Who to talk to when you raise: investors, networks and advisers

Who to talk to when you raise: investors, networks and advisers

A raise involves more people than the ones who write cheques. Angels, networks, funds, accelerators and public bodies supply the money; lawyers, accountants and corporate finance advisers shape the terms and keep you within the rules. Each is reached differently and needs its own check. This guide covers who they are, how to approach them and what to watch for. For the overall sequence of a raise, start with how to raise money for a startup. If you are not sure which round you are raising, read funding rounds explained first, because the round decides who is worth talking to.

Start with the round, then the people

A fund that writes large first cheques cannot sensibly take a small pre-seed round, and a single angel cannot fill a Series A. Decide the amount, the instrument and the stage before you build a list.

The table below describes typical patterns, not rules; every investor sets its own.

Who	Usually invests at	How founders usually reach them	First thing to check
Angel investors	Pre-seed and seed	Personal introductions, angel networks, events	Whether they have invested recently, and how much they usually put in
Angel networks and syndicates	Pre-seed and seed	The network's application process, or the lead angel	Whether the money is committed or still to be raised
Venture capital firms	Seed onwards; some pre-seed	An introduction to a partner, or a well-targeted email	Stated first cheque, stage and whether they lead rounds
Corporate venture capital	Seed to later stages	The venture team, or a business-unit relationship	Who approves the deal, and what the parent company expects
Family offices	Varies with the family's mandate	Personal introduction	Whose money it is and who decides
Accelerators and incubators	Idea to pre-seed	Application rounds	The full terms, including any fees
Public funders and development banks	Varies; often through partner funds	Competitions and partner funds	Eligibility, and whether they invest directly at all
Advisers	Throughout the raise	Referrals from founders who have raised	Regulatory status and how they are paid

Angels, angel networks and syndicates

Angel investors

Angels invest their own money. The UK Business Angels Association (UKBAA) describes the difference from venture capital plainly: angels make their own investment decisions, usually meet founders directly, take part in due diligence and sign the legal documents themselves, either alone or with a syndicate. UKBAA also says angels typically invest between £10,000 and £50,000 in a business, so a sizeable angel round usually needs several of them.

In the US, many private offering exemptions limit participation to "accredited investors". The SEC's definition (page updated 24 April 2026) includes individuals with net worth over $1 million excluding their primary residence, or income over $200,000 ($300,000 with a spouse or partner) in each of the prior two years, as well as holders of certain securities licences. In the UK, inviting individuals to invest is restricted by the financial promotion rules, which contain exemptions for high net worth and sophisticated investors; the FCA's statement on the Financial Promotion Order explains the background. Ask your lawyer who you may approach, and how, before you send an investment summary to people you do not know.

UK angels will often ask whether the round qualifies for SEIS or EIS tax relief. HMRC's advance assurance service lets a company ask whether HMRC agrees an investment would meet the scheme conditions, which you can use to show potential investors that it may qualify. HMRC notes that it does not tell you whether a particular investor meets the conditions. Our listings for the Seed Enterprise Investment Scheme and the Enterprise Investment Scheme summarise both.

Angel networks and trade bodies

Angel networks, clubs and groups bring many angels to one process. They usually run an application, a screening step and pitch sessions, and may appoint a lead investor for each deal. Browse angel networks on TrustList for examples.

Two trade bodies are worth knowing, described here by what they say about themselves:

• UK Business Angels Association. The UKBAA calls itself the national trade association for angel and early-stage investment, a not-for-profit run by and for its members. It says it has over 590 members, including angel groups, individual investors, early-stage VCs, platforms, family offices, universities and accelerators. Its founder pages point to a membership directory of brokerage and support firms. Our listing: UK Business Angels Association.
• Angel Capital Association. The ACA describes itself as a professional society of angel investors in the US, with more than 15,000 member angels and 200 angel groups, platforms and family offices by its own count. It states that it is not a source of capital itself. Our listing: Angel Capital Association.

A trade body is a way to find groups, not an investor. If a network charges founders to apply or to pitch, ask in writing what the fee pays for, and treat it as a service you are buying rather than a step towards an investment.

Syndicates

In a syndicate, a lead angel finds and negotiates the deal and other backers invest alongside, sometimes through a single vehicle. UKBAA notes that some angels invest passively as part of a group, with a lead angel taking the active role on their behalf. That makes the lead the person to talk to. The key question is timing: is the money already committed, or will the lead raise it after you agree terms? Money that still has to be raised is not yet money.

Venture capital firms

How a fund decides

A venture capital firm invests other people's money from a managed fund. As UKBAA puts it, the fund must make a return for its own investors, so VC funds tend to be selective and make fewer small investments at the earliest stages. That is why a fund's stated focus matters so much.

