As some of you may know, I spend much of my time working on GrantTree, my business which helps provide startup grants and government funding to technology businesses young and old.
GrantTree is the reason that I have the flexibility to spend time on swombat.com whenever I feel like it, without having to put advertisements or collect sponsorships to the site. If there was no GrantTree, there would probably be no swombat.com (and conversely, I suppose, but I digress!)
What does GrantTree do?
Both GrantTree and swombat.com aim to help small businesses, startups, technology businesses, entrepreneurs, etc. Swombat.com helps with advice, and GrantTree helps with money.
Via tax credits and grants, we help technology businesses to "stretch their funding" - e.g. turn £200k of seed funding into a little bit more - in exchange for a success fee. It's a much-needed service in the UK. Unlike Silicon Valley investors, UK VCs and angels tend to be very risk averse. Raising money here often feels like pulling teeth from a cat. Even better, government funding doesn't cost any equity.
Unfortunately, we can't directly help businesses that have no money at all (though we know people who can). However, once a business has raised or is spending a bit of money, we can often help it get tax breaks and grants to make that money go further. In some cases, the extra cash can be a life-saver.
What can you do?
So here's what I'd like to ask you to help us with.
First, if you think UK government funding might be of interest to you at some point, you can sign up to our spam-free, light-touch Friends of GrantTree mailing list. This costs you absolutely nothing other than about 30 seconds, and since it's managed by MailChimp, you can unsubscribe any time you want if you change your mind.
Secondly, if you or someone you know is starting up or has started up a technology business in the UK, and could be interested in getting some government funding, tell them to get in touch with us. Our website has more information about the services we offer, and you can easily get in touch by email or by phone on 0203 318 3070.
Finally, if you are organising an event or know someone who is organising an event, and you'd like myself or Paulina to speak there, perhaps to provide a brief overview of the types of government funding available, let us know and we'll be glad to oblige.
Thanks for the support!
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