We’ve been chatting with a parade of founders lately, some armed with polished pitch decks and dazzling metrics, others turning up with nothing but an idea and enthusiasm. The same themes keep cropping up.

So today, we’re walking through some of the most common mistakes we see, and how you can avoid them.

But first…

But first, today’s highlights:

🛠️ We’ve built a toolbox for entrepreneurs. It’s free (for now at least). More tools coming every week.

💚 Do you know anyone in Sheffield in the Social Venture space? They may be able to get expert support through SEGA (Social Enterprise Growth Accelerator)

🪜We’ve partnered with TECH SY to deliver their Idea Validation Programme. If you know any budding tech founders in the South Yorkshire region, pass this onto them!

“Investment will help me validate the idea”

No, it won’t. That’s putting the cart before the horse, and then asking for fuel for the cart.

Investment is for scaling something that’s working, not proving that it works. Start small. Test on your own dime.

Think of it like opening a restaurant. You’ve dreamt up a never-seen-before concept serving the food of your ancestors. You don’t begin with a £3 million fit-out and a grand opening gala. You start cooking the food you love for friends and family. You run a supper club. When you’re selling out there, you take a pop-up stand at a farmers market. The cash you generate funds more events. You refine your dishes from real feedback.

Only when you’re maxed out and people are clamouring for more do you take the profits from your food truck and say, “Now I’m ready to raise money for a permanent restaurant.”

Test → Sell → Grow → Be oversubscribed →Scale it →Grow again.

That’s the sequence. Investment is for accelerating momentum, not creating it.

“Do you actually need investment?”

Here’s a radical thought: if you’ve got customers paying you, perhaps you don’t. Investment should be fuel for a working engine—not the ignition spark.

“Our numbers are impressive.”

Numbers, on their own, are about as gripping as the minutes of a parish council meeting. No investor remembers a 47.6% month-on-month growth stat unless it’s attached to a story. The brain craves narrative. Stats only stick if they have a plot twist.

“We’ve stuffed everything into the deck.”

Stop. Your deck isn’t the Ark of the Covenant. It’s a calling card. Enough to be memorable, but spare enough to leave room for curiosity.

You’re applying for money, think of it like a job interview. Overloading the interviewer is never a winning strategy.

“We need to show we’re clever.”

No, you need to show you’re clear. Investors are smart but busy. If your business solves a problem, explain it as if you’re speaking to your aunt who thinks “the cloud” is a weather pattern. Simplicity is not dumbing down—it’s respect for your audience.

Here’s the big lesson: Investors invest in people and stories, not just spreadsheets. If your business makes sense when explained in plain English, and the listener’s eyes don’t glaze over, you’re on the right path.

Keep it simple. Make it memorable. And remember: money listens best when you tell it a good story.

Here’s Trove’s Chris Dalrymple talking about dilution and investment. 👇

Everyone’s got a newsletter these days (ahem!), but I’ll drop a few of my favourites below from time to time. I actually read these, and they’re worth checking out.

See you same time next week.

Carl.