Deazy’s Post

Thanks Dana Leigh and the TechRound team for the soapbox invite! 🙏 now our political circusing has hopefully started to calm down, how can the new team at Number 10 support our startups? My 2¢: “The UK has consolidated its position as a point of reference for tech worldwide. We are leading the way in cutting-edge industries, with new and exciting startups emerging every day. We are hopeful the new government will keep the momentum up, supporting our great entrepreneurs and innovative startups coming up with the technologies that will shape the way we live in the future. We would like to see government policies that fill in existing gaps in investment, ensure companies can access the talent they need, and create a regulatory landscape that works for startups, not against them. The UK has been thriving in an environment that’s proved to be a great place to breed unicorns, but there are still challenges that need to be addressed. We need a government that helps us break down the barriers that prevent our very best companies and entrepreneurs from succeeding.” Looking forward to seeing what our new government can do to stimulate and accelerate the UK’s startup ecosystem - both within and (more importantly to me) outside of the M25 border 🇬🇧 https://lnkd.in/dVixmJ6p Gabriela Matic Matt Briggs Gabriella G. Hernandez Gianna Pinasco Nicole Whitelaw Stephanie Shaar Renata Miranda Metta

💡 The Rise and Fall of Kenko Health: What Every Startup Can Learn Kenko Health, once a promising healthcare startup, met an unfortunate end despite raising ₹85 crore in revenue in FY23. Its downfall reveals crucial lessons for startups navigating the health and insurance space. The Breakdown: Cash Crunch & Unpaid Salaries: Despite revenue growth, the company’s financial strain escalated, with losses reaching ₹68 crore in FY23. Founders infused personal funds to pay employees, but it wasn’t enough. Regulatory Setbacks: Kenko’s inability to secure an insurance license from IRDAI was the nail in the coffin. The company was also struggling to raise ₹220 crore in 2023, which further heightened financial pressures. Investor Dependency: The requirement for domestic capital as the lead investor became an obstacle, as they couldn’t meet stringent regulatory conditions, which was crucial to securing their insurance license. The failure to raise capital compounded this issue. The Impact on Employees: With 100 employees left in limbo, unpaid for over three months, Kenko was eventually taken to the National Company Law Tribunal (NCLT) by creditors, marking the official end of the startup. Legal Battles: Third-party administrators (TPAs) managing Kenko’s claims faced unpaid dues, prompting legal actions against the company. An FIR was filed, and more legal actions were anticipated. Lessons for Young Startups: Cash Flow Management: Rapid revenue growth doesn't guarantee survival. Proper cash flow management is key. Regulatory Compliance: Never underestimate the regulatory landscape. Securing licenses or meeting legal criteria early on can prevent massive setbacks. Resilient Leadership: While the founders injected personal funds, startups need a long-term strategy for financial resilience, rather than relying on last-minute solutions. 🚀 Key Takeaways for Entrepreneurs: Prioritize financial prudence and liquidity to avoid cash flow bottlenecks. Stay ahead of regulatory challenges—licensing or legal hurdles can make or break a company. Diversify funding sources and plan for market challenges, especially if reliant on external investors. 💬 What are your thoughts on Kenko’s fall? Are you prepared to handle financial or regulatory crises in your startup? Share your views below! 👇 #Startups #Entrepreneurship #FinancialPlanning #HealthcareTech #CashFlow #StartupStruggles #InsuranceRegulations #LeadershipLessons #PersonalFinance #InvestingInStartups #NCLT #BusinessGrowth #LegalHurdles

The autumn 2024 UK government budget is hotly anticipated at the end of the month, with the rumour mill going into overdrive. And capital gains tax (CGT) keeps coming up and the talk alone is having a significant effect on cash investments in companies especially in the start-up space. What to know why? Make sure you are signed up for my women’s health newsletter giving insights into the sector for founders and early stage companies. Sign up now - link in comments 😉 #VCs #healthtech #foudners #startups #femalefounders #womenshealth #startuplife #womenshealthcare #hmrc #tax #autumnbudget #Budget2024 #LinkedInInsiderUK #LinkedInNewsUK

