Investor insights: University spinouts – part three

Investor insights: University spinouts – part three

August 11, 2022
Getting your hands on the intellectual property The major asset of a spinout in its early days is typically its intellectual property. So how come spinouts don’t always actually own their own IP? Licences versus ownership At the point of…
Investor insights: University spinouts – part two

Investor insights: University spinouts – part two

August 10, 2022
Is there value outside the Golden Triangle? An opinion piece this time, unusually for us. The Golden Triangle of London, Oxford and Cambridge rightly commands attention from investors and government for the quality of its research, and the commercial potential…
Investor insights: University spinouts – part one

Investor insights: University spinouts – part one

July 21, 2022
“More is less” We’ve been busy these last few months, and temporarily off the airwaves (for the younger reader, this is a reference to broadcast radio and TV: ask your parents or try Wikipedia for more information, if you can…
Investor insights: Why scale-ups need an FD

Investor insights: Why scale-ups need an FD

May 9, 2022
“We haven’t got any sales. Why should I waste my money on a finance director?” There’s a pre-conception common among founders that a finance director just counts the monies. No revenues equals no monies. Combined, that equals no need for…
VC Insights: How to build a useful board pack

VC Insights: How to build a useful board pack

March 9, 2022
Focusing on a good monthly board pack is a task that can be easily pushed down the priority list, but it’s a key part of making sure a board operates effectively as a business looks to grow and scale. A…
Investor insights: Director’s service contracts – part five

Investor insights: Director’s service contracts – part five

January 10, 2022
“Thou shalt not compete with SaaSco” So sayeth the venture investor. Not quite the 11th commandment, but a fair position for venture investors to take. So what does compete look like, and how in practice are these clauses drafted in…
Investor insights: Director’s service contracts – part four

Investor insights: Director’s service contracts – part four

December 30, 2021
The eternal triangle: company – founder – investor A misleadingly intriguing subtitle for an article on enforceability of director’s service contracts, you might say: simple click-bait. And you would be right. Still, it’s something that investors in particular do need…
Investor insights: Director’s service contracts – part three

Investor insights: Director’s service contracts – part three

December 6, 2021
The things that founders get up to when you’re not looking This series has so far focussed on getting clarity in setting remuneration levels for founders. But remuneration for what? The undivided attention of the founder team of course, say…
Investor insights: Director’s service contracts – part two

Investor insights: Director’s service contracts – part two

December 6, 2021
Bonuses - and how to fall out with your backers In this second part of a series about director’s service contract terms, we’re going to look at bonuses. They might be a major component of senior management remuneration in the…