Crowdfunding entails reaching out to a large number of investors and helping them invest small amounts in your new business. It focuses on the concept of democratization — no longer do businesses have to rely on larger, powerful VC’s for investment! The idea is that if many interested folks are asked for relatively small amounts as an investment , it gets easier to reach the desired goal for the capital needed to fund your expansion plans and take your business to the next level. Crowdfunding has proven to work particularly well as you get to ask also market your idea to potential customers /interested stakeholders. The funds and awareness raised through crowdfunding help gauge how popular the idea would be upon completion and have investors who can help with their network/ support /credibility. Crowdfunding in an HR tech startup One of the biggest advantages of Crowdfunding most applicable to HR than any other function is that it offers more than just capital that a startup needs to boost its growth. It also introduces startups to a large number of experts who are interested in transforming the traditional way HR functions in organizations. This could mean more financial aid or services and skills that startups could find useful for their business. What’s in it for the investors? The investors, or the “Crowd” in Crowdfunding, have a lot to gain from such a construct. They get to spread the risk that comes with any investment, and instead of putting all their eggs in one basket, they now have the opportunity of investing in multiple opportunities in varying capacities. What’s more, the research that they do around any proposition ensures they are well informed around Digital Disruption around the workplace and are far better equipped around managing the changes happening around it. How does the HR Tech Partnership contribute to Start-ups in the People Tech Area: The HRTP (HR Tech Partnership) is unique in a number of ways. Firstly, its focus is purely on the Human Capital space. It looks at innovative digital solutions using AI and other cutting edge technologies around Workforce Planning, Resourcing, Talent, Learning & Development, Employee Engagement, Reward & Benefits, and Wellness, etc. Secondly, all members are domain experts in the people area and along with funds bring their expertise and successful corporate background to the table. Thirdly, The HR Tech Partnership combines the benefits of both seed funding and crowdfunding, enabling regular professionals to benefit from specific deals. This brings a huge advantage to any startup — credibility from a group of respected professionals, access to their network, visibility to a potential customer base and the ability to scale up to more rapidly. To know more about Crowdfunding and how you can participate, register your interest and visit us at — www.hrtechpartnership.com

Thumb

Avatar

0 repins 0 comments

Crowdfunding can be described as the social media version of fundraising. It is a means for ordinary individuals (not high net worth) to finance start-ups using a very small sum of money ( as low as £ 10), usually through an online platform.

