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For investors

Save time and effort when investing in start-ups, by simplifying the legal due diligence process and dramatically reducing the negotiation cycle.

Why FounderCatalyst for investors?

As an investor considering a start-up investment, you know that both the legal and commercial due diligence is often a time-consuming and expensive process, leading to lengthy delays. One major challenge is the cycle of time it takes for the legal documentation to be produced, reviewed, amended and agreed by all parties. You also need to quickly understand the commercials and have all related documents securely stored in one place.

FounderCatalyst was borne out of a desire to help start-ups on their funding journey. Ultimately, FounderCatalyst simplifies and manages the entire funding process for both investors and founders, raising everyone's chances of success.

Your investor journey in 4 steps

Invitation

Founder defines round and invites investors.

Sign-up

Create account, and sign NDA, FCA investor disclaimer.

Review

Review founder documents and negotiate.

Success

Agree terms and sign electronically.

Try it for free

Six reasons why investors use FounderCatalyst

No charge for investors

There is no charge for signing up and using the platform as an investor.

Invest more in the start-up

The most cost-efficient method of completing deal legals – more of your investment goes to the start-up rather than lawyers.

Time is risk

Changes can be made dynamically to documents on the platform, with updates in minutes, reducing your legal due diligence / negotiation cycle dramatically.

Completion bible included

At the end of the funding round, all founders and investors receive a full completion bible containing all signed documents and the agreed disclosure information.

Investment ready

By being on the FounderCatalyst platform, start-ups are much more likely to be investment ready.

SEIS and EIS advance assurance

FounderCatalyst's advance assurance package is included within a founder’s legal funding round at no extra cost.

Sign up for free

What documents are produced?

The platform will produce and automatically populate the following legal documents:

Initial Term Sheet

Founder Service Agreement

IP Assignment Letter

Subscription and Shareholders' Agreement

Articles of Association

Cap Table: one for before the investment, and one for after it

Final Term Sheet, summarising all key points agreed with confirmed investors

Resolutions for both shareholders and directors

Disclosure Letter (with the disclosure bundle also managed on the online platform)

Share Certificates.

So, how does the platform work?

Once a founder has defined a funding round on the platform, they have the option to invite potential investors to sign up to FounderCatalyst and securely review their documentation. Once you have registered and electronically signed an NDA and FCA disclaimer, you can view the start-up’s pitch and other supporting documentation, together with a term sheet and all the legal documents produced by the platform. These can be found in the company’s Intelligent Data Room. A useful summary index of all documents contained in the Intelligent Data Room is also provided.

  • We were referred to FounderCatalyst and told that they were good, but our advance assurance submission received a positive response from HMRC in 25 hours – that is better than good!

    Geoff Revill
    Co-founder & CEO
    Safe Space One
  • I am doing a funding round using another legal paperwork provider but hit an issue with our SEIS/EIS advance assurance being queried. I wasn’t entirely confident in the proposed response to HMRC and someone recommended I speak to the FC team. They helped me to improve my response and their support led to a positive response. Amazingly helpful and knowledgeable team, even for someone who wasn’t a customer. I've recommended them to colleagues already and will be switching to FC for our next round!

    Nicola Telford
    CEO & Co-Founder
    Views For Change
  • Founders always need external, expert support, and never more so than in the area of handling HMRC and SEIS/EIS. This is where the big learning curves come from, and you don’t want to get this wrong - it follows you for a long time. The team at FounderCatalyst are wonderfully human, knowledgable, accessible, experienced and focus on helping the Founder - the human.

    Kim Page
    CEO
    Isosconnect
  • FounderCatalyst could not have been more helpful and supportive throughout our SEIS process.They worked diligently to help us get advance assurance much faster than we thought was possible. They went above and beyond the basic advance assurance process, and played a crucial role in helping us to secure funding. I can not recommend FounderCatalyst enough.

