Dorset Business Angels

A platform to connect business founders to potential investors   The Barclays Demo Directory   A longstanding partner of Dorset Business Angels is Barclays Eagle Labs, and Nigel Jones who alerted me to this excellent resource, which I am very happy to share today. See the video below from Benjamin Storey from Barclays Demo Directory.   A quick summary for you, whether you are an entrepreneur or investor.   It is a great resource, and has been further enhanced.   If you are an investor it helps you find the type of business you are looking for. With filters to ensure you only get what you want, re-routing inbound info ensuring you only get what you want from potential founders, saving time - so it's simpler and easier.   Founders, or entrepreneurs, can target investors better.   And it's #free.   There are 500 tested investors on the platform, from angels through to Private Equity firms.   Watch Benjamin Storey video below And the Demo Directory is here: https://lnkd.in/e7sj9JxR   https://lnkd.in/eg7Gfzb2     https://lnkd.in/e7sj9JxR

A platform to connect business founders to potential investors   The Barclays Demo Directory   A longstanding partner of Dorset Business Angels is Barclays Eagle Labs, and Nigel Jones who alerted me to this excellent resource, which I am very happy to share today. See the video below from Benjamin Storey from Barclays Demo Directory.   A quick summary for you, whether you are an entrepreneur or investor.   It is a great resource, and has been further enhanced.   If you are an investor it helps you find the type of business you are looking for. With filters to ensure you only get what you want, re-routing inbound info ensuring you only get what you want from potential founders, saving time - so it's simpler and easier.   Founders, or entrepreneurs, can target investors better.   And it's #free.   There are 500 tested investors on the platform, from angels through to Private Equity firms.   Watch Benjamin Storey video below And the Demo Directory is here: https://lnkd.in/e7sj9JxR   https://lnkd.in/eg7Gfzb2     https://lnkd.in/e7sj9JxR

The Perfect Pitch Event   Dorset Business Angels (DBA), supported this excellent event run by Evolve and funded by Dorset LEP - thank you Shelley Collins-Trevett - who it was good to see once again last night!   One of the great success stories at DBA has been Sebastien Duval, who has successfully pitched for his businesses including originally Wizzle and most recently #HonkHonkUK. His success in fundraising? Him. When angel investors are asked, what is the most important thing you look for in a pitch, they always cite the owner or CEO as number 1 on their list. Yes, the product, or service and IP are important. But it's the person and team that they are investing in.   When our investors heard that Seb was looking for funding in another business - Honk Honk UK, there was immediate interest. Sure, it needed a credible business plan. But with years of experience in the motor trade and many pitches on the road, so to speak, he was able to do the business.   The Investors Perspective   Chris Spackman, investor at DBA spoke in a panel discussion and Q&A about what he was looking for as an investor from business entrepreneurs. He also when asked by MC David Mutton, what he didn't like (!), warned off businesses from creating forecasts with a "hockey stick", which is inevitably unrealistic. What Chris is looking for includes customer proposition, what problem you are solving, does the founder have experience in the sector, the product, what value you offer, market research, competition, track record - a pilot or ideally sales, the founder and team and authenticity. See a short video of this here on Instagram: https://lnkd.in/eysxGbwW   Experts   We were lucky to have some fantastic experts giving advice. Hatty Fawcett from Focused For Business, a top local and national accelerator. She stressed the importance of knowing your numbers. Understand the financials: the P&L, Cashflow and Balance Sheet. The Cashflow in particular will tell you when you need more funding! The boss was here from Evolve, Warren Munson who has worn every hat, having pitched, invested, and advised as an accountant when running the highly successful accountancy business Inspire for many years, explained how to value your business amongst other valuable items. And then Laura Trapnell Head of intellectual and property law at Trethowans assured us, that every business has some #IP if we look hard enough. And the need from day 1, to record everything. This eventually can go into what is know as a #DataRoom in the #DueDiligenceProcess.   Thanks again to Evolve 

"Bournemouth and the wider Dorset area must strive to be seen as less of a place at the seaside where people do work and its business community must come together to spread the message about its vibrant and resilient economy. "This was one of the key messages heard at a Dorset Biz News roundtable at Gallagher’s offices in Poole in January, which focused on the challenges and opportunities facing the county’s economy in 2025." Our Chair, Don McQueen joined the roundtable for the discussion.

Just 2 weeks to go until until... CES Award-winning technology among five investment-ready companies pitching in Bournemouth on February 3rd + NEW 'Meet the Founder' session Don't miss these exciting investment opportunities! Our February pitch event introduces an exclusive new "Meet the Founder" session - your chance to engage informally with entrepreneurs, experience their products firsthand, and have valuable one-on-one conversations before the formal pitches begin. It's a fantastic opportunity to really understand both the innovations and the teams behind them. From a CES, ISPO & Red Dot award-winning smart ring already generating £250K in sales to a Christchurch-based company transforming plastic waste into sustainable building materials, our February event features five companies with demonstrated market validation and clear growth trajectories. Featured opportunities include: ⭐️ A healthcare innovation that's already processing over 1,000 patients across 50 optometry practices, seeking £750K to scale its proven solution for reducing NHS wait times ⭐️ An award-winning smart ring company with £250K in sales since January 2023 and a major sporting goods partnership, looking for £250K to scale production ⭐️ A local company transforming hard-to-recycle plastic waste into carbon-negative building materials, with established contracts in road, rail, and construction sectors ⭐️ A circular economy platform for school uniforms offering 70% savings while tracking environmental impact through comprehensive ESG metrics ⭐️ A digital fundraising platform targeting the 85% of UK charities currently underserved by existing solutions Read the full article on our website to learn more about these exciting opportunities: https://lnkd.in/eNCU8mc9 Join us for this enhanced pitch event format, combining informal networking, expert market insights, five promising investment opportunities and an optional 2-course dinner with wine. See you there? Book your ticket here: https://lnkd.in/edARxpxV Paul French Valeria Romano Chris Spackman Peter Eales Debbie Frith Andrew Doe Mike Hawkyard Dan Ware Richard Cronin Dave J. Eric Warner Diane Pearce James Paget James Wallis Tim Smith Declan O'Toole