Reading a fund's thesis, stage and cheque size

Before you approach a firm, read its website and recent announcements for four things:

• Thesis. The sectors, business models and markets it says it backs.
• Stage. Stage words mean different amounts to different firms, so look for figures, not labels.
• First cheque. What it typically puts into a new company, as opposed to its fund size, its maximum or its lifetime total per company. When we read the websites of 5,360 funders in our catalogue, only about one in fifteen stated a cheque size, as our investor checklist explains. If it is not published, ask early.
• Lead or follow. Whether it sets terms and leads rounds, or only joins once someone else has. If you need a lead, followers cannot close your round.

Our rankings of venture capital firms, seed-stage investors and pre-seed investors are a place to start a list.

Partners and associates

In most firms, partners make or sponsor investment decisions, often through an investment committee, while associates and analysts find companies, take first meetings and prepare the case. An associate's interest is useful but it is not a yes. Ask early who decides and how many steps there are before a term sheet. A warm introduction to the partner who covers your sector is usually worth more than several cold emails to the general inbox.

Corporate venture capital

A corporate venture arm invests a company's money, usually with a strategic aim alongside the financial one. That can bring customers, distribution or technical help, but also slower decisions that need approval from outside the venture team. Before you go far, ask who signs off, what information the parent company will see, and whether the parent will want any commercial rights. If the parent competes with you, or might one day, think carefully about what you share.

Family offices

The SEC describes family offices as entities established by wealthy families to manage their wealth and provide other services to family members. In the US, a family office that advises only family clients, is owned and controlled by the family and does not hold itself out to the public as an investment adviser is excluded from the Investment Advisers Act. A family office that meets those conditions does not have to register, so you may not find it on the adviser register; check it through its people, its past investments and the entity that will actually sign. Mandates vary, so ask whether it invests directly at your stage, whose money it is and who decides.

Accelerators and incubators

An accelerator usually runs a fixed-length programme for a cohort of companies and invests in return for equity. An incubator usually supports companies earlier, often with space, mentoring and services, and may or may not invest. Examples are in our accelerator and incubator rankings.

Read the terms as you would a term sheet. Some accelerators publish them. For example, Y Combinator's standard deal is stated as $500,000: $125,000 on a post-money SAFE for 7% and $375,000 on an uncapped SAFE with a most-favoured-nation provision, plus a right to invest in later rounds. The same page notes that some accelerators charge companies fees and that founders should deduct those fees when comparing offers.

Worked example (an illustration, not real offers). Accelerator A offers £100,000 for 7% and charges no fee. Accelerator B offers £150,000 for 10% but charges a £30,000 programme fee.

• A: £100,000 ÷ 7% implies a post-money valuation of about £1.43 million.
• B, on the headline figure: £150,000 ÷ 10% implies £1.5 million.
• B, net of its fee: £120,000 ÷ 10% implies £1.2 million.

On the headline, B looks like the better price. Net of the fee, it values the company lower than A. The programme, the network and any follow-on rights still matter, but compare like with like.

Public funders and development banks

Public money often reaches companies indirectly, through funds and lenders that a government body backs.

In the UK, the British Business Bank describes itself as an economic development bank wholly owned by the Department for Business and Trade but operationally independent. It says it delivers its products through over 200 delivery partners, so founders usually meet its money through a partner rather than the bank itself. Its Regional Angels Programme invests alongside angel groups; the bank reports 34 commitments and £276 million committed, cumulative to March 2025. Its Nations and Regions Investment Funds, including the Northern Powerhouse Investment Fund II, the Midlands Engine Investment Fund II and the Investment Fund for Scotland, provide loans and equity finance to smaller businesses in their areas. For grants, Innovate UK describes itself as the UK's innovation agency, providing funding, expert support and connections; see our Innovate UK listing and the UK funding programmes ranking.

In the US, the SBA licenses and regulates Small Business Investment Companies: privately owned firms, more than 300 of them, that invest SBA-guaranteed funding alongside their own. The SBA says SBICs typically target mature, profitable businesses, and gives typical equity investments of $100,000 to $5 million. For research-led companies, the SBIR and STTR programmes, known as America's Seed Fund, provide non-dilutive awards through 11 participating federal agencies. See our listings for the SBIC programme, SBIR and the US funding programmes ranking.

Elsewhere, other markets have their own public and state-linked funders. Our country guides cover India, Pakistan, the UAE and Saudi Arabia.