Thumb

Avatar

0 repins 0 comments

A recent survey of 15,000 Global HR professionals conducted by Frazer Jones and the HR TECH Partnership revealed some interesting results. 95% of the HR community believes new technology will allow HR to become more efficient and strategic while 77% believe digitization plays a key role. However, less than 25% of HR professionals have actively adopted digital solutions involving Artificial Intelligence. While budget, training, and lack of support from management are cited as key barriers many simply do not know where to begin or how to increase their understanding. What can you do to actively understand what is happening in this space? Reading about Digital Disruption certainly helps, however, a key issue HR professionals face is to figure out what is hype and what is a reality. Here are some actual actions you can take: 1. Experiment and Use Start-ups/ Scale-Ups: Using digital solutions by start-ups/ scale-ups is relatively a simple process. To start with identifying a specific pain point/ issue you have an e.g. reduction of the time you are spending around screening CV’s or having an intelligent employee feedback mechanism that proactively gives you a sense check around morale. You then source a product that specifically has a product around this. Unlike large HRIS implementations, these start-ups are relatively low cost, can integrate easily with existing systems and can be deployed across small teams. There is no need for large budgets, organization-wide deployment of unnecessary modules or extensive RFP processes. 2. Participate in a Human Capital Innovation Hub: A relatively new concept is participation in a Human Capital Innovation Hub where an organization sponsors a start-up for approximately 6 months. The Hub is hosted by an established accelerator, which is essentially an ecosystem/hub where start-ups are provided with support ranging from IT &real estate along with the guidance of VCs /mentors and the opportunity to learn from each other’s experiences. The HR Tech Partnership manages the entire program which includes sourcing the start-up, hosting the accelerator and ensuring the individual organization’s needs are met. Corporates can focus on a start-up that has a solution to an existing problem or supports its CSR strategy or simply enables them to learn about new technology such as blockchain. What do organizations stand to gain? The primary motivation to go for such a construct is the learning and exposure that it provides to the entire team around the “Future of Work”, newer technologies like AI and Digital Innovation. Being a tried and tested model, you can attract good quality start-ups. Outsourcing the program management saves time and cross-industry insights are facilitated through the other participating corporates. 1. Invest in Digital Startups / Angel Investing: The notion of investment being done only by VC’s/ PE firms/ wealthy individuals is no longer true. Crowdfunding now allows anyone to invest a relatively smaller amount of money in a safe manner via an organized platform. The HR TECH Partnership uses the model of both bringing in angel investors and then taking the investing company to a crowdfunding platform. This helps anyone invest small sums in HR specific digital companies backed by senior HR leaders thereby reducing risk. Investing helps you sharpen your commercial acumen, improve your understanding of the market and learn about the changing digital landscape. For example, our current investment proposition ‘RecruitmentSmart’ enabled the senior HR Angel Investors to get a deeper understanding of Artificial Intelligence, understand the huge leaps in productivity & costs that are now possible (it can screen up to a billion CV’s per day) and interact with a smart set of entrepreneurs. The World Economic Forum has just released a report that shows 52% of human jobs will get automated by 2025 — which is just 6 years away! Getting more familiar with digital innovation is no longer an option but a necessary requirement for any HR professional who wants to stay ahead of the game. The HR TECH Partnership is an angel funding and advisory firm in the HR Digital start-up space. The company is an early stage investor and focuses on companies which leverage data and analytics to help organizations around Talent and Workplace productivity. It believes that advancements in the latest technology can be useful for disrupting conventional people practices and enhancing productivity. To know more about angel investing and learn how one can manage the disadvantages better visit http://www.hrtechpartnership.com

Thumb

Avatar

0 repins 0 comments

Changes to the ‘Future of Work have been happening rapidly over the last 25 years. However, the next decade is going to see an unprecedented impact because of Artificial Intelligence and Digital Technology. Many organizations are busy trying to understand how they can leverage Digital Disruption for business profitability and customer engagement.

Thumb

Avatar

0 repins 0 comments

In today’s business world, the entrepreneurial startup zone is where all the creative action is. The emergence of Angel investment funds has powered startups in all sectors. How is an Angel Investment Fund different to a PE fund? Angel investment funds are like any other small private equity (PE) fund, but they focus on seed or very early stage of a startup’s life cycle. At this stage, the startup needs small amounts of funding. But the funding can be both high risk and high returns. Most angel funds are limited partnerships with the Fund Manager as the general partner and other investors as limited partners. What is the role of a Fund Manager? The Fund Manager has comprehensive responsibility for the fund and its performance. He or she raises the money from the angels who are participating in the fund. The Fund Manager, in the role of the general partner, then scans the market to identify smart investment opportunities; conducts due diligence of the target entity; invests money from the angel fund; and collaborates with the portfolio companies to ensure business performance and results. The Fund Manager ensures a multi-fold valuation and subsequent exit to ensure high returns on the equity invested Fees Angel funds, like any other organized venture funds, make multiple investments to hedge risks. These funds are represented by professional managers or by entrepreneurs themselves who possess experience and expertise in creating and scaling startups. An Angel Fund earns a management fee and an incentive fee. The management fee varies between 1% and 3.5%. An incentive fee is a performance linked success fee and may climb to 20%. The success fee is paid as a percentage of the profit accrued on exit. In the absence of profit, there is no success fee. Focus Angel funds evolve to have their respective focus. Technology companies have shown to be a preferred segment with angel funds. Fintech, Medtech, Edtech, Cybertech, Cleantech, etc are examples of areas that have grown quite large. Lately, we are seeing the emergence of People Tech as an underserved but very lucrative sector for investment. This originated from the need to scale the organizational demands of people in a cloud era. Employee experience and a consumer mindset are leading to a very different set of expectations from employees which is making talent attraction and retention challenges. The HR tech market grew by an astounding 10 percent last year, according to Sierra-Cedar’s 2018–2019 Systems Survey. The arrival of innovative, creative and predictive AI-based products is contributing to this explosion. The London based HRTP (HR Tech Partnership) is an investment venture in the Human Capital space with most of its investors being senior corporate directors. The company is a growth stage investor and focuses on companies which leverage data and analytics to help organizations around Talent and Workplace productivity. It believes that advancements in the latest technology can be useful for disrupting conventional people practices and enhancing productivity. To know more about Angel Investment and how the HR TECH Partnership works visit www.hrtechpartnership.com

