Discover how VCs assess businesses, what makes you investment-ready, common pitfalls, and how Mercia supports founders after investment

This session will give early-stage businesses, start-ups and scale-ups a practical investor's perspective on what happens when a VC assesses an opportunity. We'll cover how investors evaluate businesses, what makes a company genuinely investment-ready, the key things investors look for when considering an investment, some of the common mistakes that can weaken an otherwise compelling proposition, and how Mercia supports companies following investment. The aim is to demystify the investment process and give founders practical takeaways they can use when preparing to raise external capital.

Guest Speaker's Bio:

Joshua Higgins is an Investor at Mercia Ventures, where he works with ambitious UK businesses across the investment process, from first meeting and assessing an opportunity through to due diligence and investment. He works closely with founders to understand their market, business model, growth plans and funding requirements, and supports companies following investment.

About our Investment Workshop series:

This session is part of our Investment Workshop Series (October-November 2026), hosted by Sheffield Technology Parks, supported by our Ecosystem Partner Barclays Eagle Labs, designed to help founders become investment-ready and create opportunities for founders to connect with investors and the wider investment ecosystem.

🚨Please note: This is a free workshop, and spaces are limited, so be sure to reserve your spot as soon as possible.

Description supplied by the event organiser.