Last week Reuters decided to run a broadcast on start-ups and funding in the current economic climate. They wanted a perspective “from the coal face” about the fund-raising scene. That’s where we came in.
Declining the offer of a chauffeured Merc to take me to the studios (the Zoombu engine tells me that this is not a green way to travel!), I hopped on the tube to take part in the 10 minute live slot on”Talking Point”. I’ve not done a studio interview before and it was hard not to get distracted by the environment. There were bright lights, at least four cameras, auto-cue rolling and screens showing the other interviewee, Reshma Sohoni from Seedcamp. Trying to look natural and get in the ‘key points’ about Zoombu, whilst also addressing the question is harder than it looks. Furthermore, the presenter, Axel, did not give us an easy time and was straight in there with the tough questions, Paxman style.
We talked about whether money is still being invested, why investors would back Zoombu, what our projections look like and whether now is a good time to start up. Having heard about several deals go through in Q1 2009, I still feel positive about early stage investing. Whilst it’s tough to raise money, businesses with a strong business model, a great team and a clear path to monetization will be best placed to take funding. The terms on offer, however, may not be what they would have been a couple of years back.
The show went out to subscribers of ‘Reuters Insider’.
Posted by Rachel