    Dan Yates
    Co-Founder & CEO
    Greener World
  • This is the first time we have raised investment for Trove. It can be daunting to keep on top of all of the requirements and documentation. We are so happy to have the support of FounderCatalyst - their technology is user friendly for both founders and investors. Moreover the team are so responsive in supporting any questions. It is clear they understand founder needs having been successful entrepreneurs themselves. We would highly recommend FounderCatalyst and look forward to working together on future funding rounds.

    Felicity Beasley
    Founder and COO
    Trove
  • We're a startup that has been 25 years in the making. I was definitely sceptical that we'd get EIS so hats off to you, FounderCatalyst. EIS Condition B...Who knew?!

    Rob Pratt
    Founder
    The Other Person Consultancy, producers of Soakly
  • I am a distiller of award-winning gins that are stocked in places like Harrods, but I know little about the funding paperwork and requirements.  FC helped me to efficiently produce my funding paperwork in 2 days and I got SEIS advance assurance in less than two weeks.

    Pete Lumber
    Master Distiller and Founder
    Lumber Distillers Limited
  • It was a pleasure working with FounderCatalyst. As of the first meeting, Sam was very involved in the whole process and made it very easy for us to get us investor ready faster than we could have ever imagined. We can only recommend the service and are about to use his services soon again.

    Lynn Rosenberger
    Co-Founder & CEO
    Vite
  • FounderCatalyst has been fantastic - use this service!! We recently raised via CrowdCube and FounderCatalyst was very efficient at sorting out the legal paperwork, which removed all the stress from us. We are a new start-up and they made the legal processes of funding rounds incredibly easy to navigate. They sorted out our advance assurance in record speed. The team is incredibly knowledgeable (not only legal experts but exited founders) and they also have a great community on WhatsApp with other founders.

    Emma Horton
    Founder (and winner of James Watts @ Brewdogs "Next Unicorn" competition)
    Uncouth
  • I approached my first funding round as a naive, first time founder with more to learn than I realised. From day 1, the FounderCatalyst team gave their time, knowledge and guidance in abundance. All I can say is that I thank my lucky stars that our paths crossed - I consider myself incredibly fortunate. With FounderCatalyst, you know they genuinely care about the success of the people they work with. They have made the HMRC AA process for SEIS a breeze. They has helped perfect our pitch deck, sanity check our financials and get our ducks in a row for our funding round, as well as give us that all important optimism when things get bumpy. The FounderCatalyst platform gives me and our investors complete confidence in arranging legals. Thank you!

    Sam Lashenko
    Founder
    Bounz
  • The whole experience from entering details and completing EIS advance assurance forms to signing the final legal documents was so simple and intuitive.

    Dr Thomas Bartley
    Founder
    Barbal Limited
  • FounderCatalyst has proved an outstanding solution for our fundraising efforts. Being new to the entrepreneur world and indeed that of raising investment, the FounderCatalyst platform takes all the headaches (and cost) out of the legal and admin side of the raise, so I could focus on communicating with our investors. The support received from the team was second to none and the instant build paperwork and cap table forecasting made the whole process incredibly organised and clear. While I may not be a fundraising novice anymore, I wouldn't hesitate to use FounderCatalyst again when the time comes for a future investment round.

    Barry Klipp
    Founder and CEO
    InterLnkd
  • Founders seeking to raise equity finance - use this service! It is simple to use, reliable and secure, and provides unrivalled value for money. You're in complete control of your fundraising process and timescales.

    Jules & Charlie
    Founders
    The Nue Co
  • The FounderCatalyst team turned my advance assurance application around in just 2 working days and we had a positive response back from HMRC within a week. Their assistance with preparing my Investors Deck and forecast model was invaluable. We highly recommend using FounderCatalyst to other founders!

    David Ortega PhD
    Founder
    Phase Biolabs Ltd
  • Our experience using FounderCatalyst was quick and easy. FounderCatalyst have turned the onerous task of raising funds into an easy process for not only ourselves, but our investors too. I would recommend FC to anyone raising their seed round.