Thumb

Avatar

0 repins 0 comments

Angel Investing fills the gap between the necessary seed capital at the birth stage of a startup and the stage where the startup needs capital to grow and accelerate. At this latter stage, depending on the power of the business idea and the startup’s performance, the early stage growth or risk capital required may be less than £ 1–2 million or more than that figure. When the capital required is more than £ 1–2 million we have traditional Angel Funds stepping in who conduct due diligence before investing the money. But if the capital required is lesser than the requisite figure then a single angel investor or a group invests in the startup. This investment may be in the form of upfront equity or convertible debt which is later converted into equity. Few angel investors from angel groups or angel networks who then start taking collective investment decisions. Few others invest online through equity Crowdfunding. Professional venture capitalists generally raise the capital they invest in startups and companies. Unlike them, angel investors invest their own money. Partially due to this compulsion angel investors play a much more active and hands-on role in the startups they invest in. Some of these Angel Investors are people who have been founders of startups earlier and have made good exits previously. By virtue of having that experience, they possess a depth of expertise and deep connections in the professional community. Newly found startups can leverage this to grow and gain a competitive advantage amongst other benefits. If the angel investment is large then the investor may even take up the role of a director or top advisor in the startup. A startup needs both capital and capability for its eventual success. Another way of looking at this is the right mix of smart capital and patient capital which the startup needs. The smart capital is actually the angel’s capability in the form of expertise, professional network, and other similar assets. This can accelerate the growth of the startup. But ultimate success for the startup takes time and in most cases is a journey, a progression. The role of angels as long term investors patiently backing a startup is a crucial asset and a critical success factor for most of them to achieve their full potential. Recently HR Tech has seen a lot of momentum in angel funding. CB Insights has pointed out that barring 2016 and 2017 angel funding has seen a consistent growth of 15% for the past few years. Angel funding has also seen a sharp upward swing since 2014 and had touched $2.9 Billion at the end of 2018. Generally, two-thirds of all funding deals have happened in the early stage of a startup covering angel, seed or Series A roundups. The London based HR Tech Partnership is an investment venture in the People Tech space with most of its stakeholders being senior corporate directors. It is an early stage investor and focuses on companies which leverage data and analytics to help organizations around Talent and Workplace productivity. It believes that advancements in the latest technology can be useful for disrupting conventional people practices and enhancing productivity. To know more about angel funding and how the HR TECH Partnership works visit http://www.hrtechpartnership.com/

Thumb

Avatar

0 repins 0 comments

Angel Investment occupies a large percentage of the global early stage investment market and has become a primary choice for most entrepreneurs. The UK is no exception. Besides the usual gains, investors in the UK enjoy advantages like the Enterprise Investment Scheme (EIS) and Seed Enterprise Investment Scheme (SEIS) which can offer qualifying investors tax relief of 30–50 %. It is estimated that £ 1.5 bn is invested per annum by angels. This is more than 3 times the venture capital (VC) invested in early-stage UK businesses annually. A recent study conducted by the British Business Bank and the UK Business Angels Association reveals some interesting insights. The typical business angel in the UK is male, white and most likely to be based in London. They normally have prior experience in investment of about 8 years with some part of it being professional. Their median initial investment is about £25,000. They are generally serial investors making follow up investments typically to the tune of £75,000. An Angel Investor in the UK also remains quite involved in the chosen business. The typical angel spends 1.6 days in a week in the chosen business and has shown to stay invested for an average period of 6 years. Males dominate this investment sector and comprise 91% of the Angel Investor population. The WA4E female investor survey found that female angels are more likely to invest in female founders so there is no doubt that increasing the number of female investors will have a direct correlation on the number of female-founded businesses. Like gender diversity, the ethnic diversity of UK business angels is quite weak and they only form 7 % of the investor population. This is surprising as a sizeable proportion of the ethnic minority population run their own businesses and tend to have an entrepreneurial streak. Evidence from the United States suggests that individuals tend to invest in “people like them”. Our own experience of both investing as well as earlier managing Diversity initiatives in complex businesses shows that change is marginal unless there are ‘systemic ‘ programs addressing root cause issues. So there is no doubt that improving the number of female and ethnic minority investors is essential to a wider range of entrepreneurs benefiting from the funding. The London based HRTP (HR Tech Partnership) is an investment venture in the People Tech space with most of its stakeholders being senior corporate directors. The company is an early stage investor and focuses on startups which leverage data and analytics to help organizations around Talent and Workplace productivity. To know more about Crowdfunding and how the HR TECH Partnership works visit http://www.hrtechpartnership.com/

