Some of the world’s brightest minds in fintech and investment are being brought together by Bristol-based tech-focused investment bank ICON Corporate Finance to provide a masterclass on successfully raising funds.
The expert panel will provide the inside track on how to pitch for investment, whether through a bank, venture capital group or corporate venture capital (CVC). 
Aimed at investment hungry tech businesses, the free webinar called Get Funded: The Good, The Bad and The Ugly – Pitching for Investment takes place from 3pm-4pm tomorrow, Wednesday September 23, and will cover Series A and Series B rounds as well as touching on growth metrics, term sheets and the art of selling strategic relevance.
The discussion will be moderated by ICON director Monica Shupikai-Simmons and among the line-up is serial fintech entrepreneur Nigel Verdon, who, having successfully raised investment capital of $14.4m (£11.2m) for Railsbank in 2016 from the US, Europe and Asia, and $160m in 10 rounds of funding for Currency Cloud, will offer a pedigree of funding success matched by few others.
He said: “Many things have changed in the years that I’ve been founding and running fintech businesses, but there are also a few constants – a laser focus on your customers and the importance of a clear go-to-market strategy.
“Placing a big focus on the key metrics that investors care about, both in your decks and your own thinking as a company, will also serve you really well, as will learning your pitch without a presentation.
“And remember never to share your deck before you meet a potential investor, even if asked.”
Nigel will be joined by:
- Guillaume Tellez of JP Morgan Strategic Investments. Guillaume, who focuses on sourcing and executing JP Morgan’s strategic investments, believes that banks bring different skills He said: “Banks deliver more than just capital, they provide access to expertise and commercial relationships which eventually create tangible and practical value for the companies we invest in.”
- Varun Purandare of Accel Ventures, which works with tech start-ups in seed, early and growth-stage investments, and has backed some of the most exciting companies in the world, including Facebook, Dropbox, and Spotify.
- Maayan Levy, principal at Viola FinTech, a cross-stage venture fund which sources investment opportunities for the future winners of fintech. Having backed the world’s largest peer-to-peer invoice platform MarketInvoice, Maayan brings a fascinating perspective to pitches that work and those that fail.
- Niresh Rajah, who will be providing the retail banking viewpoint. Niresh held senior roles at Barclays and Lloyds Bank and has also acted as a board advisor for regtech, datatech and fintech companies.
- Joanna Monaghan from Bristol-headquartered UK law firm Burges Salmon. Joanna, a director in the firm’s corporate finance team, brings broad experience of mergers and acquisitions, joint ventures, private equity and corporate restructuring, working with clients across a range of sectors, including financial services.
Monica said: “The South West is a hotbed of emerging and maturing tech businesses. The goal of the webinar is to help those businesses make today’s emerging technology tomorrow’s global success.
“By giving access to some of the giants in the world of fintech who have either gone through the process of raising investment themselves, or are in the privileged position to be providing the funding that can change the fortunes of businesses, we hope to provide a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity to learn from the best in the business.”
ICON believes that digital transformation across all industry sectors has become the most pressing priority for organisations in the aftermath of Covid-19. ICON predicts this will drive growth, investment in and appetite for acquisition of tech companies worldwide.
From its HQ in Bristol and offices in London and San Francisco, ICON’s multi-lingual teams have brought clients access to deals across Europe, Africa, the US and Asia. The firm works with global tech companies and as a fundraising partner with top private equity, venture capital and CVCs, ICON works with some of the world’s most successful companies.
To register for the free webinar visit ICON’s website or link to the webinar registration here
