‘Get better at telling stories’ advises tech investor

“I’m looking for founders with fire,” remarks Harvey Knight of investor Sustainable Wealth Group, when asked about the attributes he seeks when choosing to invest in SMEs.

“You can’t fake obsession, and we back founders who are resilient, relentless and have a clear idea of what they need to do – and how to get there.”

Harvey has worked alongside Connected Places Catapult for over a year to align investors with SMEs on our programmes – including ship propulsion specialist GT Wings , which received £500,000 in an investment deal from the Sustainable Wealth Group alongside One Planet Capital.

“The relationship with Connected Paces Catapult is flourishing, and we’re always keen to realise opportunities to bring in private capital, to help commercialise breakthrough technologies.”

Harvey Knight of the Sustainable Wealth Group

Tell a good story

Harvey advises SMEs with new technologies who are seeking institutional investment to “focus on the storytelling” in order to persuade potential backers they are worth a punt. “Most founders are deep in the tech, especially if it's to do with hardware. But investors like to back a narrative, as much as they back the numbers.”

He advises entrepreneurs with new solutions to “get their message out there” and use all forms of communication – especially social media – to get investors interested. “Social media can grab people's attention and help to build your personal brand, which is something that has become even more important these days.

“If you look at the metrics on LinkedIn, founders get far more engagement than company profiles,” Harvey adds. “So really tell your story, be out there and shout from the rooftops about what you do.”

But online interactions must be supplemented by attending events in-person, he adds. “It's important for SMEs to get out as much as possible, network and create the right conversations.”

Agreeing on a valuation

Once a conversation around investment begins, Harvey adds, a company valuation must take account for both the ‘vision’ of a founder and a ‘validation’ of their potential worth.  

“The best founders understand this dance, and a valuation has to make sense for both sides,” he explains. “But we're not looking to dilute (their equity share of a business) unfairly. We want alignment and shared upsides; it's a partnership, not a power play. There's no point taking a significant amount of equity from a business, otherwise you have a demotivated founder. No one's going to win from that.”

For early-stage businesses with very little market traction to show, a decision to invest will “come down to the credentials of the team, the market size and product”.

Harvey says that the Sustainable Wealth Group considers the “triple bottom line of people, planet and profit” when considering an investment. For ‘people’, it asks how a product will affect a community, provide a much-needed solution, and how an SME treats its employees.

In terms of ‘planet’, the investor looks at how a company manages environmental factors including carbon emissions generated. Finally, for ‘profit’, it asks if the solution offered makes commercial sense.

“Our key mission is to invest in opportunities that can drive change and make a difference; aligning profit with purpose around clean transport, renewable energy, good health and wellbeing, sustainable infrastructure, buildings and agriculture. “But we don't just invest in businesses; we invest in business builders who are ready to make a change.”

Make the most of the Catapult

Harvey says that grant funded programmes offered by Connected Places Catapult are “hugely valuable – not just for de-risking investment, but for accelerating” new solutions.

“When a company has been through one of its programmes, we know they've had access to expert validation, peer review feedback, or partners hosting a pilot. It really signals they are serious, and often shortens the time for due diligence. Accelerators also create a fertile ground for investors: we know that companies coming through are really focused, well supported and more likely to execute.”

“Accelerators also create a fertile ground for investors: we know that companies coming through are really focused, well supported and more likely to execute.”

Harvey also says that companies looking to raise funding a year from now should not delay. “Start building that book of potential investors now, and keep them up to date with your journey, your story, and how things are going.”

Capital is readily available to the right SMEs, “but things have become more cautious of late,” he adds. “Investors are more disciplined and selective now than they were a few years ago, when we had very low interest rates.

“Gone are the days when people paid a premium for certain sustainable products,” he continues. Companies operating in the renewable technology sector have to “really understand their value add, and make sure there's a clear roadmap towards profitability”.

But now is still a great time to pitch a new tech solution suited to infrastructure, transport and cities, he adds, especially those “that address global macro trends such as working towards net zero and promoting energy security”.

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Read about other investor stories in this series: Bethnal Green Ventures and its funding of Streetwise Technology, One Planet Capital investing in GT Wings, NorthStar Ventures backing Wordnerds, and PiLabs funding Sorair Technologies.