Raising investment is a huge milestone for your business so first, congratulations. Research from the Angel Capital Association (ACA) showed that only 3% of pre-seed applications received funding in 2022-2024. This number increases marginally to 4.5% for seed rounds, so getting this far is no small task.  

However, you’re not out of the woods yet. The actions you take next will have a positive or negative impact on the trajectory of your business.  

We’ve teamed up with David Rawlence, one of the industry-leading Portfolio CFOs we work with at Ferrock, to share his wisdom on what business owners need to do to get the most from their successful funding round.

Before you read on, if you haven’t completed your funding round yet, you should read our guide on preparing to raise investment, instead.

Hire the talent you need, asap

Do you have the talent and manpower to deliver what you said you were going to? You likely would have created a hiring plan as part of your pitch deck, so now is the time to enact this plan.  

Some top tips when it comes to hiring right after investment:

• While time is of the essence, avoid hasty decisions when it comes to hiring as they will cause delays and additional costs in the long run.
• The recruitment market is competitive. Be open and transparent about what salary you can offer, plus what benefits packages and future promotion opportunities are available to them.
• Build a network of trusted contractors and freelancers, they are a cost-effective way to inject expertise into your business without salary, commission and benefits costs.

Build scalable systems and processes

Now is the time to move from manual processes and spreadsheets, to systems that work for you, not the other way round.

Without this structured approach to your business, growth will feel chaotic and manual processes will take up too much of yours, and your team’s valuable time.

Focus on building systems and processes that support:

• Finance - real-time dashboards, cash flow management, timely payments, forecasting, profit & loss projections. Our recommendation: Xero.

• Operations – systems that will help your team track deliverables, improve efficiency and ensure consistent processes. Our recommendation: Asana.

• Sales and Marketing – CRMs that ensure data compliance and marketing tools that maximise marketing effectiveness, enable full tracking and attribution, and automate manual processes. Our recommendation: Hubspot.

• Communications - so your team has somewhere secure and convenient to communicate with each other and clients. Our recommendation: Microsoft Office (Teams).

But, try to keep your costs down

One of the fastest ways founders get into trouble is by letting their burn rate creep up too quickly. It usually happens quietly. A hire here, a new agency there, a few new tools that seem essential at the time.  

Before you know it, your 18-month runway is now 10 months, which is a very different fundraising story.

Burn rate refers to the rate at which a company uses its cash. A start-up is often unable to generate a positive net income in its early stages, so investors or venture capitalists often provide funding based on a company’s burn rate. Calculate your burn rate by totalling up all your operating expenses (rent, salaries, software systems), and how much capital you have to sustain that for. A good rule of thumb is to have 18-month runway.

If you find yourself in sales calls or software demos every other week, ask yourself 2 questions;

Is there a clear, quick return on investment (ROI) to be had? And is the product a necessity or a nice to have? If the latter, don’t take the sales call. You need systems and tools that will help you master the basics, automate everyday processes and ensure compliance, everything else can wait.  

Similarly, if you have a particularly good month or quarter, don’t be fooled into thinking this is immediately free money.

Founders who build reserves sleep better. When something unexpected happens, they’re operating from a position of stability, not panic.

Keep in regular contact with your investors

Investors don’t expect perfection, but they do expect communication. Dropping off the face of the earth as soon as you’ve secured funding does not instil faith in you or your business.  

Don’t be afraid to share your challenges just as much as your successes. You and your investors share the same goal, and they want to help where they can.

What good communication looks like:

• Monthly updates that cover sales, delivery and financial metrics, wins, obstacles, and how you’re tracking against your investment plan.
• Transparency and early warnings, because you’re not selling anymore, you’re collaborating.
• Asking for support or guidance when you need it, because investors genuinely want to help but need direction.

Lastly, STICK TO YOUR INVESTMENT PLAN

You put a huge amount of work into your investment plan: the forecast, the hiring plan, the milestones, the strategy. That document wasn’t just a box-ticking exercise, it was a commitment. Your investors backed that plan, and nothing builds trust like doing exactly what you said you’d do.

Here’s what “stick to your investment plan” means...

• Review and refine the one-year plan and financial model that secured the funding. Define and track clear KPIs to measure success and progress towards your objectives.
• Reconfirm annual objectives with your entire team so everyone already knows what matters most. Marketing, sales and other departmental objectives should feed into your business objectives.
• Avoid big moves. Strategic shifts right after a raising capital can look impulsive or unplanned.
• If something needs to change, explain why and make sure it’s informed by real data, not a hunch.  ‍

Final thoughts

Raising investment is only the starting line. What you do next determines the success of your business and ROI for your investors. Get the right people and systems in place, avoid unnecessary costs, stick to your plan and keep in regular, transparent communication your investors.  

If you don’t have a strong financial expert in your business, now is the time to get one. They will help you maximise your funding and maintain meticulous financial management processes as you scale.  

“The role of a Fractional FD or CFO is not just to count the money raised, but to hold the hand of the business owner in delivering their plan and ensure they don’t deviate without clear rationale, that is communicated to investors.” David Rawlence, Fractional CFO and ex-Lloyds Banking Group  

Our network of fractional FDs and CFOs are experienced in raising capital, managing investor relations, building and delivering pitch decks and supporting sustainable business growth.

Email info@ferrock.co.uk to arrange a fractional CFO discovery call.