    Holly Gardner
    Founder
    Ēstra Home London Limited
  • FounderCatalyst were incredible in helping us close our SEIS round ahead of a tight deadline. They offered great 1-1 support through the entire S/EIS Advance Assurance and fundraise process. I couldn’t recommend Sam and the team more highly to any founders raising investment!

    Lauren O'Donnell
    Founder
    Oatsu
  • FounderCatalyst was recommended to us by a trusted friend to help with our SEIS/EIS advance assurance before we opened our first investment round - and this was done at speed driven by the expertise of their team. The platform and team provided all the core information, legal documents and support needed to work with investors and the digital platform for investors to engage - and as a new startup this has been essential and has removed a lot of stress and worry in an area of the business new to us. Throughout the fundraising, FounderCatalyst has been there with endless support. I would fully recommend the FounderCatalyst service as a core part of your fundraising plans and process.

    David Bacon
    Founder
    Boom-Time
  • The process was incredibly easy, and it makes sense why this service exists for start-ups. I would highly recommend FounderCatalyst to anyone considering raising money and needing SEIS/EIS advanced assurance. Whilst it’s unnecessary because the platform is so slick and automated, Sam and the team are friendly and always available to help if investors have any questions. 10/10 service!!

    Miles Szabo
    Investor
    Quick Assist
  • I had no idea about SEIS/EIS and the team clearly explained the process and took the hassle away by managing it end to end. They turned our deck and financial plan into an SEIS/EIS submission in less than a day and managed to get HMRC approval within two days enabling me to focus on my fundraise.

    Kath Clarke
    Founder and CEO
    BlckBx
  • I had little knowledge of the legal processes of raising investment. Our CCO recommended FounderCatalyst and we have both been very glad we chose this route. The FounderCatalyst team led us through the system personally and the online portal, including electronic document signing, was fantastic.

    Dr Nick Gompertz
    Founder and CEO
    EarSwitch
  • The whole experience of raising investment with FounderCatalyst has been exceptional. Having been a founder before and as Entrepreneur in Residence at the University of Bath and SetSquared, I've experienced either first or second hand most ways of managing investment rounds, through crowd platforms to employing teams of expensive lawyers and advisors. I'd heard about FounderCatalyst and had always been intrigued. So, when it came time to raise our Seed round for Earswitch we thought it time to try them out. The system, simplicity and support made the whole process a doddle and we're now about to start our 4th round on the platform. Very highly recommended!

    Garry Pratt
    Co-Founder
    Earswitch
  • Prior to working with FounderCatalyst, we had conducted the legalities of our first funding round via accountants and lawyers and found a real disconnect between the two. We reached out to FounderCatalyst for round 2 and couldn’t be happier with the service. They are on hand to personally deal with any requests or questions - there is a real accountability of the full process and depth of knowledge that you’re able to leverage. We would not go elsewhere for another round.

    Jake Hardy
    Founder
    Sokito
  • The intricacies of an equity raise are really niche and difficult to manage. Specifically, the legals that underpin the entire process aren't the sexiest part but are probably the most important. The team at FounderCatalyst ensured that everything was managed seamlessly with Seedrs. I felt in safe hands throughout the raise knowing that they were in the background, lining everything up from a legal perspective.

    James Higgins
    Founder (and Dragons Den star!)
    Ethical Bedding
  • The best investment we made was using FounderCatalyst for the legal work. It's really good value, the platform was easy to use and we had amazing support throughout from their CEO, Sam Simpson. I would absolutely recommend it to all founders!

    Guy Thurlow
    Founder
    Target Student
  • The FounderCatalyst team were on hand every step of the way during the funding round. Unlimited support and entirely responsive. This really helped us closed the funding round swiftly.

    Shiv Misra
    Co-Founder
    Roots & Hoots
  • The FounderCatalyst platform streamlined our fundraising process, and the team helped us navigate a number of complexities to complete our funding round swiftly. We are now using the amazing ‘agile’ funding feature to top up the previous round over the next few months as and when

    Charlotte Morley
    Founder (and Dragons Den star!)
    thelittleloop
  • I turned to Sam at FounderCatalyst after being misguided by his competitors about eligibility for SEIS as an investor. I have spent three weeks emailing HMRC and my legal team and could not get a straight answer. Sam gave me a definitive explanation the following day. From now on I will be using FounderCatalyst for all my equity funding legal needs!

