“Make sure they are the right fit!” Eric Mouilleron, CEO and founder of Bankable, on choosing investors
Eric Mouilleron participated as a panelist at Innovate Finance’s first event of the year, “Bootstrap to IPO” held at London Stock Exchange on January 27, where he shared his experience of navigating the challenges associated with raising funding for growing companies.
Claire Cockerton, CEO of Innovate Finance, and Keith Morgan, CEO of British Business Bank, welcomed the members of Innovate Finance and established names in the fintech and finance industries. The event largely revolved around redefining funding in today’s world of finance as the industry is being disrupted. “Fintech and alternative finance have the potential to redefine the economics and service delivery of finance,” explained Keith.
The four panel sessions, moderated by Finextra and Bloomberg executives, discussed the founders’ experiences, the SME funding gap, the role of alternative finance in supporting SMEs, and the challenges faced by growing organisations to engage with investors. As a founder, Eric shared his experience on securing funding and on the IPO of his first company, and ended on the note saying “It is important to find relevant investors who complement the organisation’s value system; and if they’re the right fit, together you can build mountains.”
Other panel participants included representatives from GLI Finance, British Business Bank, Tech City UK, London Stock Exchange, Microexchanges, Syndicate Room, Grantree, Silicon Valley Bank, Fintech Circle, Crowdbnk, Infocomm, Balderton, Atlantic Bridge Ventures, HSBC, Essentia Analytics, Remitia, Derivtec, and Azimo.