Upload
others
View
1
Download
0
Embed Size (px)
Citation preview
UKBAA Angel Investment Summit 2016
KEY INSIGHTS FROM
CONNECTING GLOBALLY
GLOBAL CONNECTIONS ARE VITAL
Our place in the world as global citizens – part of a global village – was a theme that recurred throughout the Angel Investment Summit. A resonant view was that international expansion was important before, but is even more so in the aftermath of the Brexit referendum.
Sarah Turner, founder of Angel Academe, was clear that we need to be more creative, more international – and that trade deals with other parts of the world are required. As Simon Thorpe, Angel Investor of the Year 2016-2017, succinctly put it: “The internet is global; the banking system is global – we can’t be an island on our own.”
A key factor in building global, successful businesses will be assuming our place as global citizens and working hard to build relationships abroad. Lara Morgan, founder of Company Shortcuts and Pacific Direct (pictured right), told attendees that the world is now a very small place; and underlined the remarkable achievements that can be made by building relationships abroad.
Jenny Tooth, CEO of UKBAA, summarised: “There continues to be an appetite among the investment community post-Brexit to back UK entrepreneurs, but if we are going to maintain this capacity to invest it is vital that we act now to build our international connections. By establishing a strong and connected global investment ecosystem we can ensure there is enough capital available in the UK to take growth companies from startup to scale up and beyond.”
0207 492 0490 | [email protected] | ukbaa.org.uk | @UKBAngels
PRESERVING ACCESS TO TALENT IS A KEY CONCERN
82% of scale-ups say the number one thing they need is
access to the skills they require to serve their customers and
thus succeed, Sherry Coutu, founder and chair of the Scale-Up
Institute told attendees.
Throughout the day we heard multiple calls for getting
immigration policy right so that we are able to attract talent to
UK growth businesses. Brexit may mean that we are less able to
attract talent to this country, but this should not stop businesses
from hiring talent wherever it happens to be – and this means
putting in place operating models that accommodate a
workforce comprised of talent based in numerous geographies.
There should be no doubt, said many of our speakers,
that there is enough intellectual property in this country
to support radical innovation and growth. Gerard Grech,
CEO of Tech City UK (pictured left), reminded us that
there is a critical mass of expertise in the UK – we have
more than 90 of the top 1000 universities worldwide.
A REGIONAL FOCUS WILL PAY DIVIDENDS
Concentration of capital in
London and the South East was
highlighted as a key issue. This
was underlined by Keith Morgan,
CEO of the British Business Bank
(pictured right), who spoke of
his organisation’s commitment
to ensuring the progress of
the Northern Powerhouse
Investment Fund and Midlands
Engine Investment Fund, both
soon to go live.
There would also be a benefit in
celebrating growth businesses
locally – on a city-by-city basis –
said Sherry Coutu: “Celebrate the
top 50 in Birmingham, Sheffield,
Southampton, and so on.” This
attracts talent and leadership
partners, such as corporates
that can help with international
expansion; and can help growth
businesses solve practical
issues such as office space.
WE NEED TO GET BETTER AT CELEBRATING SUCCESS IN THE UK
A theme that frequently arose
throughout the Angel Investment
Summit was the need for the early-
stage and angel investment ecosystem
to draw attention to companies – and
investors – that are doing well. Sherry
Coutu of the Scale-Up Institute
(pictured left) said:
“We need to celebrate successful
businesses and also help them, so they
can continue to do well and overcome
barriers in front of them. Collaboration
is critical.”
Bragging is not a very British trait,
but by celebrating entrepreneurs’
successes and promoting positive
role models – such as women who
are developing tech-enabled, scalable
businesses – we can drive further
innovation, jobs and growth in the UK.
BUT THERE REMAINS A LATER-STAGE FUNDING GAP
More capital is needed for later-stage
businesses, said many of our speakers,
recognising that scale up remains a
challenge in the UK, with the majority
of growth capital being allocated to
startups.
Keith Morgan, CEO of the British
Business Bank, agreed that there is a gap
in later-stage venture capital funding,
stating this is “a missed opportunity for
investors and the wider economy.”
There is no natural expansion for funding
UK businesses from startup to scale-up,
agreed Stuart Chapman, co-founder and
partner of Draper Esprit (pictured right,
holding microphone). There is a gap
between Series B investments and “the
£30-50million type deal” due to a lack
of crossover investors: public company
investors who will go private to help
businesses along. Domiciled funds of
this character are missing and herein lies
an opportunity.
THE UK HAS MANY OF THE
INGREDIENTS FOR SCALE-UP
SUCCESS…
Anne Glover, CEO of Amadeus Capital
Partners (pictured left), outlined key
pillars required for successful scale-up,
including: a) an ambitious entrepreneur
with a differentiated product / strong
idea; b) a much more disciplined set
of processes than is required at startup
phase; and c) an experienced team
that can imagine and envisage what a
much larger business would look like.
Key to the latter, she added, is hiring
in people who have done it before,
people from different countries who
can help organisations expand into
those territories, “occasionally people
with a few grey hairs!” This can be
a recruiting challenge and there is
sometimes a capital challenge to
fund that level of recruitment.
