An investor explains how consumer brands can raise money

Roger Wade started his entrepreneurial journey from a stall in Greenwich Market. He launched streetwear brand Boxfresh, which went on to be a household name. But it all started out of frustration.

“I came out of university and got the sack from my first three jobs in advertising. I thought ‘wow, I can either employ myself or I’ll be unemployable’.”

Roger eventually sold Boxfresh and spent 35 years working with consumer brands before becoming an investor.

We spoke to him about what makes a great consumer brand and what investors look for.

The three-part thesis for building consumer brands

Roger now makes investments in startups through BoxFund, which aims to back brands with purpose.

He explains that the firm focuses on “great ideas, not spreadsheets”.

“We’re a firm of entrepreneurs. We’re much more product, team and marketing focused.”

He’s distilled the lessons from his entrepreneurial journey into a thesis on how to create successful consumer brands:

1. Product: If you don’t have a great product you won't exist.

2. Traffic: You can have the best product, but what is your customer acquisition strategy?

3. Team: To convert that into sales.

BoxFund uses this framework to help decide what brands to invest in. The collection of angel investors put between £250k and £1m into post-revenue businesses.

“We wouldn’t look at anything that's less than £100k in turnover. Usually, it’s £100-£1m in turnover.”

How to approach seed investors

Raising investment is a sales process, which starts with identifying and approaching investors that are a good fit for your business.

Roger stresses the importance of sending personalised messages, adding consumer brands should send samples if possible.

“Don’t adopt a spray and pray attitude. What works for me is a really personalised message. One company recently sent me a handwritten letter.”

Backing a plastic-free chewing gum brand

BoxFund invested in Nuud Gum earlier this year. The start-up sells plant-based, plastic-free, biodegradable chewing gum.

Roger says the brand met BoxFund's criteria because it helps people and the planet.

“We really liked the team. Loads of VCs turned it down. We looked at it from a different angle. We liked the product and what it was trying to do.”

The investment led to them adding Justin King, ex-CEO of Sainsbury’s, to their advisory board, says Roger.

“We felt that what we needed to do was bring things back to basics and focus on major retailers.”

The brand has listings in Waitrose, Co-op and Ocado.

Being positive about the UK

Roger encourages young, small businesses, believing they are the lifeblood of the UK’s economy.

“You’re hearing a lot about the state of the UK economy. Yes, it’s not in good shape but the UK will bounce back and we need entrepreneurs to be at the forefront of that.

“I’ve seen cycles like this before. It’s normally the bigger businesses that fall to one side. That leaves a vacuum for smaller, more nimble businesses – look at this as an opportunity.”

Related resources about raising investment

These articles will help you learn more about raising investment for your start-up:

• How to secure funding for your dream business (Enterprise Nation article)

• Overcome funding challenges to secure investment for your start-up (Enterprise Nation article)

• How to secure angel investment: Valuing your start-up for angel investors (Enterprise Nation article)