You have agreed to act as an advisor to ‘ELITE PRO’, a promising early
stage technology venture based in the UK. They wish to develop a funding
strategy for the next 48 months, at which point they should have
achieved break-even.
Write a 2000-word individual report to describe, and discuss how you
would develop a coherent funding strategy for the venture, which has the
following characteristics:
• Stage – Currently pre-seed, no MVP or evidence (yet) of customer
traction
• Team – Two full time co-founders (CEO and CTO) who can survive
for 6 months without income.
• Industry – Sports wearables
• Market – B2C, initially targeting competitive cyclists and rowers
(assume a SOM of £50m in EU and US combined, CAGR 5%)
• Competitors – No direct competition at present. Substitutes exist
but are more expensive.
• I.P. – Yes, 2 patents pending
• Margins – Gross margin 60%, Net margin 25%
• Time to break-even – 48 months
• Total funding required to break even – £1.8m
Specifically, you have been asked to outline suitable funding options and
to suggest a timeline together with milestones