    Peter Slotwinski
    Investor
    Intra Drive Ltd
  • FounderCatalyst's services and support has been instrumental in guiding us through the intricacies of SEIS/EIS advance assurance and our legal paperwork, including clarifying the legal jargon. This has significantly contributed to our early stage growth.

    Taliesin Horton-Horsman
    Co-founder
    TouchImmersion Limited
  • All I can say is ‘WOW!’, the FounderCatalyst team provided copious assistance to prepare my SEIS and EIS advance assurance submission. HMRC replied the very next day with our advance assurance

    Chloe Sweden
    Founder and CEO
    The Green Shoot Inst. Ltd
  • FounderCatalyst has been absolutely superb in helping me navigate the SEIS/EIS advance assurance process. My business certainly was not vanilla in its application process, but they took the time to brainstorm the best way to conduct our application. The team always act in a very timely manner, with a knowledgeable understanding of the process. Certainly would recommend the FounderCatalyst to any start-up!

    Max Robins-Burnard
    CEO
    Sirius Cove Capital
  • I consider myself fortunate to be introduced to FounderCatalyst prior to our fundraise in October 2022. Having never raised funds before, working with FounderCatalyst was a perfect fit, the in-house expertise on SEIS/EIS was worth the fee alone coupled with the excellent easy-to-use platform and on-tap advice was great. In addition, a 'bonus' feature is being part of the Founder Catalyst group on WhatsApp which is a thriving community of fellow founders that share knowledge, experience, and general advice. A great platform, a great team, and a great community, highly recommended.

    Jim Holland
    Founder
    Carma
  • FounderCatalyst were first class from start to finish. The help provided in navigating the minefield of SEIS/EIS advance assurance and fundraising legal documentation has been invaluable. They never tired of answered my questions enabling a smooth process for us founders and our investors in as far afield as Australia. I cannot recommend them highly enough.

    Stuart Rex
    Founder
    OMNI Money Solutions
  • FounderCatalyst provided outstanding & much needed support for the ReBorn business, throughout our launch period. In particular, we secured both SEIS & EIS approval - successfully, speedily and more cost effectively thanks to their input. Thoroughly recommended.

    Brian Walmsley
    CEO & Founder
    ReBorn Homewares Ltd
  • We incorporated in 2000 and started trading almost immediately. We recently started looking to expand our business into new territories and needed an equity investment to facilitate that. Unfortunately, attracting angel investment in the UK is very hard without offering SEIS or EIS. We thought the ship had sailed until FounderCatalyst mentioned a little-known EIS provision known as Condition B. Long story short, the FounderCatalyst team successfully secured EIS advance assurance and we are now raising using that scheme.

    Stuart Lane
    Founder and Director
    Round Midnight Ltd
  • Our EIS time limit had expired and were looking for funding outside the EIS scheme. FounderCatalyst were really interested in the challenge and it was clear from our early conversations that they knew the intricacies of the various options. They identified KIC as a potential alternative for us and provided clear instructions and hands-on support with our KIC advance assurance submission. We received advance assurance within two weeks of our submission. I have no hesitation in recommending them to others.

    Andrew Jackson
    CEO
    ProReal Limited
  • We have used FounderCatalyst to close two funding rounds, their whole team has been incredibly helpful. The SEIS advance assurance process was incredibly slick and the funding dashboard makes it easy to track which documents investors have signed. Their customer service has been unmatched with support every step of the way to answer any questions. Finally, our raise cost less than a 3rd of the price of their competition - amazing value!

    Myles Dickinson
    CEO & youngest person to be funded on Dragons Den
    Haze
  • Our fundraising was anything BUT straightforward. Without the help from the team from FounderCatalyst, it very well might not have happened at all. There are other very good providers like this in the market, but none of them give the care and community that FC does. As the various wobbles and pitfalls came for us, it became clear we were in good hands. I not only recommend, I implore.

