Let a £1bn+ funder pull your business apart, then help you rebuild it stronger and make it fundable
I've funded over 750 businesses and started over 30 of my own. Give me half an hour and I'll show you what's holding yours back and exactly how to fix it.
You don't know what you don't know
I see hundreds of businesses every month. They come through my application forms, my inbox and my calls with clients. Most of them aren't even good businesses yet, and some of them never will be. The worst part is that most of their owners have no idea.
Some founders are sure their idea is brilliant when they haven’t even tested whether anyone will pay for it. Then there are the owners running a real business turning over £2m, £3m or £4m a year who think they're doing well. They don’t realise their business could be many times the size, because nobody has ever shown them what's holding it back.
Fixing a problem in your own business takes humility, and the knowledge of what to do. If you're reading this, you're already open to the idea that something is holding your business back. I can show you what it is and how to fix it.
What's holding your business back?
Most of the people around you can't tell you, because they don't know.
Friends and family are too kind
Even if they know what's wrong.
Investors don't say why
Investors who pass you over for funding often don't say why.
Most advisers have never run a business
Most of the advisers and consultants who'd happily take your money have never run a business themselves, so they don't know the first thing about yours.
So you keep going: you build the next feature, write the next version of the deck, or start talking to investors about money you will never be able to raise, for a business that isn’t even ready.
I'm Matt Haycox
I turned around a family business when I was 18 and I opened my first bar at 21. By 27 I owned over 65 pubs, plus clubs, property developments and retail stores, and I was also running my own finance company.
Over the past 25 years I've started and run over 30 businesses, in the UK, the US, the UAE and Indonesia. I've had an 8-figure exit and two 7-figure exits. I've also got it badly wrong: in 2008 I lost £45m and had to rebuild from nothing.
I've funded over £1bn across more than 750 businesses and invested in over 100 more, in just about every sector there is. I've raised over £250m for my own companies and over £50m for the businesses I advise, and I've taken clients from 0 to 6 figures, from 6 to 7 figures, and from 7 to 8 figures and beyond.
So when I look at your business, I understand all of it: your business model, your pricing, your marketing, your sales, your team, how it's structured and how it's funded. I see it the way an operator, a lender and an investor would, because I've been all three.
What I'll do for you
I'll take your business from where it is now to where you want it to be, and show you exactly how to get there.
Work out what you really need
You might come to me for funding when the business needs fixing first. I'll tell you which it is.
Find what's holding your business back
Whether it's your business model, your pricing, your marketing, your sales, your team, how it's structured or how it's funded.
Give you a plan to fix it and grow it
What to change first, who to sell to, how to win customers, what to charge, what your competitors are doing better than you and how you can fight back.
Make it fundable
I'll show you your business the way a lender or an investor will see it, and tell you whether you need funding at all, how much, whether it should be a loan or an investor, who to approach, and what they'll want to see before they say yes.
How it works
1.Tell me about your business
Fill in a short form telling me what you want to achieve and anything you've already tried, and attach your plan, deck, website and anything else you think I should see. Then pick a time in my diary to jump on a call.
2.I go through your business and your market
Before we speak, I'll have been through your whole business: your business model and your numbers, your pricing, your product, how you market and sell, your team and how it's structured. I'll also have looked at your market and your competitors, and at how a lender or an investor would see you.
3.Your 30-minute call with me
We speak on a video call, and get straight into what's holding your business back and exactly how to fix it. It's recorded for you.
4.Everything in writing within 24 hours
The recording, the transcript and my research and advice document, so you can act on it immediately and come back to it whenever you need to.
Who this strategy call is for
Anyone with a business, or a plan for one, who wants a straight answer on it, and especially if:
Your business has stopped growing and you don't know why
You're working all hours and the profit isn't there
You've built something and can't work out why it isn't selling
You've got an idea and want to know if it's worth pursuing before you spend on it
You're thinking about raising money and want to know if you should, how much, and from whom
You're about to take on a partner, an investor or a big decision and want a second opinion first
What you get
The call
- 30-minute strategy callwith me
- The recordingto watch back when you need it
- The full transcriptof your call
Your advice document
- Where you are nowwhat's working, and what an outsider sees
- What's holding you backyour business model, pricing, product, marketing, sales, team and structure
- Your market and competitorswho you're up against, what they charge and how they win customers
- Your growth planwho to sell to first, how to win customers and what to charge
- Your funding routewhether to raise, how much, from whom, and what they'll want to see
- Your next stepsin order, starting immediately
Extras
- A written teardown of your pitch deckslide by slide, if you send me one
- 1 month of Capital Catalyst Premiumweekly live calls, deal teardowns and the whole library (normally $99 a month)
Claim $500 off
Let me share your call with my Capital Catalyst community as a lesson, so other business owners can learn from it, and your call is $497.
What expert advice is worth
One improvement to your pricing, your sales or your marketing is worth more every month than this strategy call costs. Spotting the wrong partner, the wrong hire or the wrong raise before you commit can be worth even more.
If you raise with me afterwards, the call is free
If you're raising $250,000 or more and want me to work on your raise with you, that's Capital Raiser, my 30-day or 90-day programme. Join Capital Raiser within 14 days of your strategy call and the full fee you paid for the call comes off the price.
Questions people ask before booking
Do I have to be raising money?
No, you don't need to be. Bring whatever matters most to you: growth, sales, pricing, a partner or funding.
What if I don't have a business plan or a deck?
Send me what you have: a website, a few paragraphs about the idea, your numbers. I can work from whatever you give me.
Does it matter where my business is based?
No, it doesn't matter. I've started and run businesses in the UK, the US, the UAE and Indonesia, raised capital from investors in over 50 countries, and the call is online, so it works wherever you are.
Can I move my call?
Yes, you can move it once if you need to.
Can I get a refund?
There are no refunds once you've booked. The work on your business starts as soon as you book.
Will you tell me what I want to hear?
No, I won't tell you that. You'll get the same honest verdict I'd give if it were my own money going in.
P.S. You can spend the next 6 months building, pitching and guessing. Or you can spend 30 minutes with someone who's started and run over 30 businesses and funded over 750 more, and know exactly where you stand and what to do next.
P.P.S. How many months have you already spent on the wrong thing?