Don't miss these exciting investment opportunities coming to Bournemouth! Our February 3rd pitch event introduces an exclusive new "Meet the Founder" session - your chance to engage informally with entrepreneurs, experience their products firsthand, and have valuable one-on-one conversations before the formal pitches begin. It's a fantastic opportunity to really understand both the innovations and the teams behind them. From a CES, ISPO & Red Dot award-winning smart ring already generating £250K in sales to a Christchurch-based company transforming plastic waste into sustainable building materials, our February 3rd event features five companies with demonstrated market validation and clear growth trajectories. There are only 2 weeks to go until the event, so please book your place now! https://lnkd.in/edARxpxV

Our first Dorset Business Angels pitch event and investors' dinner of 2025 will be held on February 3rd at the Bournemouth Carlton Hotel. The 5 pitches are: Online Pre-loved school uniforms shops. An Ophthalmology software platform connecting patients, optometrists, and ophthalmologists enabling secure data sharing and remote triaging - reducing surgical wait times. A smart ring provides hands-free, intuitive control of other devices such as phones, wireless speakers and sports cameras on the move – even when wearing gloves. A local company turning hard-to-recycle plastic waste into sustainable building materials that replace wood and concrete in construction projects. A digital fundraising platform helping donors easily find and support local charities at lower fees than existing platforms. New for this event: Meet the Founders - entrepreneurs will showcase their products or services before the pitches during networking and investors will have a chance for an informal meet and greet with them. Robert Jones from our Sponsor Rathbones Group Plc, formerly Investec Wealth & Investment UK will give his annual market review of 2024 and an overview of expectations for 2025. Book your place here:  https://lnkd.in/ez_kNGve  #investors #entrepreneurs #pitches

Christmas is coming, so is our next Pitch event - deadline for pitches   If you are a business looking for funding, and you want to send us at Dorset Business Angels your business plans for our next pitch event, then the deadline is Friday 27th December 5.30pm. For our next pitch event on February 3rd in the new year.   As usual we need to see your business plan, deck, financial projections for at least 3 years, and our one page summary sheet. All explained here on our Entrepreneur Resources page: https://lnkd.in/eyX7EH8Q

Everyone can Pitch better and perhaps Invest better? 2024 was exciting, 2025 is looking good for Dorset Business Angels   Our two key customers are #investors and #entrepreneurs. We help both in specific ways. For investors, we grew our DBA membership. Our Chairman Don McQueen led our Lead Investor Workshop. And he provides ongoing coaching. This is vital to drive more investments.   Pitch events is the engine to everything we do, https://lnkd.in/ejhD9PDw We gave more focus on feedback to previous pitches: the due diligence, investments and general progress. Expressions of interest rose.   Chris Spackman, active DBA investor launched our ambassador programme which means working with networks who have young businesses and some kind of incubator process. Chris works with SETsquared Partnership incubator and accelerator. And we have identified and will look for other opportunities for other similar networks across areas to engage with. This presents opportunities for entrepreneurs but also our investors who are interested in particular sectors and also mentoring businesses. More here: https://lnkd.in/dwMjGNZh   The funding journey - Successful companies Five chosen companies get specific guidance plus a video run through with a DBA director before our pitch events. Entrepreneurs who are initially "unsuccessful"   We want to help entrepreneurs when unsuccessful being chosen to pitch for our event or at getting funding after our pitch event. In the case of businesses who send in their business plans, we select the five most attractive for pitching at our events. Those not selected, we offer the opportunity to work with our chosen partners who have the capability of coaching those to become better prepared to present to investors in the future. Obviously it’s up to the entrepreneurs to decide who they wish to work with such as accelerators, incubators and expert coaches.   Failure at Due Diligence Stage Some businesses that are successful at pitch events, receiving expressions of interest for funding may fall down at the due diligence stage. These companies can benefit from working with our partners should they wish to be connected. Our message is clear: Dorset Business Angels gives a good service both to investors, offering attractive business propositions, and to entrepreneurs with the funding journey.   In 2025 there will be another four events plus a social event for our investors and their partners outside of our normal event when there will be more time for people to get to know one another. This will be in May, more of this shortly.   Merry Christmas and a happy New Year!   Peter Eales MD

"Dorset Business Angels (DBA), the region’s leading angel investment network, hosted its final pitch event of 2024 on Monday, November 25th at the Carlton Hotel in Bournemouth. The event saw five innovative startups, two of them local to Dorset, present their investment opportunities to an audience of over 30 investors. Remarkably, all five companies received expressions of interest, totalling 22 from the attending angels. This represents a high-water mark for DBA’s events, underscoring the quality of the presenting startups and the growing appetite of the local investor community. “It’s wonderful to see DBA continuing to grow and thrive,” commented Don McQueen, DBA’s Chairman. “The candid post-pitch discussions among our members are a testament to the strengthening relationships and trust within our investor network. This open dialogue is key to making the most informed decisions.” Click through to the link below to read about the pitches on Dorset Biz News Peter Eales James Paget Max Wright Frank Guinn Chris Spackman Paul French Ralph Singleton Valeria Romano Dan Ware Richard Cronin Mike Hawkyard Debbie Frith