepreneur”.

The Government is slowly coming to realise what we in the EIS/SEIS industry have known for years. That SMEs and entrepreneurs are the lifeblood of the UK economy. Statistics from the British Business Bank Small Business Finance Monitor 2018 shows that there were 5.7 million private sector businesses at the beginning of 2017 in the UK and the SME sector overall (firms with 0-249 employees) represents 99.9% of all private sector firms in the UK, 60% of employment and, at £1.9 trillion, 51% of gross turnover.

So entrepreneurial activity in the UK is at a high tidal mark with the UK increasingly seen as the “go to” place for entrepreneurs across the world. With EIS/SEIS, R&D tax credits, the low cost of setting up a company and an established and growing angel and private investor base (compared to the US where you can only invest in a small business if you are an “accredited” investor) the UK is a start up mecca for entrepreneurs and there is increasing evidence that SMEs are seeking funding options outside of the traditional bank financing routes.

The introduction of the new knowledge and intensive investment limits has come to fruition because there is clear evidence that young and innovative enterprises contribute substantially to economic growth and job creation and that venture capital funding fills a niche that allows necessary capital to reach some of the least developed and most uncertain ideas. It’s also clear that due to the high-risk nature of start-ups, banks have been inclined to invest in safer options, for example firms with collateral and a credit history.

‘Safe’ investments have therefore been made by banks, but riskier ventures have been left unfunded. This is where EIS and SEIS can step in and make a massive contribution. It’s also clear the Government are keen to establish the UK as the “Innovation Nation” with a focus on technology, AI, life sciences as well as other leading edge, knowledge intensive industries. Measures are rapidly being put into place to ensure the infrastructure is built to make this vision a reality. We already have a very low corporation tax environment, 4 out of the top 8 best universities are in the UK and last year over £8BN of equity was invested in UK small businesses, £5.9BN from overseas investors. The UK is open for business and EIS and SEIS play an important role early stage role in the funding continuum of those businesses. There is currently an obsession with scale up but you can’t scale up if you don’t first start up!

So the portents for deal flow are highly exciting. Not only are there are more small businesses (the majority potentially EIS/SEIS qualifying) than ever before but also more small businesses with the appetite and desire to scale up and grow quickly.

Grab your exclusively discounted tickets here with discount code "uncaged" on a first come, first served basis, It's that easy, tiger!