    Kristoff DuBose
    Founder and Director
    Rekreate Ltd
  • FounderCatalyst helped with a set of 13x individual queries from HMRC on a advance assurance submission we originally completed ourselves. They wrote a professional response letter answering the queries and HMRC replied with confirmation of advance assurance in just a few hours.

    Juan Altonaga
    Co-Founder
    Lulo Invest Ltd
  • Agile is sliiiick!

    Alexander Wall
    Founder
    Hunch
  • Swift is an understatement: I joined the FounderCatalyst platform at 5pm and 4 hours later my pitch deck & forecast had been reviewed and my SEIS advance assurance was with HMRC.

    Julia Kemp
    Founder and CEO
    Pawpass
  • FounderCatalyst have been excellent in supporting us with our first round of fundraising. The specialist knowledge of the team is exceptional, and the customer service is second to none. It has made what can normally be a painful process, simple. I would highly recommend to any fellow founders.

    Olly Rodriguez-Ballinger
    Founder and CEO
    YesRef
  • We met FounderCatalyst through the Startup 2 Standup Community, and were immediately impressed with their proactive approach to supporting founders. Their guidance from the very start with the advance assurance submission to closing our initial tranche has been truly invaluable, combined with the auto-documentation and flexibility the platform gives you at every stage in the round, makes FC the best choice for pre-seed startups.

    Stuart McDonagh
    Co-Founder
    RoaRi
  • FounderCatalyst was an excellent choice, we were delighted with the platform throughout our funding round. From term sheet, legals, due diligence to data room, the process was faultless, keeping deal momentum and presenting a professional interface to our investors.

    Neil Morris
    Co-Founder & CEO
    Kelpi
  • A big thank you to the FounderCatalyst team for all their help, particularly in light of literally moments before submitting for our SEIS advance assurance, HMRC totally changed the submission format and method. Their team didn’t miss a beat and sorted everything. We received our confirmation of advance assurance in less than a week. Delighted is an understatement!

    Paul Marchant
    Founder
    Stroli
  • I sent FounderCatalyst my pitch deck and forecast model. They gave me feedback and then prepared a pack to submit to HMRC for EIS advance assurance. I was amazed that HMRC responded with confirmation of advance assurance before 9:15 the next working day!

    Sarah Cudmore
    Founder and CEO
    Homegrown Learning Ltd. Collage - The App for Home Schooling
  • I've got a background in law, so I'm comfortable with the mechanics of a funding round. The FounderCatalyst service is unique though - they give you personal support and use their experience to guide you through the key decisions - something only exited founders and angels investors can provide.

    Jennifer Button
    Founder & CEO
    Emm Technology
  • FounderCatalyst is simply brilliant. Not only is the platform powerful & user-friendly; the team have a huge amount of real-world experience and go the extra mile to make your round a success. You'd be mad not to use it!

    Adam Collingburn
    Founder
    Wuzci
  • FounderCatalyst has created an impressively efficient and cost effective way of managing funding rounds.

    David Blayney KC
    Founder
    Associo
  • Thank you to FounderCatalyst for making Investment easy and guiding us through all the legal steps required and answering all our queries so quickly. If you are a founder looking for SEIS and EIS approval, looking to understand where to find investors, or simply need support with the legal side of investment FounderCatalyst are the team to talk too.

    Matthew Walsh
    Co-Founder
    Modular Commerce Limited
  • As a first-time founder, the process of raising equity investment can seem like a complex puzzle. The FounderCatalyst platform has guided me through the process of generating investment documents, collecting signatures from investors, tracking funds and closing the round. When I needed that extra help solving the puzzle, the team were just an email away addressing queries with patience. Furthermore, they also simplified the mystical ritual of the S/EIS advance assurance application to make our investment opportunity shine even brighter.

    Gautham Krishnadas PhD
    CEO & Co-founder
    Dtime Limited