The Spring Budget 2024 is here, and it's packed with updates every startup founder needs to know. At Standard Ledger UK, we've curated the essential takeaways for the startup world to keep you ahead of the curve: 🔹 Increased eligibility criteria for angel investors have been reversed 🔹 National Insurance contribution rates have been cut further 🔹 The Recovery Loan Scheme has been extended, rebranded & injected with a £200m boost 🔹 VAT thresholds increased from £85,000 to £90,000 🔹 Government to plan for full expensing to also cover leasing 🔹 HMRC set to establish advisory panel for new merged R&D tax relief scheme 🔹 Government outlining plans for new investment platform for startups, PISCES Explore the full insights and how they impact your startup in our in-depth blog - link in comments! 📈👇 Curious about what the 2024 Spring Budget means for your startup, or looking for strategies to leverage these updates? I'm here to help. Drop me a message or comment below to start a conversation! 😊 #2024SpringBudget #Startup #UKStartups #SpringBudget

The government is crafting a framework to enable pension funds and insurers to invest in startups, aiming to boost domestic capital. Efforts include redefining startup criteria, educating investors, and potentially expanding existing funding schemes. This strategic move aims to supercharge domestic capital and foster innovation across the entrepreneurial landscape. At Invstt.com, we firmly believe that regulated funds are the future of startup investment. DM is if you would like to explore our tech & fund ecosystem. Join us in shaping the future of entrepreneurship. Let’s build a vibrant ecosystem together! 🌱💡 #StartupInvestment #Innovation #Invstt #Entrepreneurship We Founder Circle

.. continued from the last post Flashaid, a healthcare and insurance tech startup, raised $2.5 million in its pre-Series A funding round led by Piper Serica Angel Fund, SOSV and its existing investors, for expansion to six new cities. Runo, a modern mobile SIM-based outbound call management CRM, raised $1.5 million in a pre-Series A round led by Unicorn India Ventures and Callapina Capital, for onboarding a senior management team and for global expansion. Sapience , an AI-enabled startup providing road safety solutions, raised INR 1.75 crores in a seed round led by Inflection Point Ventures, to expand sales of their Driver Camera, build essential partnerships, enhance their ADAS technology, and secure international patents. Growth Stage Deals: Northern Arc Capital, a technology-enabled and data-driven financial services platform providing credit solutions, raised $80 million in a mix of debt and equity from the IFC, to support the expansion of its reach and foster social impact through improved credit access. CloudExtel, India's first full-stack Network as a Service provider catering to telecom operators, internet service providers, data centers, enterprises, and large content providers, raised INR 200 crores in debt from NIIF IFL and ABFL, to intensify its market presence in fiber and small cells deployment. LetsTransport, a logistics startup aggregating light commercial vehicles for last-mile, mid-mile, and EV use cases, ensuring delivery for brands, raised $22 million in its Series E funding round led by Bertelsmann India Investments, to further digitize and disrupt the logistics industry. BankBazaar, an online marketplace for financial products, raised Rs 80 crore in Series D round from investors like Peak XV, Amazon, GUS Holdings, Walden Investments, Eight Roads, and others and INR 50 crore in debt from Vistra ITCL, for capital requirements, expansion, and growth. Clix Capital, an NBFC providing credit for education, healthcare, and business, raised $6 million in debt from DCB Bank, for working capital needs and to grow its loan book. Samunnati, an open agri network providing agri commerce and finance solutions for farmer and the larger ecosystem, raised $5 million from Enabling Qapital AG, to fuel its expansion across India. Smartworks, a co-working space provider, raised $4 million from its existing investor, Singapore-based Keppel Land, likely as part of a larger funding round. Strategic Investments: FlexiCloud.in, a provider of managed cloud hosting solutions, received an undisclosed strategic investment from Ushodaya Enterprises Private Limited, This investment marks Ushodaya's tactical expansion into Kerala. Awign, a work-as-a-service platform, received a strategic investment from Japan-based HR firm Mynavi Corp. The deal provided a handsome exit for early backers like Amicus Capital, Lumis Partner, and Capria, though deal commercials were not disclosed. Sources: Entrackr, The Economic Times

