1. Hampton Consulting Ltd. jtucker@hamptonconsulting.co.uk Entrepreneurship & Venture Capital (VC) Investment A Risky Business?

2. Hampton Consulting Ltd. jtucker@hamptonconsulting.co.uk Experience – Before MBA (03-04)  13 years in mobile telecoms & IT  Co-founder / CEO of CopperEye High performance indexing for databases Raised c. £6M institutional funding Catalyst: MIT’s Entrepreneurship competition  Prior to CopperEye: I was a “corporate career person” Stagnating in operational senior management Overworked, under-challenged, under-rewarded

3. Hampton Consulting Ltd. jtucker@hamptonconsulting.co.uk Experience – Post MBA  Co-founder / MD of Hampton Consulting Advice to start-up technology companies Consultancy to mobile telecoms companies  Co-founder / Non-exec director of Aquantra Specialist Bath-based technology recruitment company Self-funded (a little!) plus organic growth  Co-founder / CEO of Zenulta Providing enterprise event correlation solutions Delivered 2 rounds of funding  Co-founder / CEO of iRooms Providing enhanced utilisation of space Self-funded by founders – relationship with electronics manufacturer

4. Hampton Consulting Ltd. jtucker@hamptonconsulting.co.uk Entrepreneurial Motivation  Reduced bureaucracy Ability to take decisions Speed to market  Share in the fruits of your labour  Unlimited upside potential. Downside potential?  Faster career progression Less rigid role definitions

5. Hampton Consulting Ltd. jtucker@hamptonconsulting.co.uk Recipe for Success?  Experienced team Diverse skill sets “Stand on the shoulders of giants” (I. Newton)  Find a unique angle on a business problem  Network like crazy http://www.linkedin.com  Build strong reference customers

6. Hampton Consulting Ltd. jtucker@hamptonconsulting.co.uk Funding a Business  Bank loans Secured loan Often matched by personal investment High personal risk  Venture Capital (& angel) investment Can provide “value added” operational skills Low personal risk

7. Hampton Consulting Ltd. jtucker@hamptonconsulting.co.uk Why is Venture Capital the Lower Risk Route?  No personal financial risk Just warranties & disclosures  Job security in large companies? Yeah right!! Funding gives run of at least 1 year Follow on funding Longer notice periods (6 months)  Saleable commercial experience

8. Hampton Consulting Ltd. jtucker@hamptonconsulting.co.uk How do you get VC Funding? (1)  Find a good idea – a solution to a problem Network with individuals in different vertical markets “Know your onions” Exit value £60M -> £300M  Do market research Know your competitors Build a business plan

9. Hampton Consulting Ltd. jtucker@hamptonconsulting.co.uk How do you get VC Funding? (2)  Draw up a shortlist of VCs who invest in your marketplace http://www.bvca.co.uk  “Value added” investment, or “dumb money”?  Try to get personal introductions / referrals  Choose your professional advisors carefully

10. Hampton Consulting Ltd. jtucker@hamptonconsulting.co.uk MBA Summer Project  “Leveraging the VC Relationship – The Entrepreneurs’ Perspective”  Interviewed 6 entrepreneurs in areas of: Relationship with VCs Legal & commercial terms used in investment agreements Board balance & composition Control within the relationship

11. Hampton Consulting Ltd. jtucker@hamptonconsulting.co.uk Earlier Research  Relationship between entrepreneur & VC MUST be balanced & cooperative for a company to be successful If an entrepreneur loses influence due to poor performance or greedy investors, the company will fail

12. Hampton Consulting Ltd. jtucker@hamptonconsulting.co.uk Project Findings (1)  Entrepreneurs have most influence at first funding round Negotiate then “play the long game”  Board structure has no effect on entrepreneur’s influence within relationship  Founder mentoring is a good idea

13. Hampton Consulting Ltd. jtucker@hamptonconsulting.co.uk Project Findings (2)  Choose a VC with entrepreneurial experience if this is your first company Fairer terms  Fairer terms promote trust and cooperative behaviour Greater chance of success

14. Hampton Consulting Ltd. jtucker@hamptonconsulting.co.uk Project Findings (3)  Entrepreneurs should raise more capital than they think they need  Maintain influence by recognising “domain expertise”

15. Hampton Consulting Ltd. jtucker@hamptonconsulting.co.uk What’s next for me?  Developing my current businesses  Helping others grow theirs Advisor capacity on strategy & investment  Conducting venture capital “due diligence”

16. Hampton Consulting Ltd. jtucker@hamptonconsulting.co.uk QUESTIONS