Ready Steady Grow – Cambridge by EISA

Ready Steady Grow - Cambridge 2025 by EISA

We were delighted to participate in the Enterprise Investment Scheme Association (EISA)’s Ready, Steady, Grow event in Cambridge, bringing together founders, investors, advisers, and wealth managers to discuss how EIS and SEIS continue to drive UK innovation.

Chris White, VP – Business Development at o2h Ventures, joined the expert panel and shared perspectives on supporting early-stage biotech entrepreneurs, accelerating breakthrough science, and enabling impactful outcomes.

Ready, Steady, Grow! is designed for the UK startup ecosystem, including entrepreneurs looking to start a business or access funding, investors looking to invest in the next big thing, wealth managers seeking knowledge in EIS and small company investing, and professional advisers supporting SMEs. If you would like to join but do not feel you fit these categories, you can get in touch with the team.

Each event features a carefully constructed agenda with opinions from SME industry experts, followed by networking opportunities. Ready, Steady, Grow! begins with registration, where attendees can start networking with other guests. This is followed by an hour of short panels covering different and relevant areas of interest to the startup ecosystem around the schemes.

It was fantastic to see EISA expanding its regional footprint and continuing to highlight the importance of early-stage investment within the UK innovation ecosystem. We thoroughly enjoyed the insightful discussions, new connections, and collaborative conversations that emerged.

Learn more about the programme: https://lnkd.in/gU-biJvM

06-11-2025

Cambridge

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Due to the potential for losses, the Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) considers this investment to be high risk

What are the key risks?

• If the business you invest in fails, you are likely to lose 100% of the money you invest. Most start-up businesses fail.

2 – You are unlikely to be protected if something goes wrong

• Protection from the Financial Services Compensation Scheme (FSCS), in relation to claims against failed regulated firms, does not cover poor investment performance. Try the FSCS investment protection checker here. (https://www.fscs.org.uk/check/investment-protection-checker)

• Protection from the Financial Ombudsman Service (FOS) does not cover poor investment performance. If you have a complaint against an FCA-regulated firm, FOS may be able to consider it. Learn more about FOS protection here. (https://www.financial-ombudsman.org.uk/consumers)

3 – You won’t get your money back quickly

• Even if the business you invest in is successful, it may take several years to get your money back. You are unlikely to be able to sell your investment early.

• The most likely way to get your money back is if the business is bought by another business or lists its shares on an exchange such as the London Stock Exchange. These events are not common.

• If you are investing in a start-up business, you should not expect to get your money back through dividends. Start-up businesses rarely pay these.

4 – Don’t put all your eggs in one basket

• Putting all your money into a single business or type of investment for example, is risky. Spreading your money across different investments makes you less dependent on any one to do well.

• A good rule of thumb is not to invest more than 10% of your money in high-risk investments (https://www.fca.org.uk/investsmart/5-questions-ask-you-invest)

5 – The value of your investment can be reduced

• The percentage of the business that you own will decrease if the business issues more shares. This could mean that the value of your investment reduces, depending on how much the business grows. Most start-up businesses issue multiple rounds of shares.

• These new shares could have addition rights that your shares don’t have, such as the right to receive a fixed dividend, which could further reduce your chances of getting a return on your investment.

If you are interested in learning more about how to protect yourself, visit the FCA’s website here (https://www.fca.org.uk/investsmart)