Panel Session Finance Investment Startup Delegate

Location: Stage 1 - Wed, 1 Jul 2026 · 12:00 – 12:40 (Europe/London) (40 minutes)

Fundraising Basics That Actually Matter: Narrative, traction, and terms

Early-stage fundraising can often feel overly complex, but the fundamentals still matter most. Investors want to understand the story behind the business, the evidence that supports it, the scale of the opportunity and the terms on which the round is being raised. This session will focus on the essentials founders need to get right at pre-seed and seed stage, from building a clear narrative and showing meaningful traction to setting credible targets and avoiding common mistakes around deal terms. It is designed to cut through the noise and focus on the elements that genuinely influence investor confidence.

Who should attend

This session is for founders preparing to raise pre-seed or seed investment, as well as early-stage leadership teams involved in shaping the fundraising process. It will be especially relevant for businesses that are beginning investor conversations, refining their story or trying to understand what strong early-stage fundraising preparation really looks like.

Why it’s relevant

At pre-seed and seed stage, investors are often backing clarity, momentum and founder judgement as much as the business itself. Strong businesses can still struggle to raise if the story is unclear, the evidence is weak or the terms create unnecessary friction. This session is relevant because many early-stage rounds are slowed not by the absence of potential, but by weak fundamentals. Founders who understand what really matters in a fundraising process are far better placed to build confidence, run an efficient round and avoid avoidable setbacks.

What you’ll take away

You will leave with a clearer understanding of how to structure an early-stage fundraising story, what counts as proof at this stage, how to think about targets and milestones, and where common term issues can catch founders out. The session will also give you a practical framework for preparing your round and a better sense of the questions investors are likely to ask first

Hosted by

Alex Reed

Partner at Mountside Ventures

Alex is one of the Founding Partners of Mountside Ventures, whose mission is to optimise the fundraising process for European startups & investors. His focus is on supporting the most ambitious entrepreneurs raise their next round of funding (+£1m) efficiently, and also connecting Venture Fund Managers with Limited Partners to promote the flow of capital into the European ecosystem. As a Chartered Accountant (ACA) he has a background…

Speakers

Helen Oldham

Co Founder at Lifted Ventures

Helen Oldham is a Co Founder of Lifted Ventures, whose mission is to increase the flow of early stage capital to regional, female founders, and to promote the significant business benefits of backing women. The Lifted Ventures flywheel has an angel network at its core, alongside investment literacy education for women founders and investors. Lifted Ventures have helped to raise over £19m in two years.…

Jim Shirley

Founder at FundingHero

Jim Shirley is the founder of FundingHero and author of The Startup Fundraising MBA, where he has created the Six Pillars of Fundraising framework to help flip the odds for those who want to be part of the 1% that successfully raise growth funding. As a former CFO with two high-growth exits, Jim now leads the Midlands' leading high-growth fundraising accelerator, providing founders with CFO-level support to become investor-ready for…

Jonny McNamara

No biography on file for this speaker.

Oliver Yonchev

Cocreatd Limited

Oliver is an entrepreneur, speaker and the founder of cocreatd - a private investment office that incubates new startups - and co-founder of Potentially, the collective AI company. Previously serving as CEO of Flight Story, the global group he co-founded with Steven Bartlett in 2021. Exiting in 2024. For over a decade, Oliver has been at the forefront of marketing, media and tech, helping guide some of worlds most successful companies:…

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