But if launching has become more accessible, raising capital remains stubbornly complex.

A new era of startups, a fragmented investment landscape

In 2023, more than 850,000 companies were incorporated in the UK – a record. The barriers to becoming a ‘startup’ have all but disappeared. Yet the explosion in new businesses has created a new kind of problem: a noisy, fragmented, and increasingly opaque fundraising ecosystem.

Historically, founders accessed capital through a more linear journey – via appointed brokers, angel networks or VCs with clearly defined pathways. Today, it’s different. The market is a patchwork of options: crowdfunding platforms, introducers, syndicates, accelerators, institutional brokers, and more. There’s little structure and even less visibility.

Add to that an increasingly volatile macro environment – from the long tail of COVID disruptions, to rising interest rates, to trade wars and tariff shocks like Trump’s latest policy that suggests globalisation is no longer the flavour of the month – and the challenge multiplies. Investors are adjusting their positions faster than ever. One month they’re active, the next they’re risk-off.

Fundraising in this context isn’t just about who you know – it’s about what they care about this month. And that makes fundraising services more important than ever.

What I’ve learned from both sides of the table

My journey spans the full spectrum – from investment banking to building and funding startups. I’ve raised over £2 million for CROSSIP, the non-alcoholic drinks brand I co-founded, and I’ve led 14 investments through Sowing Capital, the angel syndicate I co-run.

That dual perspective has shown me something important: the real cost of fundraising isn’t always financial – it’s strategic.

Founders waste months speaking to the wrong investors through the wrong channels, often because they’re relying on services that promise ‘introductions’ but lack strategic depth. These services rarely help you craft the right story for the right audience. They often operate in silos, disconnected from your business goals, traction data or investor readiness.

What they deliver in introductions, they lack in insight. And in a fast-moving, volatile investor landscape, that’s a critical gap.

Why investor behaviour is changing – and fast

If the last few years have taught us anything, it's that investor appetite can shift overnight. Angels and even early-stage VCs are now far more reactive to global events – from public market sentiment to geopolitical shocks.

Many early-stage investors have moved to part-time participation. They’re in when the mood is optimistic and out when the market tightens. They're also applying more selective criteria: sectors with durable demand, cleaner cap tables, faster traction, stronger defensibility.

This volatility makes fundraising harder – but it also makes good fundraising services more valuable. These services offer pattern recognition across multiple deals and investors. They know which introductions are ‘warm’ this month and which investors have gone cold. In essence, they bring founders a much-needed real-time map of an otherwise chaotic terrain.

The fundraising partner, reimagined

The term ‘fundraising service’ covers a broad range – from platforms and agents to syndicates and accelerators. But in today’s market, services can’t just act as passive gatekeepers. Founders don’t need introductions. They need navigation. They need:

• Contextualised investor matching – based on sector, stage, and traction
• Clarity on pricing, deliverables, and outcomes
• Insight into shifting investor behaviour and capital availability

In other words, they need partners who act as co-pilots – not just conduits to capital.

Because the capital landscape isn’t static. It’s fluid, reactive, and increasingly selective. And startups that rely on outdated investor lists or cold outreach are flying blind.

At ThatRound, we’ve taken a different approach. We believe the startup ecosystem doesn’t need more services – it needs more structure. We’ve built a platform that aggregates and ranks fundraising services so that founders can compare them, understand their value, and make informed decisions. Think of it as the ‘Rightmove for startup funding’ – bringing order, trust, and efficiency to a market that’s long lacked it.

Founders can filter by investment stage, sector focus, service type, and pricing model. They can view verified feedback, standardised terms, and track the performance of partners across campaigns. It’s a more open and accountable way to build investor relationships – and it saves founders months of wasted time.

AI and digital tools have dramatically lowered the barriers to starting up. But they’ve also flooded the market with startups – many legitimate but many of them noise. Investors are overwhelmed and more risk-averse, while new geopolitical events continue to shake the system.

Over the next 12-24 months, we’ll see the gap widen between those who treat fundraising as an operational task and those who treat it as a core business function. The latter will seek out data, demand transparency, and choose their partners carefully.

And they’ll raise better rounds, faster.

Fundraising is no longer about knowing the right people – it’s about using the right systems. And in a disjointed market where capital is cautious and competition is fierce, that shift matters more than ever.

Because when you choose the right partners, you don’t just raise capital. You raise the bar for your entire business.