A few days ago we hosted another Open Mic Pitch Night.

Before the pitches started, Jamie joined us to share his experience about fundraising. Many of you know him as the “Ginger Ninja”. He is a three-time venture-backed founder who has raised around £9M across his startups and now mentors early-stage companies across Europe.

Last year alone he worked with roughly 600 startups through accelerator programs and workshops.

Instead of a polished “how to raise money” presentation, Jamie walked through the reality of fundraising. The mistakes founders make. The patterns he keeps seeing. And what founders should actually focus on before talking to investors.

Below are the key lessons from that session, plus a few practical actions you can apply if you are planning to raise money.

If you want to watch the full session, the recording is linked at the end of this post.

See below to continue…

Get a £100 welcome bonus when opening a Revolut Business account!

Take your finances further with an all-in-one account designed to support your business.

Revolut Business gives you access to features like fast global transfers, virtual cards, interest on savings, and a range of payment acceptance tools like Tap to Pay on iPhone — so you can scale, save, and make smarter moves with your money.

Sign up today to redeem your £100 welcome bonus when you add money to your account by March 31, 2026. T&Cs apply.

Continue…

Most founders assume venture funding is the natural next step after launching a startup.

The numbers tell a different story.

Only around 2.5% of startups raise money from angel investors, and less than 1% raise money from venture capital funds.

That means the default outcome for most startups is simple.

No funding.

This is not bad news. Many successful companies grow through revenue instead of investment.

But it does mean founders should approach fundraising with the right expectations.

Investors look for strong signals.

Most founders approach them before those signals exist.

What founders should take away from this

Jamie said he sees the same mistake across hundreds of startups.

Founders start fundraising before they are ready.

They build pitch decks and start contacting investors while their product and traction are still weak.

Jamie broke funding stages into a simple structure.

Usually before £250k in annual revenue. Funding comes from friends, family, angels, accelerators, or grants.

Startups show early traction and early customers. Venture funds begin to invest here.

Typically when revenue approaches £1M and growth signals are clear.

Many founders want funding to help them build the business.

Investors prefer to see a business already forming and then invest to accelerate growth.

What founders should focus on first

Before fundraising, ask yourself:

If the answer is no, investors will likely say the same thing.

“Come back later.”

Jamie explained that fundraising becomes easier once real traction appears.

Investors want proof that the market actually wants the product.

Typical traction signals include:

Without traction, fundraising becomes slow and painful.

With traction, conversations change dramatically.

In some cases investors even start reaching out themselves.

Jamie shared three short stories from his own companies.

Each one shows how different fundraising journeys can look.

Startup #1: €5M raised quickly

The first startup raised €5M after a short fundraising process.

A video demo and investor meetings quickly turned into a bidding war.

Jamie admitted timing played a big role. This happened during the zero-interest-rate era when venture capital flowed freely.

That environment no longer exists.

Many founders hear stories like this and assume fundraising works that way.

It usually does not.

Startup #2: a slower and harder process

The second startup followed a more typical path.

The team built a working product.

They acquired paying customers.

They demonstrated traction.

Only then did angels invest around £500k.

Two years later the company raised another £2M from family offices and venture funds.

Startup #3: the power of networks

The third startup was a wedding dress rental platform.

Three founders worked part-time for two years.

They reached roughly 5,000 customers before raising £300k from friends, family, and angel investors.

One investor came from a tennis club where Jamie’s co-founder played.

It sounds funny, but it highlights an important reality.

Many early investors come from personal networks.

Many founders start speaking to investors when they decide to raise a round.

Jamie believes that is too late.

Instead, founders should start building investor relationships three to six months before launching a round.

At this stage you are not pitching.

You are building familiarity.

You introduce the business.
You share updates.
You learn what investors care about.

Over time some investors become familiar with your progress.

Those people become your warm investor network.

Founders often underestimate how many investors they need to speak with.

Jamie shared a simple fundraising funnel.

Start with 100–200 relevant investors.

From that list you might secure 30–50 meetings.

From those meetings you might end up with 3–20 investors interested in the round.

This is normal.

Fundraising includes a lot of rejection.

Expect dozens of “no” responses along the way.

Many fundraising rounds drift for months.

Meetings happen randomly.

Momentum disappears.

Jamie suggested a method called calendar density.

Instead of spreading meetings over months, founders open a short window.

Usually two weeks.

All investor meetings happen during that period.

This creates momentum.

Investors see activity around the company.

Decisions happen faster.

Momentum matters in fundraising.

Jamie explained that investors operate on two powerful emotions.

Fear and greed.

Fear of missing the next successful company.

Greed for strong financial returns.

But the real currency in this relationship is trust.

Investors back founders they believe in.

If founders exaggerate metrics or oversell results, that credibility disappears quickly.

Reputation spreads fast across the investor community.

Jamie emphasized that most of the work happens before the first investor pitch.

Founders should prepare several elements before launching a round.

Pitch formats

You should be able to explain your startup in different formats:

Pitch decks

Most founders should prepare three deck formats.

Investor research

Before contacting investors, founders should research:

Approaching the wrong investors wastes time.

Warm introductions are often the fastest way to reach investors.

Jamie suggested starting with other founders.

Founders who recently raised money often introduce other founders to their investors, especially if the companies are not competing.

A short message asking for advice about fundraising often opens doors.

The startup ecosystem is surprisingly collaborative.

Jamie ended his talk with one final reminder.

Early-stage investors invest in founders.

They look for someone who:

Startups rarely follow perfect plans.

Investors know that.

What they care about most is the person leading the company.

If you plan to raise money within the next year, start with these three steps.

Send regular updates about your progress.

Fundraising often feels mysterious from the outside.

Jamie’s talk showed that most successful rounds follow the same pattern.

Preparation.

Traction.

Relationships.

Founders who focus on those three areas give themselves the best chance of raising capital.

If you want to watch Jamie’s full talk and the founder pitches from the Open Mic session, the recording from the event is available below.

Watch the full event recording here:

✅ If this was useful, pass it on. You know a founder raising money soon. Share this with them.

(👉 Vote now — we’ll share the results in next week’s issue. All votes are anonymous.)

(Last week’s poll results)