Funding for startups

Funding for startups – secure up to £250,000.

Up to £250,000 funding for startups.

Connect with us on LinkedIn

Maybe we can help you?

We only make a few investments each year. Every one of our investments is a very strong business (at least when we set out!), but that doesn’t mean we invest in every strong business that comes our way. It maybe that we have a conflict of interest, or that our funds have recently been committed elsewhere.

To ensure we give everyone a fair opportunity, to make sifting through applications efficient and to make sure we keep our promises, we have a process we ask you to follow.

In a nutshell, it is simple for you to tell us about your business, just use link below and take five minutes to answer some questions and send us your existing materials or a 2-minute video. At the end of each month, we will consider all received applicants together and will inform you of whether we are interested or not. You’ll hear from us by the 7th of the month.

If we are interested, then there is a process that will take a few weeks as we check each other out to see if we are a good match.

APPLY FOR FUNDING

Accelerating growth

We can all benefit from different perspectives and by sharing experience. But this is particularly true for founders navigating through growing a business. The quality of advice a founding team receives makes a huge difference to the success of any start-up.

Worth Capital’s belief is that there is no ‘one size fits all’ solution for this advice in accelerating business growth. The help needs to be tailored to the experience, knowledge & personality of the entrepreneur and the strategic & market context of the business.

But there are some common themes, these are the elements we most find ourselves working on with founders.

Some commonly asked questions

  • How long will it take for you to respond to my submission?

    We will respond to all applications before the 7th day of the month following your application.

  • Do you only provide equity funding?

    Generally yes, only equity funding. Occasionally we might entertain a convertible or other type of loan – if there is security available.

    If you’re looking for alternative sources of finances, we suggest speaking with Swoop. Sign up using this link and one of their team will be in touch.

  • What is your typical investment amount?

    Typically we invest £100k to £150k as a first investment. Then progressively follow on up to around £400k if the business is hitting its targets. We’re open to looking at businesses who require from £75,000 to £500,000.

  • What fees do you charge?

    Fees vary according to the size of deal and the valuation of the business. We have up to three potential fees to be negotiated:

    • A funding fee: a small percentage, typically between 1 and 4% of the funding, to cover our due diligence and legal costs. And for this you get a complete set of paperwork that can be used with other investors.
    • An advisory fee: if we join the board of your business or otherwise spend a significant amount of effort helping your business we could agree a fee and the scope of services. A formal transaction here makes sure there are clear expectations for both parties.
    • A performance fee: if we join the board of your business or otherwise spend a significant amount of effort helping your business we could agree an option over equity.
  • I'm just looking for mentoring & guidance. Do you provide that as a standalone service?

    Unfortunately not. We prioritise our time to helping businesses within our investment portfolio.

  • Can you help me apply for SEIS or EIS advanced assurance?

    We will provide advice to those businesses that we are interested in funding and take care of SEIS/EIS tax certificates post-investment. But cannot get involved with other HMRC Advanced Assurance applications.

  • Can I speak to one of your team about my business idea?

    We’d love to but we make sure everyone has an equal initial access to us by having a transparent, inclusive, application process. If you think your business has great potential, then submit an application. Or if you are not ready to do that then you might find some relevant help in our resources for Founders.

Genius is evenly distributed, opportunity is not

Not every entrepreneur nor innovation deserves to be funded. But every entrepreneur deserves a level playing field when being considered for investment – regardless of gender, location, colour, economic background or beliefs. As early stage investors we recognise some responsibility for creating rock star company founders that are representative of the society we live in and provide diversity as role models for the next generation of entrepreneurs.

We have a respectable record of funding diversely. Since 2019 38% of our funding has gone to businesses with female founders, 19% to businesses with a BAME founder and 81% to businesses outside the London funding bubble.

Worth Capital were the inaugural winners of the EISA Diversity Champion award in 2020, then again in 2021, being recognised for our efforts and commitment in ensuring that access to funding was accessible to all.

We are also a signatory to & supporter of the Investing in Women Code, an initiative set up by HM Treasury and British Business Bank in 2019. The Code brings together financial services firms committed to improving female entrepreneurs’ access to tools, resources and finance.