Charles O.

The UK has created 163 unicorn companies to date. Each one had a strategy that matched their vision. If you're aiming to build a billion-pound business, your strategy must reflect that level of thinking. Far too often, founders stop at the surface-level decisions. They don’t align the mission, vision, and actions that drive long-term growth. That's why this infographic is really helpful. It breaks down strategy into three simple but powerful layers: ✅ Purpose ↳ Why do we exist? What matters to us? This is where your mission, values, and vision come to life and keep your team aligned. ✅ Strategy ↳ How will we get there? This is the bridge between aspiration and execution, covering plans, focus areas, and enabling tools. ✅ Execution ↳ What will we do next, and how will we track it? This is where actions, targets, and KPIs create real results. I’ve seen too many businesses stall because they ignore this process. But every billion-pound business I've backed or built has done the opposite. They've had a crystal-clear mission, a strong strategy, and consistent execution. And more importantly, they believed it was possible to build something big. That belief needs to show up in every step of the funnel.  If you’re building a business with serious potential, My book How to Make a Billion in 9 Steps will help refine your strategy. You can order the book here 👇 https://lnkd.in/eRYDKXdT What’s one part of your strategy that you’re currently refining? I’d like to hear how you’re approaching growth. ⬇️ ♻️ Repost if you believe Britain needs more billion-pound businesses. And for more on scaling with purpose, Follow me Richard Harpin.

248

156 Comments

2 years today since we launched StackOptimise ⚙️ This is the best decision we ever made ⬇️ Investing in personal brand. For a business like ours - operating in a saturated space, offering a commoditised service - brand is a super powerful differentiator. So Felix and I decided, from the get-go, to post on LinkedIn everyday. We've only missed a handful of days. And it's paid dividends: 1️⃣ Every deal we've closed has been meaningfully influenced by our LinkedIn presence, either to generate or nurture the lead. 2️⃣ We’re constantly flooded with inbound job applications. 3️⃣ Vendors & partners treat you differently when you’ve got influence. 4️⃣ We promote the tools in our stack for free usage, thus minimising our costs. A trade that only works if your brand holds weight. 5️⃣ Team members gain visibility into both the bigger vision and our day-to-day, driving employee retention. I’ve lost count of how many people I’ve spoken to who’ve either started, or plan to start, their own business - and I always say the same thing: Invest in your personal brand now. It compounds faster than almost anything else. And literally makes every part of the journey - hiring, partnerships, sales, retention - exponentially easier. ---- Here's our Ultimate Guide to Explode on LinkedIn in 2025: https://lnkd.in/eiv6Aktz

80

35 Comments

Brilliant to host a roundtable this week with the British Business Bank and some of the UK’s most exciting scaleups to discuss the future of growth capital in the UK. We heard encouraging plans from the BBB - more freedom to invest, take risks, write bigger cheques, and in some cases, be the first to invest. Importantly, the BBB came to listen and our founders delivered a clear, timely message ahead of this year’s Budget. Risk appetite in the UK remains a defining challenge, but significant opportunities lie ahead, and progress has been made over the last few years. Founders highlighted critical barriers across deeptech, infrastructure, procurement, and the government's industrial strategy. Some of the key themes raised: ▶️ Unlocking public sector contracts to avoid the “feast & famine” cycle must be a greater priority. ▶️ Rethinking how the UK invests in deeptech & infrastructure and sees beyond B2B SaaS opportunities. ▶️ Broadening our definition of “innovation” to back bold ideas, not just tick boxes for grant providers. ▶️ Driving corporate & CVC risk appetite to better link blue-chip companies and founders. ▶️ Aligning procurement with investment to back UK companies - US companies are selected too frequently, buy British. ▶️ Exploring the role of secondaries to accelerate growth. Thank you to Louis Taylor CBE, Kristen McLeod CBE, Stephen Welton CBE and Leandros Kalisperas from the British Business Bank and to all the founders and investors who shared their perspectives so candidly - it’s clear that if we get this right, the UK has a generational opportunity to lead.

89

15 Comments

Our data shows a clear pattern: Founders outside of financial hubs give away more of their company, right from the start. A founder in Wales raising £500k might be diluted 22%+ But a founder in London raising the same amount would be closer to 13% And that single round can set your company on a certain trajectory: Less equity for the founder, less upside for early employees, and even less room for future investors. The downstream effects are massive and long-lasting. It isn’t to do with the quality of talent or ideas. It comes down to the limited number of fundraising options available in those areas. Being further from financial hubs means there are fewer angels, VCs, and corporates at your disposal. And it’s why regional founders often face tougher fundraising journeys, even when they’re building equally strong businesses. In 2025, geography shouldn’t be a factor when it comes to dilution (especially in a country as small as the UK) but the numbers tell a different story. My advice for founders outside of financial hubs is this: Don’t spray-and-pray. Do your research, identify and target the most relevant investors in your space (regardless of their location, especially if you can demonstrate traction in the geographies where their fund is based), and avoid over-reliance on a handful of local players. Otherwise, you risk giving away too much, too soon. At shipshape.vc, we’re committed to levelling that playing field - helping founders anywhere, not just in London or New York, raise smarter and protect more of the companies they’re working so hard to build. #Fundraising #Startups #VentureCapital #Entrepreneurship #RegionalFounders #Equity #ShipshapeVC

61

18 Comments

The numbers tell a story, and it's not a pretty one for Rachel Reeves. UK 30-year gilt yields have hit 5.69% - the highest they've been since May 1998. That's a 27-year high. For those wondering what this actually means: gilt yields are the amount the UK govt is having to offer to borrow money. And the 30-year gilt is basically a 30-year loan so the principal is repayable in 30 years' time with interest in the meantime. Think of it like this: if you had a poor credit score, lenders would demand higher interest rates from you. The same logic applies to countries. The markets are essentially saying: "UK, we're not entirely confident in your future financial position." With the autumn budget looming, this adds serious pressure to the Chancellor's plans. Higher borrowing costs mean either less money for public services or higher taxes to balance the books. And it gets more interesting: because inflation is also going up whilst interest rates are going down (normally these would move in the same direction). What are the root causes of all this? Persistent inflation and rising public debt have spooked investors. They're demanding higher returns to compensate for what they see as increased risk. But the Bank of England is conscious that keeping interest rates where they are or raising them will weaken an already weak economy. For investors, this creates an interesting dynamic. Higher yields mean better returns on government debt - but only if you believe the UK can actually service these obligations long-term. It's a reminder that in finance, as in life, confidence is everything. And right now, the markets aren't feeling particularly confident about Britain's fiscal trajectory. The question for Reeves: how do you restore that confidence without choking off economic growth? That's the £1 trillion question. #UKEconomy #Gilts #PublicFinances #Investment

107

23 Comments