It is crunch time.

We are staring at the calendar. It is February. The end of the financial year is April 5th.

That leaves us about 8 weeks.

If you are a founder raising capital right now, you need to wake up. This is the most critical window of your entire year.

If you miss this window, you are not just waiting a few weeks. You might be waiting months. The momentum dies on April 6th. Financial year is over. The urgency disappears.

You need to close this round now.

I talk to founders every day. They all tell me the same story. They say there is no money. They say investors are hiding. They say the "market is tough."

They are wrong.

There is plenty of money. It is floating all around the ecosystem. You just don't see it because you are looking for "VCs" or "Institutional Investors."

You are looking in the wrong place.

Right now, the money is in the pockets of individual people. Normal people. Smart people.

They have a problem. You have the solution.

Their problem is taxes.

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Let's get back to basics. Why does SEIS exist?

The UK government knows that startups are risky. Most of them fail. If you ask a normal person to invest £10,000 in a startup, they will say you are crazy. Why would they risk losing it all?

So the government created SEIS. It is a bribe. It is a way to de-risk the investment.

They tell investors:

Suddenly, the risk is not £10,000. It is £5,000.

If the company fails, the government gives even more relief. The total loss might only be around £2,000 or £3,000 on a £10,000 investment.

But if the company wins? The upside is unlimited, and it’s tax-free.

This is a no-brainer for people who pay a lot of tax.

But here is the catch. This is a UK game.

I see a lot of confusion about this. Let's make it crystal clear.

1. The Company (You) You must be a UK resident company. You need a permanent establishment in the UK. You cannot just register a shell company here and run everything from Bali. The business activity needs to happen here.

2. The Investor This is the big one. SEIS tax relief is only for UK tax residents.

It doesn't matter if your rich uncle in Dubai wants to invest. He can invest, but he won't get SEIS. The tax relief is against UK Income Tax. If you don't pay UK tax, you don't care about SEIS.

So stop pitching SEIS to American angels. Stop pitching it to people who live in Monaco. It is irrelevant to them.

Focus your energy on people who live here, work here, and pay taxes here.

We are in the final sprint. You do not have time for mistakes.

If you want to raise money in the next 8 weeks, you need to tick two boxes. If you don't tick them, do not fill out my form (see below). Do not pass go.

Rule 1: You must have Advance Assurance. This is not negotiable. We are too close to the deadline. If you tell an investor "I applied for it yesterday," they will walk away. They cannot risk the paperwork not being ready by April 5th. If you don't have the letter from HMRC, you are too late for this specific tax year window.

Rule 2: You must have SEIS allowance left. SEIS is capped at £250,000 per company. If you have already raised £250,000, you are done. You cannot raise more under SEIS. If you have raised £200,000, you only have £50,000 left. Be honest about this. Do not try to squeeze an investor in if you don't have the space. It causes legal headaches later.

This is where it gets interesting.

Founders always ask me:

They are not hiding in a secret club. They are everywhere. They look like normal professionals.

But right now, in February and March, specific types of people are hunting for SEIS.

Here are the three profiles you need to target.

1. The High Earner with a Bonus Think about bankers, lawyers, consultants, and senior tech salespeople. January and February is often when bonuses get paid. Imagine a guy named Dave. He works in the City. He earns a good salary, but this month he just got a £50,000 cash bonus. Dave is happy. But then he looks at his payslip. The tax man is going to take nearly half of it. Dave hates this. He wants to keep his money. He knows that if he invests that £50,000 into SEIS companies before April 5th, he can claim back 50% of it against his income tax. He effectively gets to keep his bonus by investing it in you. Dave is in a rush. He needs to deploy the capital now so he can file his tax return next year and get the rebate.

2. The Property Seller The property market is shifting. Many landlords are selling up. Imagine Sarah. She bought a flat in Clapham ten years ago. She just sold it. She made a £100,000 profit. That is Capital Gains. She is looking at a massive Capital Gains Tax bill (usually 18% or 24% for residential property). SEIS has a special superpower called "Reinvestment Relief." If Sarah takes that gain and invests it into SEIS shares, she can cut her Capital Gains Tax bill in half. That is a huge saving. She has cash in the bank right now. She needs to move it before the tax year ends to tidy up her affairs.

3. The "Carry Back" Planner This is for the sophisticated investor. You can "carry back" SEIS relief to the previous tax year. Let's say an investor had a massive income last year (2023/2024) but didn't use their SEIS allowance. They can invest now (Feb 2026), but tell HMRC to treat it as if they invested last year. This is perfect for people whose income fluctuates. Maybe they had a great year last year and a quiet year this year. They can still use your startup to reclaim tax from the past. But again, the paperwork must be done.

Founders usually hate deadlines. But in fundraising, urgency is your friend.

Usually, investors drag their feet. They say: "Let me think about it." "Send me more data." "Let's catch up next month."

In February and March, they cannot do that.

They have a hard deadline. If they don't transfer the money and get the share certificate dated before April 5th, they lose the tax break for this year.

This forces a decision.

It allows you to say:

It gives you power.

I want to help you. I also want to help these investors save their tax money.

It is a matching game.

I am compiling a database. I want to create a clean, curated list of founders who are ready right now.

I don't want dreamers. I don't want "maybe next year."

I want founders who:

If that is you, I want to hear from you!

I am going to take this list and put it directly in front of my network. I know the people who are looking to deploy. I know the people who are asking me "Where do I put this cash before April?"

I will do the introduction. You do the closing.

We need to move fast.

For Founders: If you fit the criteria above, fill out this form. You need to be precise. Tell me exactly how much SEIS you have left. Tell me your industry. Give me the one-line pitch that makes an investor open the email. Do not write me a novel. Write me a business case. [Link to Founder Form]

For Investors: If you are reading this and you are sitting on a tax bill, let me help you. You don't have time to scour LinkedIn for deals. You don't have time to due diligence 50 companies. Fill out this form. Tell me your ticket size. Tell me what sectors you like. I will send you a list of verified companies that have the paperwork ready and are good to go. [Link to Investor Form]

The money is there. The incentives are there.

The only thing missing is the connection.

Don't let this window close. If you wait until April 10th, the game changes. The urgency is gone. The wallets close.

Let's get this done.

Let's go!

✅ If this was useful, pass it on. You know a founder who still thinks SEIS is just a “nice‑to‑have” add‑on. Send this to them. Show them how SEIS is where the smartest early money is moving.

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

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