SEIS & EIS

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!

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!

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!

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.

The portal is excellent, it is making things much more straight forward than I imagined them to be.

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

I was dreading the funding process as everybody told me that it's complicated. But with FounderCatalyst it has been very straightforward and I’m wondering what the drama is about?!

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.

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

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!

FounderCatalyst offer such an efficient, clear, and helpful process. They make all the clunky bits feel effortless with your help and bounty of free resources. Very grateful for FounderCatalyst.

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.

I'm always happy to recommend FounderCatalyst to other founders - there's so much added value to being a customer! You become part of a great founder community, and Sam and his team are always on hand for support with any burning questions you have around fundraising and legals.

I joined FounderCatalyst and within an hour they had provided feedback on our pitch deck and forecast, built an SEIS/EIS advance assurance submission for us and then we submitted.  Within an hour - now that’s quality service and what a Founder needs!

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.

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.

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?!

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!

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.

We had a quote from SeedLegals for nearly £9k to do our ASAs and you offer amazing ASA templates and supporting documents for free. Genuinely crazy!

I had a really important meeting with an investor and had realised my cap table needed adjusting since we had made a few changes in the last few months. We had been using another platform for our documentation, but unfortunately, time was of the essence, and I needed something I could send on ASAP, I needed help with it and unfortunately, this was not something they could provide. My first thought was of Sam. I have known Sam for the last few years whilst building Bezzelle and knew that he was someone who could potentially save the day, I can confirm not only brilliant with all things funding, also a super nice guy too! Awaiting the outcome of the investment meeting but he has a new customer for our next funding round! (Sorry in advance for all my share related queries!)

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.

If you are an early-stage start-up founder looking for legal services to close your round, PLEASE do not look anywhere else. We were working with a legal firm and reached nowhere in 2+ months. A mentor recommended FC and I was able to close the legals in 10 minutes (that claim on the website is indeed true)! The platform, cost and community of founders for getting quick support is AMAZING. And the FounderCatalyst team are approachable and very knowledgeable. Highly recommended.

FounderCatalyst is a must for ALL businesses looking to raise capital. As a qualified accountant even I struggle with the legalities, paperwork and even dealing with HMRC to obtain advance assurance. FounderCatalyst removes all these headaches and unlike their competitors the co-founders are always on hand to provide valuable support every step of the way. Quite simply they have become an invaluable 'department' of my business and I'm very grateful to be working with them.

Sam and the team at FounderCatalyst are the best in the business. From taking us smoothly (and speedily!) through the complicated SEIS/EIS advance assurance process and providing ongoing support, to creating an incredible and extremely supportive community for like minded founders going through the same process, I can’t recommend FC highly enough!

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.

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.

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!

FounderCatalyst was incredible to work with from start-to-end for our pre-seed round. They were meticulous, prompt to reply, and handled numerous customisations. I've used other legal services and platforms which came up too expensive and prone to errors. FounderCatalyst is miles ahead in terms of service, value-for-money and legal expertise.

Thank you for taking the guesswork out of a very complicated EIS situation and process. It was effortless for me because you made all the effort!

FoundersCatalyst has been second to none in supporting our raise, with Sam and the team offering invaluable guidance to ensure a seamless round for us and our investors. In particular, their expertise in navigating complex SEIS/EIS compliance matters has saved us a significant amount of time and stress. I cannot recommend them enough to any startup currently fundraising.

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.

I didn't fully appreciate how good the FC platform is...The Boost page, all the information, it's a real hub!

FounderCatalyst has created an impressively efficient and cost effective way of managing funding rounds.

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

As a solo-founder and 'start-up newbie', the service, support, specialism and community that FounderCatalyst offers is invaluable. From formal paperwork completion to the 'Friendly Founders' WhatsApp chat, I just wish that I had joined sooner...

I’ve been told by another founder that SEIS / EIS advance assurance could take months – FounderCatalyst submitted our advance assurance on the 3rd of October 2023 and we received a positive response in just 24 hours

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.

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.

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.

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.

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

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!

I wish I had met Sam earlier. I came across FounderCatalyst during a free webinar, Sam was so informative. This is my first funding round and Sam has made this process so easy. Help to understand the process, the rapid responses and attention to detail is excellent, even before I had committed. There was no time pressured 'special deal' deal on price, the pricing is really transparent and they do not take a percentage of your raise. The platform is easy to use and navigate, I have been able to invite my co-founder to the platform too. The templates and resources are also brilliant. Thank you Sam, I appreciate your support and we are excited for the journey ahead. Highly recommended.

We moved to FounderCatalyst from their rival after our first round - the fee structure in FounderCatalyst suited us much better and the support provided by the FounderCatalyst team has been excellent. They have an automatic tool to import our CapTable and we were up and running within minutes. My next round will cost about a third on FounderCatalyst.

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.

The FounderCatalyst platform helped us close our round in hours rather than weeks and they were so hands on and helpful all the way through the process. We were an early adopter of their SEIS1 compliance to SEIS3 certificate process and our investors received their forms in less than 2 weeks, and also commented on how ‘seamless’ the process was. Will definitely be using FounderCatalyst again!

We closed our SEIS round thanks to FounderCatalyst! Amazing platform and as a result - experience for us and our investors. Thank you for making it happen!

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!

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.

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!

I’m so glad I was introduced to FounderCatalyst. They are the absolute go-to team for SEIS Assurance and fundraising legal paperwork. Their advice is succinct, and any questions are answered quickly, usually within an hour which is incredible service. The FounderCatalyst community is super supportive. I’ve seen it grow tenfold in less than 12 months, I guess that says it all…

Sam and the team at FounderCatalyst have been integral in helping @Loha get investment ready. From advice on SEIS eligibility to pitch deck feedback they are very responsive and offer great support to help you reach your fundraising goals. The vibrant WhatsApp community of over 250 founders and investors is a godsend. Thank you FC!

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!

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.

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.

FounderCatalyst is not only a great platform but also a great community. I moved to FC after meeting founder Sam Simpson, and straightaway felt it was the right platform to support our needs - their service is fab, the fee structure is fair and transparent, and the platform is straightforward and easy to use. Sam himself is super engaged and responsive, and the FC WhatsApp group is a brilliant, collaborative and supportive community to be part of. Highly recommend!

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.

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.

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 was so helpful with my SEIS/EIS application, I would definitely recommend FounderCatalyst. Everything was done super quickly which was great for me as I had had imminent investor conversations that depended on my advanced assurance

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.

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!

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.

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!!

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.

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.

FounderCatalyst was introduced to me by a former colleague whilst I was exploring personal investment opportunities in companies already using the FC platform. After a briefing with Sam Simpson, I decided to use the platform for my own start-up Soul Padel. The S/EIS process couldn’t have been easier and simpler to understand and Sam’s hands-on guidance was much appreciated throughout. We then launched our SEIS round with FounderCatalyst and being a first time founder, it was enormously helpful to have the structured guides, articles and the hugely beneficial community of founders to tap into. Not only that but the ecosystem of professionals associated with the FC platform enabled me to seek cost effective advice early. We recently closed our first round after securing investment from a single HNW individual, without the use of costly lawyers or lengthy complex negotiations. I can’t recommend FounderCatalyst highly enough. If you are looking to start your own business and raise investment, you need to start your process with FounderCatalyst. It’s much much cheaper than what you’ll find elsewhere but the best thing is, Sam as founder will be your friend, guide and mentor throughout. Nowhere else gives you that level of service. It’s so good, I’ve also invested in FounderCatalyst platform users because I know their governance and structure is sound and very well put together. It’s more than just a service, it’s a community.

Agile is sliiiick!

Such a super-easy to use platform. Opened and closed a round and received the funds within 48-hours! Also, the business owner Sam is knowledgeable and supportive in other areas such as applications for SEIS/ EIS and the cost is lower than any other alternative - I checked!

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!

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.