The Regional Way: What Makes Us Different?
Founded by a team of industry veterans— Jim Odell, Justin Urquhart Stewart, Paul Newsham, Martin Taylor, Michael Mcdowell, and Tony Backhouse, Regionally Ventures is committed to bridging the funding gap for high-growth regional businesses across the UK. With 70p of every £1 traditionally invested in London, regional businesses represent a valuable, yet often overlooked, segment of the market.
What makes us different? It’s a good question. After all, there are plenty of organisations out there offering support to growing businesses. So what makes us so special?
The answer is simple – it’s Preparation.
Real experience, real regions
Our team isn’t made up of career investors sitting in London boardrooms. We’re business owners, operators and advisors who know what it takes to build and grow our own companies (blood, sweat and tears by the way) because we’ve done it ourselves.
At Regionally we’ve built a trusted network of advisors who are actually based in the regions we serve. That includes Preston, Birmingham, Northern Ireland and Guildford. They’re close to the businesses they support, understand the local landscape and have the lived experience of running a business outside of the typical London bubble.
Helping founders become investor-ready
A lot of founders are great at talking to customers. They can sell their product or service, explain why it matters, and share their passion. But investors aren’t customers.
They’re not buying the product – they’re investing in the business, the people, the opportunity. That’s where we come in. We help founders shift their mindset from being market-focused to being investor-focused. It’s a subtle but important difference. Investors need to understand how the business will grow, scale, and deliver returns – not just how good the product is and how well they can sell it.
Bridging the gap
Through the Regional Way, our advisory service headed up by Tony Backhouse and his team, we help founders prepare properly. That means:
Sharpening the business proposition
Making sure the financials tell the right story
Getting the right structure and governance in place
Building leadership confidence so they can communicate clearly and credibly to investors.
So you see, it’s not about sales pitches. It’s about substance and strategy.
Business advice, not just investment advice
We also help with the bigger picture – not just the investment piece of the jigsaw. That includes helping to shape business strategy, marketing, finance and growth planning. Because getting a business investor-ready isn’t just about raising money – it’s about building something that’s actually worth investing in.
In short…
The Regional Way is about preparation, partnership and perspective. We work alongside founders to help them present their business in the best possible light – and to ensure that when they do meet investors, they really are ready.If you share our vision for unlocking regional potential, we’d love to hear from you.