What Investors (Quietly) Value in Founding Teams

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.

There is a lot of noise around fundraising, but the reality of what investors look for is often quieter, more practical, and easier to overlook.

At Regionally Ventures, we regularly meet with founding teams from across the UK, and while every business is different of course, there are a few common threads that tend to get our attention:

• A clear, well-articulated business model

• Sensible, realistic financial projections

• A founder who knows their sector inside out

  Evidence of resilience – not just hype

We are also drawn to clarity. Can you explain what you do in one or two sentences? Without turning it into a sales pitch? Can you talk about risk without going on the defensive? These are the kinds of soft signals that tell us way more than a 30-slide pitch deck.

And if there’s more than one founder, how do you communicate as a team? Investors notice that too. They may not be the loudest parts of a pitch, but they’re often the most persuasive.

If you are not quite there yet, then perhaps The Regional Way can help. We support businesses in getting investment-ready – not with jargon or tick-box exercises, but with practical, founder-friendly guidance.

If you share our vision for unlocking regional potential, we’d love to hear from you.