The advisers around a raise

Startup lawyers

A lawyer who does early-stage deals regularly will draft or review the SAFE, advance subscription agreement or term sheet, the articles and the shareholders' agreement, and advise on who you may approach. Ask for a fixed fee or capped estimate, and which similar rounds they have worked on recently.

Accountants and tax advisers

An accountant keeps your numbers ready for diligence, and a tax adviser can prepare the SEIS or EIS advance assurance application. HMRC lists what it expects, including the business plan, forecasts, the latest accounts, the articles and, for a company new to the schemes, details of prospective investors. Our accounting firm rankings and equity management software pages help with the cap table side.

Corporate finance advisers, placement agents and finders

These intermediaries help find investors and run a process, usually for a retainer, a success fee or both. Get the fee structure, the scope and any exclusivity in a written engagement letter.

• In the UK, almost all financial firms must be authorised or registered by the FCA, according to the regulator. Its consumer Firm Checker leaves out services that firms offer only to other firms or professionals, so for a corporate finance adviser look the firm up on the full Financial Services Register.
• In the US, the SEC's guide to broker-dealer registration lists "finders" who find investors for issuers, including for venture capital or angel financings, among those who may need to register as brokers, and says that pay which depends on the size or outcome of a deal is one sign that someone may need to register. You can look people and firms up on FINRA BrokerCheck.

Our sibling guide on getting help to raise goes further into choosing and vetting advisers.

Getting warm introductions

An introduction carries weight because someone the investor knows has vouched for you. The SBA's advice on approaching SBICs is to use your network and talk to accountants, attorneys and executives to get an introduction.

Good sources of introductions:

• Founders the investor has already backed. They know the partner and the process.
• Angels who have invested in you, especially if they co-invest with the fund.
• Your lawyer, accountant, accelerator or university network.
• Customers and former colleagues who know the investor personally.

Make each introduction easy. Send the introducer a short, forwardable note: what you do, the traction you can show, how much you are raising and why this investor fits. Ask whether they are comfortable introducing you, and tell them what happened afterwards.

Cold outreach still works when it is precise. One investor, one reason they fit, one clear ask. Have your pitch deck and data room ready before the first reply, not after.

Being found

You can also let investors come to you. On TrustList's Companies raising board, founders publish what they are raising and at what stage, while the company's name, website and deck stay private until the founder agrees to a specific introduction. Investors who have claimed their firm's listing can ask for an introduction, and nothing moves until the founder says yes. Publishing a raise is free; TrustList is a directory, not an adviser or broker, and takes no part in any round.

Checking an investor before you take their money

Investors do due diligence on you; do the same on them before you sign. Our investor checklist has the full set of questions. The essentials:

• Look them up on the public registers. In the UK, the FCA Financial Services Register and Companies House. In the US, the SEC's adviser search: many venture capital fund advisers are exempt reporting advisers, which report part of Form ADV, and their latest filing can be looked up. Check that the name, address and status match what they have told you.
• Talk to founders they backed, including ones you find yourself, and ask what the investor did when a round was hard.
• Confirm the entity that will sign and whether the money is already committed to it.
• Check for conflicts, such as a competitor in the portfolio.

Red flags

Regulators describe the same patterns repeatedly. Stop and check if you see any of these.

• An upfront fee to receive investment. The SEC's investor alert on advance fee fraud describes fees presented as a deposit, processing fee, administrative fee or commission, and "finders" who charge a fee in advance to arrange financing, after which victims learn they were never eligible for it. The FCA describes the same pattern with loan fee fraud, where the fee may be called refundable but neither the money nor the refund comes. A genuine investor does not charge you to invest.
• Pressure, flattery and secrecy. The FCA's warning signs include unexpected contact, pressure to act quickly, offers that sound too good to be true, being told you were specially chosen, and flattery.
• Contact details that do not match the register. The FCA warns that some firms pretend to be authorised firms, and advises using the contact details on its Firm Checker rather than those you were given. Check its Warning List of unauthorised firms too.
• A regulatory filing offered as proof of legitimacy. Investor.gov warns that scammers have used SEC exempt reporting adviser filings to create a false impression of legitimacy. A filing is not an endorsement.
• An intermediary who guarantees funding or wants a success fee without being able to show authorisation or registration where it is required.
• An offer to recover lost money for a fee. The FCA calls these recovery room scams.

In the UK, report suspected scams to the FCA and, if you have lost money, to Report Fraud, as the FCA explains. In the US, the SEC's alert suggests checking claims with the SEC or your state securities regulator.

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About this guide: This is general information, not financial, legal or tax advice. TrustList does not arrange or advise on investments. Rules and programmes change; check the official sources linked above before you act. Sources were checked on 26 September 2026.