Thumb

Avatar

0 repins 0 comments

AI and Digital Disruption are no longer buzz words but being adopted at a rapid pace. Business leaders and HR teams can no longer afford to ignore them. While some see this change as a great opportunity to improve employee experience, reduce costs and be more strategic in their implementation others are belatedly realizing they need to engage and understand the usage of AI-based start-ups a little better. However, there are several practical issues facing most HR teams around engaging with startups. The Human Capital Digital Innovation Hub ( a six-month program where corporate sponsors a given HR startup for the purpose of learning and experimentation) is a risk-free and timesaving way to do this. The first hurdle for a corporate is to get access to good quality startups. There is no organized way for an HR team to reach out to AI based HR startups and most importantly distinguish the good from the bad. Participating in the Human Capital Digital Hub allows you to discuss and have the right startup delivered to you. Learning is facilitated and program management did — this saves the HR team a great deal of time and effort. Finally, having the startup based at an accelerator ( as opposed to bringing it in-house) reduces the risk of things going wrong. Participating in the Innovation Hub allows the entire corporate team to get exposure about the impact of digitization, AI and emerging technology such as Blockchain. It allows HR teams to understand key issues such as upskilling of the organization and agile working needed for the future along with the compliance issues in this new world of data. Learning also happens through the cohort of other participating organizations and it can be reassuring to have conversations about the journey that others are on. There is no pressure to buy or use these solutions and it is a great way for an HR team to ‘test out’ them out. Getting exposed to the accelerator ecosystem is also a great way for corporates to broaden their understanding of ‘innovation’. The network of VC’s, mentors, other start-ups that the accelerator has exposed HR teams to a different way of thinking and working. HR Services firms are seeing this route as a quicker way to build up their portfolio and understand where the market is headed. Many use this opportunity of showcasing their sponsored startup to clients as a means to educate them and build up their own brand as ‘innovators’. The London based HR Tech Partnership runs a Human Capital Digital Innovation Hub to facilitate learning and adoption by corporates of agile start-ups around Talent and Workplace productivity. It runs a six-month program that helps corporate in experimenting with the right HR startup, facilitates learning deliverables and ensures successful program completion. The team and most of its stakeholders have senior corporate experience and a good understanding of large organization realities. It also has a People Tech investment venture which funds early-stage startups incorporating AI and leading-edge technology. visit: http://www.hrtechpartnership.com

