Enabling success: Challenges and successes of raising capital

Challenges and successes of raising capital with Duncan Kerr, CEO of Aeristech 

---

Welcome to the fourth episode of our latest podcast series: Enabling Success for Founders and Entrepreneurial Businesses. 

In this episode we speak with Duncan Kerr, CEO of Aeristech. Aeristech were one of our first clients and Duncan has had such an interesting journey to success from being a venture capital investor in Aeristech to becoming their CEO. Of course he was at the top of the list of people we wanted to interview. 

We talk about Aeristech’s requirements for business funding which allowed them to achieve their exponential growth and the various challenges and successes Aeristech have experienced raising capital over the years. Duncan also shares some of his tip tops on how to make your business look attractive to potential investors and achieve that much needed cash injection.

You can listen on various streaming platforms, such as Apple Podcasts, Spotify and Amazon Music here or alternatively you can watch on YouTube below.  

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Wctm2dt_VhY

We've raised a total 17.7 million. 15.7 million of equity and 2 million of debt... We’ve been through seven/eight rounds of investment from various sources. Business angels, crowdfunding platforms, venture capital funds... Top tip - Don't tie your business to a single source of capital. Don't give exclusivity to anybody. Nobody knows all of the investors in the world. Keep yourself open to all different routes to investment.

---

About the author 

Duncan was awarded a Ph.D. in Theoretical Physics from the University of Cambridge after completing his undergraduate studies in South Africa. He then went on to manage Midven’s early stage £10m fund for 6 years and has previously co-managed a £30m VC technology portfolio for a FTSE 350 company. 

Duncan has been active on the board since making the first VC investment in Aeristech in 2010 and later went on to take up a full-time capacity as CEO.