Case Studies
Case Studies
Sarah Merrick, Founder and CEORipple Energy
In 2017, Sarah was poised to launch the UK's first consumer owned wind farm, making clean energy ownership affordable and accessible for everyone, everywhere. Although highly experienced in her field, with 16 years of senior management roles in the renewable energy industry, it was Sarah's first time building a start-up and raising investment. She wasn't sure how to best present the opportunity to investors, especially at pre-launch phase, or how to reach and connect with people who might back her venture.
Working through our Fundraising Academy programme, and with personalised support from programme lead Julia Elliott Brown, Sarah fine-tuned her investment narrative, and produced professional financial forecasts to support an outstanding pitch deck. We walked Sarah through designing her fundraising strategy, helped her understand the process of raising investment through different routes, connected her with leading institutional investors and platforms, and empowered her with the skills to have effective investor conversations. We also supported Sarah in finding a key senior marketing advisor, a role which was essential in giving investors' confidence.
After securing initial pre-seed angel funding of £150k in 2018 to get the project off the ground, Sarah secured £856k investment the following year through crowdfunding, with backing from over 1,000 investors. Ripple won the Startup of the Year Award by Seedrs investors and Business Green, and her business continues to thrive.
"I honestly feel that working with Enter The Arena has been the best investment into myself and my business that I have ever made"
Claire Ransom, Founder and CEOLazy Flora
Just 18 months into running her outdoor plant subscription business, Claire wasn't feeling confident about her pitch, her approach to investors, or whether she should crowdfund. It all felt overwhelming. She approached Enter The Arena to help to fast-track her raise and get some personalised coaching to help work through her apprehensions.
Claire joined our Fundraising Academy programme. By developing financial forecasts and an outstanding investment pitch, Claire could package her offer into a compelling message. With coaching and feedback, Claire gained the skills to plan and execute her crowdfunding campaign. Throughout the process we supported Claire with her mindset and confidence, empowering her to deal with the ups and downs of a fundraise.
After successfully closing her pre-seed SEIS investment round on Seedrs in January 2020, Claire's continued to work with Enter The Arena to develop her leadership skills and get the right support to scale her business. She's gained a new network of peers at the same business investment stage, a support group to collaborate and share the journey with. Claire's business grew tenfold in the following year., and she raised a further investment round of £500k from a venture capital firm in January 2021.
"I honestly feel like I've got an MBA in raising finance in the last 90 days! I don't see anything in the way of us being successful now."
Tersha Willis, CEO and Co-FounderTerrible Merch
After a couple of years of building her music merchandise business, Tersha realised it was time to get some external investment for growth. But the world of fundraising was completely new to her, and she needed support in navigating the journey.
Tersha was feeling unsure about where to even start, and so the step-by-step approach provided by the Fundraising Academy
was ideal to help her move forward with confidence. By following our proven fundraising process, Tersha developed a stellar investment offer and pitch deck, and learned how to take this out to her network of potential investors. She felt able for the first time to talk confidently about her brand and vision in a business sense.
Tersha successfully raised her first funding round of £150k and has grown the business significantly since.
"Working with Julia has give me such incredible insight, strategic support, and true female power to help me step into being a successful entrepreneur".
Sophie Hooper, FounderSecret Saviours
It's lonely at the top; that's certainly how Sophie felt on her journey to build, fund and scale her stretch mark prevention technology business. She came to Enter The Arena for an Accelerator Session
to figure out the best way forward with her next fundraise. Growing her start-up was a world away from the successful career she'd built in the advertising industry, requiring a whole new set of leadership skills.
Sophie joined The Fundraising Academy shortly after she'd secured that funding to get the support she needed to work through post-investment challenges and feel more empowered as she transitioned from Founder to CEO.
Her continued membership has supported Sophie through a period of rapid growth. With the guidance of Julia and her peers, Sophie has worked through the trials of continual fundraising, managing key stakeholder relationships, balancing her personal wellbeing with entrepreneurial drive, and supporting her team effectively. She has now raised over £2m in funding.
"Julia was instrumental in our fundraising efforts, and I can't recommend her highly enough".
Vanessa Jacobs, FounderThe Restory
Just a couple of years into running her luxury handbag and shoe repair service business, Vanessa was looking to raise her first round of seed funding investment, but needed support with the process.
Participating in our Fundraising Academy
coaching programme, Vanessa quickly picked up the skills to build a compelling investor pitch. She went from not knowing where to start, to having a full strategy and the required communications to secure over £60k in funding from her existing network within weeks, without leaving her desk.
The investment narrative, pitch deck and financial forecasts Vanessa developed were second to none, and she honed her messaging to perfection. Vanessa's newfound confidence was instrumental in her securing investor commitment and getting her deal over the line quickly. The investment freed her up to hire key team members and put some rocket fuel behind her marketing activities to continue her rapid growth.
Since that first raise, Vanessa has come a long way from the kitchen table. The business has significantly expanded, securing high profile partnerships with luxury retail businesses including Selfridges, Harrods and Far Fetch.
