Fundraising accelerator cohort with £1m investment partner launching in January 2025

Now on their third cohort, their mission is to support up to eight high-growth potential businesses in this next January cohort, helping them prepare to secure equity investment. This accelerator is more than just a programme; it’s a set of comprehensive investment readiness sprints, led by an experienced CFO who has twice been part of successful scaleup to exit journeys. The programme is tailored to ensure each business has a fully aligned financial and fundraising strategy to guide each business through the fundraising process with a clear approach to increase their odds of success. 

FundingHero was proud to support businesses like ChangeMaker3D Ltd, with female founder, Natalie Wadley, who was a recent finalist in the prestigious "One 2 Win" £1m investment competition at the closing dinner for TechWM Week, ran by Midven, Haatch and Rigby Group plc. Prior cohort members have also successfully secured interest for over £1 million of venture capital term sheets following the completion of their programme. 

FundingHero is grateful to have Midven as an investment partner. Their dedication to supporting the first two cohorts has been invaluable, and they’re excited to strengthen their collaboration even further. At the end of the upcoming cohort, Midven’s investment team will attend our demo day where each participating business can pitch for a term sheet up to £1 million at The Shard in London. This opportunity could be a game-changer for high-growth businesses in the West Midlands, pending the usual investment committee approval, due diligence, and formal contracts.

Rupert Lyle, Fund Principal for the West Midlands Co-Investment Fund, said, "One of the issues we commonly see with high-growth potential businesses that approach us is that they often struggle to create a compelling equity story, making it hard for us to see how we can achieve a return on investment." Lyle continued, "The FundingHero fundraising accelerator is proving to tackle this and be a key programme for the region's high-growth potential businesses, which we're thrilled to support, as they have already helped us identify several exciting West Midlands-based businesses we’re keen to back."

The exciting addition of Minerva business angels network as an investment partner for the programme has been a wonderful addition to further support founders with a pathway to more key funding opportunities with the chance to pitch at The Shard in London. The added value from angel groups often goes unsighted, so given their status as one of the most active angel groups in the country this is a hugely welcomed addition to access wider valuable networks and not just cash. 

Vicky Mears, Director UK Network - Midlands & North of England at the British Business Bank, said: "The FundingHero accelerator has proven to be pivotal in helping innovative and investment-ready businesses reach their potential by providing all the tools, resources, and support that they need to thrive.

"The British Business Bank continues to support and anticipates the brand-new High Growth Fundraising Accelerator programme, commencing in January 2025, will guide more exciting Midlands-based businesses along their growth journey and towards a promising future."

The programme is perfect for businesses that are:

Applications are now open at fundinghero.co.uk/fundraising-accelerator. Application deadline 12 December.