🚨 𝐁𝐞𝐰𝐚𝐫𝐞 𝐨𝐟 𝐒𝐜𝐚𝐦𝐦𝐞𝐫𝐬 𝐌𝐚𝐬𝐪𝐮𝐞𝐫𝐚𝐝𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐚𝐬 𝐄𝐧𝐭𝐫𝐞𝐩𝐫𝐞𝐧𝐞𝐮𝐫𝐬! 🚨 --------------------------------------- A few months ago, I was part of what seemed like a promising startup – Unplan Company , founded by Caption Rohit Paliwal. The company, a home service platform, started with grand promises. We onboarded over 1,000 service delivery partners across India who invested their hard-earned money to register. The team worked tirelessly, with around 30 employees giving their best to build this dream. But the dream quickly turned into a nightmare. 💔 After raising a huge sum of money from partners, Rohit Paliwal disappeared—his phone switched off, his office abandoned, and no communication with anyone for the past four months. Not only did he scam employees by withholding salaries, but he also cheated the service partners, who trusted his vision and invested their resources in good faith. This experience taught me a harsh lesson about blindly trusting every new opportunity that comes your way. While startups are a vital part of our economy, stories like this tarnish the image of genuine entrepreneurs working hard to create real value. To the new generation seeking jobs or partnerships: 🔹 Do your research 🕵️♂️ before committing to any company. 🔹 Look for verified reviews ✅ or testimonials from current employees/partners. 🔹 Trust your instincts if something feels too good to be true. Today, I run my own business and strive to build it with transparency and integrity. 💼✨ I’m sharing this story not out of spite but to warn others and help them avoid falling into such traps. Let’s hold such individuals accountable and ensure no one else becomes a victim of these scams. Stay aware, stay informed. 💡

👀 How do we enable more FinTech firms to successfully scale up in the UK? Whitecap Consulting, Innovate Finance and Streets Consulting have joined forces, utilising their collective expertise deeply embedded in the UK's FinTech ecosystem to answer this question and more, as part of their freshly published 'Scaling UK Regional FinTech' research report. Launched at #IFGS last week, the new, unique study, born provides valuable insights into accelerating the growth of regional scale-ups based outside of London and the South East. The report is an analysis of 250 FinTech start-ups, all with their primary base outside of London. The research was also supplemented by insights from interviews with entrepreneurs behind 10 of these firms, drawn from across England, Wales, Scotland and Northern Ireland. Did you know? ⭐️ Firms with female founders achieved over 30% more turnover growth than those with male only founders? Yet only 16% of firms had a female founder! ⭐️ The more founders a business has, the higher their revenue growth rate. ⭐️ 9 out of 10 firms that attended an accelerator went on to raise funding. ⭐️ Raising investment correlates to higher employee and revenue growth, but revenue grows at a proportionally lower rate. ⭐️ 87% of FinTechs analysed have a B2B element to their go to market strategy, compared to 30% B2C (16% have both). The Scaling UK Regional FinTech Report also provides informed recommendations that could help create more FinTech scale-ups across the UK. To read the report in full, click the link below: https://lnkd.in/eyQKte_t #FinTechNorth #FinTech #ScalingFinTech #WhitecapConsulting #InnovateFinance #StreetsConsulting Joe Roche Ryan Walsh Rachel England Julian Wells Peter Cunnane Roberto Napolitano, MBA Julia Streets Kevin Telford Kevin Mountford Richard Carter Chelsea Boothroyd Daniel Rajkumar Josh Dracup Chloe Thompson Richard Coates Maria Harris Stefan Haase Lal Tawney Purnarka Dutta Queralt Smith Vila

Excellent report from our friends at Whitecap Consulting & Friends on a theme very dear to my heart - regional #Fintech potentials, which are simply very high. My personal take is all about the #People pillar - diversity, multiple founders, culture emphasis and more… In this rather muted economic environment, the report is a beam of light showing potentials, facts and major drivers for success in the vertical. #Fintech #UKregions #potential #growth

Hey everyone! 🚀 Movo Partnership just launched a cool new program called Movo Accelerator to help people start their own insurance broking businesses. This is a big deal for anyone wanting to get into the industry! 🌟 Here’s why Movo Accelerator is awesome: 1. **Helping with Startup Costs**: Starting a broking business can be expensive and tough, especially in the first year. Movo Accelerator gives money for salaries, office stuff, and other important support to help you get started. 2. **Personalized Support**: Each deal is made to fit the needs of individual brokers, so you get the exact help you need to succeed. 3. **Proven Success**: Movo Partnership has helped over 100 businesses, with more than half being new startups. They know how to help you succeed. 4. **All-in-One Services**: Movo offers everything brokers need to run their business, like handling client money, banking, compliance, marketing, and systems support. James Hart, Movo Partnership Development Director, said: “Accelerator will help the next generation of brokers get a foothold in the market.” Check out the full article to learn more about this exciting opportunity: [Movo Partnership launches Accelerator to support broker startups](https://lnkd.in/gEu7YKKp) Let’s support the next wave of insurance entrepreneurs! 💼🚀 #InsuranceIndustry #BrokerStartups #Innovation #Entrepreneurship #MovoAccelerator #InsuranceBrokers #BusinessGrowth