SIMON HULME

Business Angel. Programme Director, MSc Entrepreneurship at UCL School of Management. Author. Mentor. NED.

SIMON HULME

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Simon is an accomplished business angel, management consultant, professional mentor and non-executive director

He has a highly successful track record in business, and now devotes his time to lecturing, raising funding for SME’s and delivering management consultancy. Funding comes from his own personal resources as well as a wider group of business angels.

Simon is a Senior Teaching Fellow and Programme Director of the MSc Entrepreneurship programme at the UCL School of Management.

Background

Simon Hulme is a serial entrepreneur having built up and sold two significant businesses in the past 25 years. His entrepreneurial history has been written about in Dr Rob Yeung’s book 'The Extra One Per Cent: How small changes make exceptional people’.

At the age of 24 he started his first business, Frame Express, a chain of fast picture framing shops and built this to 16 outlets. In 1989 he sold it to a public company, The Oliver Group Plc.

Simon then started Card Connection in 1992, a greeting card publisher distributing through over 100 franchisees in the UK and Ireland. The business was widely regarded as one of the best-run franchises in the UK, and was in the Top 10 publishers in the greeting card industry. The business was sold to UK Greetings (the British subsidiary of American Greetings Inc) in March 2008.

Since selling Card Connection, Simon has invested in around 40 businesses. He was also a mentor on the highly acclaimed Goldman Sachs 10,000 Small Businesses programme for 3.5 years.

Simon has recently written a book, Entrepreneurial Finance, specifically to help early stage entrepreneurs understand the financial statements and the process of fundraising.

About Simon

Book

Financial literacy is one of the fundamental keys to business success, and this ground-breaking textbook teaches students the necessary financial skills required by entrepreneurs.

Presenting an abundance of case studies and examples throughout, the book uses a step-by-step approach which will develop the reader's knowledge of the three key financial statements: profit & loss, balance sheet and cash flow. It explains the various considerations for raising capital: the requirements of banks, business angels, crowdfunding platforms, and venture capitalists, along with details and pitfalls of term sheets. Finally, it suggests ways of using accounting data to create a financially intelligent business and achieve business success. The authors impressive background as successful entrepreneurs and business angels underscores the highly practical and useful coverage offered, whilst Simon Hulme s teaching experience tailors it to fit student needs perfectly.

Entrepreneurial Finance is a refreshingly easy-to-grasp introduction, especially suitable for those who find this topic daunting. Visually appealing and engagingly written, this book, together with its range of bespoke digital resources, succeeds in breaking down complex concepts and communicating them with clarity. The ideal resource for university students taking entrepreneurship and business courses, it will also be valuable for entrepreneurs who wish to scale their business, as well as managers seeking to consolidate their understanding of entrepreneurial finance.

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"A positive attitude causes a chain reaction of positive thoughts, events and outcomes. It is a catalyst and it sparks extraordinary results"

-- WADE BOGGS --

"You win some and lose some. It's part of the game. You have to take it in a very positive way."

-- P.V.Sindhu --

"Virtually nothing is impossible in this world if you just put your mind to it and maintain a positive attitude"

-- LOU HOLTZ --

"A strong positive mental attitude will create more miracles than any wonder drug."

-- PATRICIA NEAL --

Angel Investments

Some other Angel Networks

Looking for angel investment?
Simon Hulme only co-invests alongside other experienced business angels. This has the added advantage of not only access to more funds, but also greater expertise.

Simon is one of the most active members of the Surrey Investors Club whose members have invested in numerous businesses over the past decade. The Surrey Investors Club also works closely with the Angels 5K Network and other angel networks throughout London and South East.

So if you are looking for funding, get in touch. Simon can either help personally or put you in touch with someone else with experience in your sector. There are not usually any sector limitations, however, Simon does not invest in medical products or devices (but other angels in the networks mentioned do, of course).

London, South, and South East, and are the primary geographical areas of interest.
Some helpful hints before getting in touch ➞
- Business angels expect to see a properly constituted plan. They will not respond to just an idea/concept. If emailing Simon please send an Executive Summary initially.
- It is hard to get angel funding if you are not at or beyond ‘proof of concept’ stage. Before this stage you are best to try and get funding from friends, family, or banks.
- Your past track record and that of any team is extremely important.
- You must have put in money yourself and be prepared to put in more in the future, even if it is in small amounts.
- Although there are no limitations to sectors of interest, inevitably it is biased towards growth markets. It is hard to attract angel funding in a market that is static or in decline.
- UK based business angels are unlikely to be interested in overseas angel investments. This is because the special tax incentives given by HMRC will not apply (such as the EIS and SEIS Schemes). In addition, there will be other risks relating to currency, culture, local legislation etc., which will be hard to quantify, and consequently make overseas investments considerably less attractive.
- For a fuller explanation of the above, and details of other sources of funding, please see Simon's book

A group of private investors based in the South of England. Focusing on high growth business opportunities, 5k have invested over £4 million to date in dozens of companies throughout the UK.

Providing tailored funding solutions and support for ambitious and innovative small and medium enterprises (SMEs), helping them achieve their maximum potential.

Facilitating opportunities for members to invest in (S)EIS registered early stage businesses launched by entrepreneurs who graduated from or are connected with the Henley Business School and University of Reading.

SIC is a group of business angels who work together to share knowledge and resources to help other entrepreneurs.

UKBAA is the national trade association for angel and early-stage investment.

Connecting entrepreneurs and companies with highly active potential investors, who frequently provide commercial experience and contacts, in addition to vital capital.

A selection of Simon's active investments

"I think of entrepreneurship as a way of creating value."

-- MARTINE SYMS --

"Innovation is the specific instrument of entrepreneurship. The act that endows resources with a new capacity to create wealth"

-- PETER DRUCKER --

"What is great about entrepreneurship is that entrepreneurs create the tangible from the intangible"

-- ROBERT HERJAVEC --

Educational speaking

Simon is Programme Director of MSc Entrepreneurship at UCL School of Management, based at Canary Wharf. He also is a Senior Teaching Fellow and lectures in Entrepreneurial Finance.

Simon is a regular speaker / lecturer on business topics, and has spoken at various events at UCL, Kingston University, Surrey University, Westminster University, Brunel University, Academy of National Economy (Moscow), and at various business angel events. Topics have included: