One fortuitous consequence of the pandemic and the ways in which it has changed our lives is that the shift to almost exclusively remote working has resulted in that balance being redressed to some extent.

This webinar, hosted by SFC Capital, will explore how investors’ ways of working have changed as a result of the pandemic, how early-stage startups in the regions can capitalise on the levelling of the playing field when it comes to securing investment, and what the wider ecosystem should be doing now to support those companies and ensure the changes for the better seen during the pandemic become the “new normal” rather than a flash in the pan.

Moderated by James Hurley, Enterprise Editor at The Times, our panel includes representatives from Tech Nation, the UK-wide network for entrepreneurs that helps founders scale their startups; British Business Bank, which has set up numerous schemes to help channel investment into startups in the regions; entrepreneur Rachel Smith, who has helped guide numerous companies and founded her latest startup in Wales; and finally SFC Capital, the UK’s most active seed investor with a portfolio spanning the entire UK, with 40 per cent of the companies it has backed being based in the regions.

Join us at 1pm on 1st December (link provided on registration).

More about the panellists:

Rachel Smith – Co-Founder at Lifefyle, a technology and wellness company. Over her career as a solution designer and project manager, Rachel has helped shape over 20 businesses, ranging from startups to global brands in seven different countries. She founded Lifefyle in 2017. Its platform helps organise individuals’ and families’ life admin by storing documents and tasks in one place. Its head office is based in Anglesey.

Sue Barnard – Senior Manager at British Business Bank (BBB). In her role at the BBB, Sue is responsible for delivering the Northern Powerhouse Investment Fund (NPIF). Prior to this, she worked at the Business Growth Hub in Manchester, where she helped secure a £1m GM digital & Creative Launchpad fund for Manchester and secured venturefest Manchester for 3 years, with support from Innovate & KTN. Sue is an expert in supporting regional-based founders and creating channels for funding to reach these businesses.

Lauren Nicholson – Programme lead, Founders’ Network at Tech Nation. Lauren established Tech Nation’s Founders’ Network, a networking platform for early-stage founders that she grew from scratch to over 800 entrepreneurs in one year. She is also responsible for running programmes for early-stage businesses at Tech Nation.

Rohallah Ghasemi – Lead Investment Manager at SFC Capital. Rohallah leads many of SFC Capital’s investments into regional companies. Focussing on SEIS and EIS applicable companies, Rohallah helps startups develop in their early stages, providing advice and support at this critical period of a business’s growth journey. Some notable companies that Rohallah has helped include Novai and BeRightBack.

More about SFC Capital:

SFC Capital is the UK’s most active seed investor, and the third most active globally (PitchBook, 2020), combining an angel syndicate with its own funds to invest in SEIS- and EIS-qualifying businesses across a wide range of sectors – from biotech to fintech, AR/VR to D2C retail. In the spring of 2020, it received a £10m commitment from British Business Investments (a subsidiary of British Business Bank) as part of BBI’s Regional Angels programme in support of SFC’s mission to back promising early-stage companies from every corner of the UK. It has made more than 30 investments in the year to date, most of them closed after the onset of the coronavirus pandemic, and plans to make 20 more by the end of the year.

Capital at risk. For professional investors only.