We know how challenging the early stages of building a company can be - especially when it comes to raising investment. Legal complexity, high costs and a lack of clear guidance often make the process harder than it needs to be.

FounderCatalyst exists to simplify that journey and give founders the tools, support and confidence they need to raise investment successfully.

Why we built FounderCatalyst

Too many founders face unnecessary barriers when raising funding.

Legal fees can run into tens of thousands of pounds, the process can feel opaque, and founders often lack the same knowledge and resources available to investors.

We built FounderCatalyst to level the playing field - making fundraising faster, clearer and far more accessible for startups.

Supporting founders to raise investment

Since launching, FounderCatalyst has supported thousands of founders in raising investment and collectively helped companies secure hundreds of millions in funding. Our mission is simple: help founders raise capital efficiently so they can focus on building great businesses.

£1,450

Complete fixed-price legal service per funding round

99%

Success rate for SEIS/EIS Advance Assurance

4.9

Trustpilot rating - one of the highest rated fundraising platforms

Thousands

Of founders supported across the UK startup ecosystem

Our team

Max Heal

Chief Executive Officer

Max is an ICAEW Chartered Accountant who began his career at PwC across Assurance and Consulting. In 2017, he co-founded a pre-mixed cocktail brand sold across the UK. After exiting, he returned to PwC to lead its scale-up accelerator before becoming the first employee at GrowthBuilders, a PwC spin-out supporting high-growth scale-ups. He joined FounderCatalyst in July 2024. Outside work, Max enjoys cooking, skiing and hiking in the UK.

Connect on LinkedIn

Sam Simpson

Chief Strategy Officer

Sam is an operations and delivery focused entrepreneur with 26 years of experience. Sam co-founded and exited several tech start-ups including the 17th fastest growing company in Europe 2017. Sam is a passionate Angel Investor and Board Advisor to several start-ups and established businesses. In his spare time Sam is a keen photographer and enjoys cycling, cooking and reading about crypto & hardcore physics.

Connect on LinkedIn

Charles Frank

Chief Legal Officer

Charles has spent the last 20 years as a successful lawyer advising many founders and investors in the start-up/early stage sectors. He has seen countless transactions through to a successful close and always strives to make the experience as straightforward and enjoyable as possible. Outside of work, Charles enjoys military history, music and the British countryside.

Connect on LinkedIn

Andy Jeffries

Chief Technical Officer

Andy has been building internet connected software for 27 years, working on systems for large ecommerce providers, publishers, foreign national lotteries and modern cloud hosting services. His focus is always on delivering functionality to customers, while maintaining service uptime, availability and security. Andy's long-time hobbies have been martial arts - he is an 8th Degree black belt grandmaster in the Korean martial art of Taekwondo, and a blue belt in Brazilian Jiu Jitsu.

Connect on LinkedIn

Julie Jeffries

Customer Success Manager

Julie has a proven track record of leading high-performing teams and is skilled in navigating government legislation and regulatory environments ensuring compliance while maintaining a customer-first approach. Outside of work, Julie enjoys reading, travelling, volunteering and is a passionate supporter of Sunderland AFC.

Vincent Milligan

Marketing Manager

Vincent brings a wealth of knowledge in the SME and SaaS sectors to the FounderCatalyst team. With over 10 years of experience in marketing, he is passionate about crafting data-driven growth strategies and optimising marketing performance. When he’s not working, Vincent enjoys reading sci-fi, travelling to new destinations and cooking different cuisines.

Connect on LinkedIn