In the first part of our finance series, Ian Woodley made the case for what it takes to be investable: proving your concept in the real world, understanding whether your idea is built to scale, and knowing which kind of backer is right for the business you are building. This second part picks up the moment after all that groundwork is done, when the idea holds up and it is time to actually go and raise the money.
This is the part nobody prepares you for. Writing a deck that opens doors, finding investors who understand the sector rather than just the numbers, and working out how much of your business you are willing to part with are decisions that shape everything that follows. As Ian puts it, taking on an investor is a relationship harder to get out of than a marriage, which is why it pays to go in knowing exactly what you are looking for, and what you are prepared to give up.
Below, Ian shares what he has learned from years on the other side of the table.
How to Run an Investment Raise And why it's harder to get out of than a marriage
Assume the idea holds up. You are trading somewhere, people know your name, and you are confident that what you have built is the kind of thing somebody would want to own a piece of. Now comes the part nobody prepares you for, which is asking human beings with money to give you some of it, and then living with whoever says yes.
This is the practical half: what your deck should look like, where the right investors actually are, what happens when you finally get in front of one, and how much of your business you should be prepared to part with.
Your deck: what good looks like
You need a deck, and I will cover that first as it’s easier. There is no right answer to this, but my preference is for an exec summary of not more than four pages and a deck not more than a dozen. These both must tell the story, sell the idea and give some headline numbers as to what the investor can expect to see by way of a return for their hard-earned cash.
Over the years I have seen bad decks, really bad decks. The extremes being a beautifully presented book of food porn, not a number in sight, to death by spreadsheet with pages of bewildering calculations with no explanation of what is going on. Somewhere in the middle is good. Never lose sight of the objective, which is getting face to face with the investor.
Finding an investor who understands you
Finding an investor isn’t easy. The two routes most commonly used are to pay someone to do it for you, or be prepared to do your own research and track people down. The one thing I would say is expect the whole process to take a lot longer than you think.
A further piece of advice is that the most fertile ground is investors who understand the sector. They tend to invest back in areas they understand, and someone who has just made ten million from selling a software business is unlikely to share your love of burritos.
You are interviewing them too
When you do get in front of an investor it’s all a bit Dragons’ Den. It’s important not to get star struck as this is a long-term relationship and harder to get out of than a marriage. My coaching tip is to imagine things have gone badly wrong, how would the conversation go with this person? Are they going to be supportive, or take advantage?
It’s easy to take someone’s money because you need it and shelve any nagging doubts you may have about them. Remember you are also interviewing them. What do they bring to your business, do they have skills and experience that you need?
How much should you give away?
One of the questions I have been asked over the years is how much of my business do I give away to an investor? Firstly, you need to think ahead. Presumably having gone to the trouble of being your own boss you want to stay that way, so that means in the longer term you need to own 50% of the business at least. If you are scaling up, then your first investment round won’t be your last, so you need to give yourself room to sell further shares and stay in control. Rule of thumb, don’t give more than 30% first time out.
Also don’t get hung up on valuation of the business. If you sell 10% of your shares for £100,000 your business is therefore worth a million, even if you have not sold a sausage. No. Early-stage businesses are impossible to value; the only value is as much as someone is prepared to pay.
What they are looking at when they look at you
I always think it’s useful to imagine yourself on the other side of the table, and ask what the investor wants to see. In most cases they are investing in potential, in you and your brand. What are your relevant experiences? One phrase I borrowed is “do you have the juice”, as some people just give off positive energy, and it takes very little imagination to see them making it.
I mentioned trusting the investor, and clearly it’s mutual. They aren’t about to hand over money because you want them to. Most investors take risks, sure, but there is also a big risk averse streak, and it takes very little for them to be scared off. Controlled enthusiasm is what’s called for.
Equity isn’t the only route
Equity investment isn’t the only way of opening your first site. You may of course have funds of your own, or are blessed with friends, family or fools who may be prepared to back you before you need to start looking for external investment. (You can also borrow some of the cost of the hardware, such as kitchens, extraction and furniture, but that is a whole different ball game and probably one for another day.)
The honest bit
The brutal truth is that most investment raises fail, or the founder needs to go back and get a job due to financial pressures or fatigue. It’s not for the faint hearted and needs a huge amount of self-belief and resilience. That said, there are many national brands that have walked this rocky path, so why not you?
I hope I haven’t put you off. We need entrepreneurs to build new concepts to market, it’s what drives the sector. Please see this as a bit of a sanity check. It’s tough, but if you have the right idea, present it well and have the energy and resilience and don’t take no for an answer, you could be sitting on top of the next national or international brand. Walk along your local high street, they all started somewhere.
Ian Woodley is the co-founder of Finance Kitchen, the specialist finance broker built specifically for the independent food and drink sector. After a career spent in financial services, he turned his attention to hospitality, a sector that traditional lenders have long found difficult to understand and even harder to fund well.
Finance Kitchen exists to close that gap, helping operators of every size, from pop-ups and street food traders to established restaurants, raise capital through equity, debt and asset finance, and matching them with investors and lenders who actually understand the business they are backing. In 2026 the company was named Specialist Asset Broker of the Year at the Finance Connect Summer Awards.
