The session will be introduced by our Head of Technology & Digital, Sally Mewies, and feature a panel discussion between those that have been there and done it, providing their top tips for getting your business ready for funding and discussing the potential pitfalls to be aware of when raising capital in a fast growth company.
The panel will consist of industry experts from a range of advisory, investment and business backgrounds, including:
Chris Boyes – Chris is an investor at BGF, covering the Yorkshire and North East region. After joining BGF in 2013, Chris has led a number of tech investments across the region including most recently, Datum360. BGF are experienced tech investors, having invested over £700m into more than 100 UK TMT businesses over the last decade.
Michael O’Halloran – Mike is a senior lawyer in Walker Morris’ corporate team, whose experience in the venture capital space includes advising on numerous financing rounds for fast-growth start-ups in Leeds, London and Singapore (both company and investor side), advising Walmart on its acquisition of the Indian unicorn Flipkart and advising Facebook on its investment into GoPay, the subsidiary of the Indonesian unicorn GoJek.
Paul Southern – Paul is a retired partner in PwC, having established and led the corporate finance team in the regions, during his many years at the firm. Paul subsequently joined the board of The Binding Site (VC backed and originally a small buyout from Birmingham University), where he led the sale of Unicorn TBS’ auto-immune business to a Spanish buyer for $125 million and led the sale of the rest of the business to Nordic Ventures in 2011. Under Nordic Ventures ownership, TBS is now valued at well over a £1 billion. Paul continues to give corporate finance advice through his company, Woodside, and is involved in a variety of deals including fund raising.
Vin Chinnaraja – Vin is a seed investor in tech & media start-ups, having built and sold one of the top digital agencies in the UK to a PLC. Vin takes an active role in the investments that he makes advising on commercial strategy to create high value and highly desirable businesses. He is currently invested in a number of local start-ups including Hark and Connective3.
Following the discussion, you will be able to mingle with our panel, as well as other guests and members of our firm, over complementary drinks and artisan pizza in our private outdoor courtyard.