Thumb

Avatar

0 repins 0 comments

Angel investing in the United Kingdom (as in most parts of the globe) is on a sharp growth trajectory. Most angels seem satisfied with the return on investment and financial performance that they are experiencing. This explains why more than 40% of UK based angel investors are increasing their levels of investment. Industry reports also point to the fact that more than 70% of UK based Angel Investors are investing in between one and five companies.* Increased confidence in Angel rounds This robust confidence of angel investors is caused by some inherent advantages of angel investment. Unlike the listed share or equity market which is subject to market volatility, an angel venture enhances in value as the company scales upwards. Good companies see their valuation increase through multiple rounds of capital infusion by VCs and PEs. When such increases happen, angel investors can broadly choose from two options both of which are lucrative. Either the angel investor can stay invested and see the valuation of his/her investment climb along with the start-ups or he/she may offload the investment and cash out with increased returns. Angel investment also offers investors a healthy avenue to achieve diversity in their investment portfolio. Particularly in the UK, investors get added tax incentives such as EIS and SEIS with a potential tax reduction of up to 50 %. Additionally, there are angel investors who offer expertise along with the capital. Such expertise can be very valuable to the investee company and offers the investor an opportunity to play a part in creating something valuable. Many angel investors are lawyers, accountants, professionals or other entrepreneurs who have had bumper exits themselves. Crowdfunding as an exciting option for first-time investors People who may be first-time investors can experiment in a safe manner through the crowdfunding route. Crowdfunding gives them an opportunity to ride on the expertise of others and limit their risk. Most investors investing through The HR TECH Partnership (HRTP) bring a rich background in the human capital space. They find this route interesting for several reasons : – They understand the challenges of the human resource function in large corporates and are able to astutely identify if a particular product solves a real ‘pain point’. – They are also able to gauge adoption rates and the likely chance of success of AI-based solutions using leading-edge technology from a ‘practitioners’ perspective. – Having respected peers as co-investors gives them an opportunity to make well-informed decisions and reduce their risk. – Many do it for the ability to keep abreast and understand the rapid digital disruption that is happening to the future of work. – Finally, leveraging their experience and network to help early-stage startups enables them to give back to society and the profession. The London based HR Tech Partnership is an investment venture in the People Tech space with most of its stakeholders being senior corporate directors. The company is an early stage investor and focuses on solutions that leverage data and analytics to help organizations around Talent and Workplace productivity. * Some statistics mentioned in the blog are sourced from the recent survey by UKBAA and British Business Bank. To know more visit http://www.hrtechpartnership.com/

Thumb

Avatar

0 repins 0 comments

Angel investing is a win-win option for both investors and startups that seek and utilize these funds. Investors can choose to invest smaller shots of capital, select their portfolio, be patient with their investments, obtain massive tax benefits in the UK, leverage their personal expertise to add value to the companies they are investing in and participate in innovation hubs with the handholding of experts like HR Tech Partnership. Startups also get access to patient capital and add to their intellectual capital before they graduate into bigger leagues. However, Angel investing has its own share of risks and disadvantages. Optimizing Risk V/s Return Each investor has his own risk appetite. This appetite, in conjunction with the risk versus return equation, determines an investor’s portfolio or investment spread. However, angel investing is a relatively new and unexplored option. There is a limited depth of data and performance track record for angel investments. So it is difficult to derive a risk-return optimization model for angel investing or predict outcomes with a certain degree of accuracy or assign a risk premium. On the other hand, surveys of prospective angel investors point to the fact that ‘expected returns on their investments are very important for them and a crucial component for their decision making. 4% of the survey population designated this factor as unimportant, which points to its criticality. Along with the rate of return or premium of a certain investment, the speed at which the return happens and the liquidity potential of the investment at any moment in time are also important factors. A quick return and available liquidity options attract investors to an opportunity. But angel investments, by their very nature equal to patient capital. Angels are aligned to the long-term vision of a company and stick with their investments. Market surveys tell us that 70% of angels stay invested for up to 7 years, with 57% for up to 5 years. So angels, most likely, look for midterm exits or liquidity options. This can pose a challenge in the case of angel investments. Investments are focused to achieve maximum returns on exits Investments in general, and early-stage investments in particular, by their very nature, are exit focused. This is because investors achieve maximum returns during bumper exits. It offers both investors and entrepreneurs an opportunity to be happy and satisfied with their performance besides quantum cash gains. Secondary markets offer a good way to offload one’s investments and look for potential buyers without waiting for a big exit event like IPO or sale of business or similar. But, for angel investments which are unlisted, this is a challenge and quite difficult to achieve. This gives additional pressure to entrepreneurs who have to succumb to premature exits just to keep the investors motivated. The London based HR Tech Partnership is an investment venture in the People Tech space with most of its stakeholders being senior corporate directors. The company is an early stage investor and focuses on companies which leverage data and analytics to help organizations around Talent and Workplace productivity. It believes that advancements in the latest technology can be useful for disrupting conventional people practices and enhancing productivity. To know more about angel investing and learn how one can manage the disadvantages better visit http://www.hrtechpartnership.com

Thumb

Avatar

0 repins 0 comments