After a lifetime working as a project manager for some of the world’s largest tech companies, Jeb Buckler set up Startup Giants PLC to ensure that no good tech concepts should go to waste. Leaning on his experience in forming teams of experts, he refined the selection process for pre-seed founders, previously seen as a risky area of investment and turned it into a bed of opportunity for both founders and investors with fully assisted fundraising whatever stage of the journey the founder is at. 

He speaks to Just Entrepreneurs and shares his journey …

How do you prepare for all the unknown obstacles when running your business?

I expect the unknown. I think after all this time, I’ve been in the industry for 37 years now, so I know that something will always shift at some point. Whether it’s a glitch in the technology that let’s you down to a key team member moving on, to lockdowns and recessions, there’s always going to be curveballs. That’s business and the sooner you can find a buzz from a challenge, the less stressed and more clear minded you’ll be to deal with it. I actually love the challenge that a crisis presents because it also provides a gap and opportunity for something fresh. As the leader of the business I think it’s important to expect change and adapt quickly.

What are your thoughts on failure?

Some people say ‘failure is not an option’ - now perhaps in some industries it is, however in the tech world, especially when adapting and building new ideas from scratch, you need to fail many times to know the right way forward. You need to fail to thoroughly strength test a product. Two points to sum up my feelings on failure are: 1. You need to learn all you can from failure. 2. Fail fast. If you know something is going wrong, fix it. Fail fast, hold your hands up, admit it, sort out the source and get on with it, don’t let it ruin your business.

As a business owner, do you know when to walk away from a sale?

Absolutely. It might be that a Founder displays a lack of tenacity when problem solving, or it might be that when we do our due diligence with an investor, we’re not happy with their money source or their values don’t match ours. You have to think long term with any kind of sale and hold fast for what’s best for your business. There are enough people in the world for you to create opportunities you just have find a way to get in front of them.

Thinking about the future, do you have any strategic partnerships or upgrades in the pipeline?

Yes, we’re teaming up with venture builders across the world, in each continent, to release our platform, currently in beta, to enable professional investors to have access to constant qualified deal-flow for pre-seed tech concepts. After a number of our Founders have won major awards in their industries for their concepts that we’ve pioneered into the world, we know we’ve got the secret sauce for choosing great Founders and ideas that need investment to come to life. 

Why do you think your business has had such a positive impact across your industry?

In terms of diversity, the more people we can include from countries outside of our own, the more diverse and fresh any ideas will be to problem solving within the UK. I’m proud of our award winning Founders who have created a force for good with their concepts in our country. To see their confidence grow as they overcome all the pressures and challenges that a business gives, is heartwarming and makes our part of the journey worthwhile. 

What was the journey like when you decided to raise funding for your startup? And what tips would you give to early-stage founders getting ready to take the same path?

Excruciatingly hard and much longer than we’d anticipated. There’s no quick route to investment without support so be prepared to knuckle down and try absolutely every route there is - grant, loans, investments - to get your business off the ground. 

What are your top tips for entrepreneurs wanting to get their business out there?

Tip one: Be very self aware - most of our founders are either subject matter experts or they’re brilliant entrepreneurs who know really good subject matter experts. It’s rare to get both at once. So being self aware is incredibly important to know what your strengths are to capitalise on, and know what your weaknesses will be to engage in further training or delegation to another expert if needed. 

Tip two: Be clear, confident and able to sum up your business in a sentence, then develop it into a one minute explanation. 

Tip three: Really listen to what investor’s want. Do your research before you meet each potential one and then when you’re with them don’t give them the same old sales spiel, really listen and meet their exact needs. You can send them the full pack of details later on. It’s a rookie error to just start talking at them without stopping. Write your pitch deck to solve a problem you anticipate they’re having and tell them the story of how your product or service can solve it.

What’s the most important question entrepreneurs should be asking themselves?

What’s your kicker? Ask yourself that and answer it in the most all-round, complete way. A kicker to us at Startup Giants is how your idea pulls the following into one incredible offering: 

- Plenty of tech ideas have been done before so what’s unique about yours?
- What is built into your product design and marketing plan to help it seed and grow quickly?
- What elements in design and IP have you got in place to ensure that a competitor can’t just adapt your idea into their offering for their audience?

Nail these elements of a kicker and your idea will be set apart from the rest.

What advice would you give to early-stage founders wanting to harness the power of technology to create a positive impact?

Really ensure that you’re developing sustainable ideas that where possible are fully circular. The last thing you want your startup to be accused of, is greenwashing, so make sure that you’ve researched fully and can stand up to tough questioning on stage 1, stage 2 and stage 3 elements of sustainability within your business.

What’s your best advice for early-stage tech founders getting ready to launch their MVP?

Make sure that if it’s a tech concept, that you’ve built in scalability. Whether this is by having a freemium business model like so many other successful companies out there, or whether it’s a social media marketing drive, it must be scalable to show potential investors that it’s got the capacity for growth because people want it and are prepared to pay for it. Also, don’t wait until your MVP is perfect - that will never happen! Get is as good as you can, then ask for feedback - that feedback from people is gold to pushing forwards and creating a product that people want.

What routines have you got in place to ensure that you don’t ignore your mental health?

I prioritise self care as a CEO. If I’m healthy and well rested, the business can be healthy and inspired. Two years ago I made the conscious decision not to take any meetings on Friday’s. My diary is completely unbookable that day. This has been amazing for me as it gives me time to think about the week and what issues have surfaced that need to be solved or innovated upon. If I want to, I work, if I want to take a walk, I do so. It gives my brain time to unwind and be creative

What would be your top three tips to fellow entrepreneurs to look after their mental health?

Find out what brings your mind peace and do it. Whether it’s wakeboarding, hiking, cooking or relaxing with friends and family, make time for it and really be in the moment when you do so.

Switch stress to focus. Instead of saying ‘I’m so stressed right now’, say: ‘I’m focusing on finding a solution to an issue right now’. It’s a much more positive inner rhetoric as it’s forward thinking in a positive manner.

Learn what to focus on and what not to stress about. As a business owner things can go wrong each day of the week at any time, if you’re SaaS based, 24/7. So set systems in place, have a good team around you to delegate specific jobs to and place your focus as the leader on the strongest most important ones as they come in. Having a mentor you can trust who is separate to the business and your investors, to talk through decisions to get to this point, is essential so you don’t feel alone in the process. 

How have you seen the need for richer analytics and data evolve over the years? 

We’ve seen the need for data evolve over the years in the same pace as businesses are realising that it’s all about psychology and meeting their customer’s needs. What is often missed, I think, is actually how you read the data. You can’t just set KPIs for setting KPI’s sake. You need to analyse it, question it and push back. Regroup and retry your tactics. Companies have so much data they don’t know where to look or start with it all. It needs someone in house, Chief Information Officer to be on top of deciphering it all and reporting it back to management in a set of actionable steps towards a common goal. That could take a whole article in itself!