INTERNATIONAL INVESTMENT COMMUNITIES
CAN HELP GROWTH BUSINESSES
Many great networks, groups and initiatives
already exist in the angel and early-stage
financing space globally – connecting this
ecosystem could yield huge benefits for
both investors and entrepreneurs. Canada
House was the appropriate venue for
the Summit: Aaron Rosland, economic
counsellor for the Government of Ontario
(pictured right) explained that the UK
and Canada are seeking to increase their
commercial linkages and outlined ways in
which Ontario welcomes and aims to help
UK companies seeking to scale up globally.
We also heard during a panel on cross-
border investment that existing networks
such as the African Business Angels
Network, Angels Unleashed and Cocoon
Networks can use their contacts and
connections to help high growth-potential
UK businesses to expand internationally.
The trick is to join the dots within the global
early-stage ecosystem in order to help
companies navigate it and enable better
outcomes for all.
OPPORTUNITIES ABOUND IN KEY SECTORS AND MARKETS
As we focus on the opportunities for innovation and investment post-Brexit, we need to build on our core sector strengths in the UK. Susanne Chishti, founder and CEO of FINTECH Circle told attendees that the UK is leading the world in fintech, with investors backing some global unicorns in this sector. Space applications also represent an exciting investment area: Mark Boggett, MD of Seraphim Capital’s new space fund explained how there is a great opportunity to bring together the investment potential of leading players in the aerospace and space technologies sectors. Blockchain is emerging as an important new area for cross-sectoral investment, explained Jamie Burke, CEO of Outlier Ventures and the newly-founded Blockchain Angels; and there is a clear opportunity to build on the UK’s leading position around impact investing, said Rod Schwartz, founder and CEO of ClearlySo.
THE STARTUP WORLD AND CORPORATES – A MATCH MADE IN HEAVEN
The relationship between the corporate and startup world was identified as something that can be very beneficial to both sides, if it is played right. Brent Hoberman, co-founder of Lastminute.com, Made.com, Founders Forum and Founders
Factory (pictured left), said:
“Startups are like free R&D to corporates because they have the right to fail; and corporates provide a scaling dimension for startups and also give them credibility, a key criterion for startup success.”
The UK has world class corporates, which can support scale ups by offering access to a multifaceted business ecosystem that does not exist in many places, including Silicon Valley.
Corporate investments in startups are not a fad and will not disappear any time soon, we heard, as they help big organisations consider what they need from a talent and tech perspective, and map a future that takes into consideration future entrepreneur-led market disruption.
AMBITIOUS OPTIMISM – A PREVAILING POSITIVE SENTIMENT POST-BREXIT
A positive outlook prevailed at the Angel Investment Summit, with a range of leading investors reporting that so far there has been no change in their investment activity level since the June referendum and some reporting an increase. Most indicated that with Brexit must come new opportunities.
There is likely to be some uncertainty, particularly over the next 2-3 years, but the majority view was that the future looks bright for the UK – if we adopt a global outlook.
Andrew Pipe (pictured top), chief economist at Lloyds Banking Group, underlined that the IMF’s growth forecast of 1.7% post-Brexit is respectable when compared with peers and the fact that the nation is undergoing a massive change. He also said that we have a great opportunity for exporting outside the EU if the exchange rate stays low.
Kerry Sharp, head of the Scottish Investment Bank (pictured right) said:
“Dealflow for us is going through the roof at the moment – lots of companies are growing, lots of demand on us, we expect to deploy around £70m this year. Given that’s in deals up to around £2m that’s a lot of deals, a lot of investments.”
There are both challenges and opportunities on the horizon – and it is key that the angel and early-stage community does not lose sight of the opportunities. The focus needs to be on growth, on global connections, and on what – with a dose of ambition – we can achieve.
UKBAA Angel Investment Summit 2016
View speakers’ Powerpoint presentations
Gerard Grech, CEO of Tech City UK – view his presentation here.
Sherry Coutu, CEO of the Scale Up Institute – view her presentation here.
Andrew Pipe, Chief Economist of Lloyds Banking Group – view his presentation here.
Rod Schwartz, Founder and CEO of ClearlySo – view his presentation here.
Watch video footage of speakers and panels
We are grateful for permission to share video footage of some of our speakers and panellists, accessible via the links below:
Keith Morgan, CEO, British Business Bank
Lara Morgan, Founder and ex-CEO, Pacific Direct; and Founder, Company Shortcuts
Gerard Grech, CEO, Tech City UK
Brent Hoberman CBE, Co-founder, Lastminute.com, Made.com, Founders Forum and Founders Factory
Sherry Coutu CBE, Founder and Chair, Scale-Up Institute
Aaron Rosland, Economic Counsellor, Government of Ontario
Jenny Tooth OBE, CEO, UKBAA
Panel: What are the implications for the growth of the angel and early-stage ecosystem under Brexit
Panel: Scaling internationally to achieve successful growth.U
SEFU
L RE
SOU
RCES
CONTACT UKBAA0207 492 0490
@UKBAngels