Robbie Crabtree

Storyteller in tech. Previously did it as a trial lawyer with 102 jury trials. 

Co-Founder

Executive Chair - PatientSource Ltd l Founder - AngelThink l Startup Adviser/Mentor/Coach l Author - 'AngelThink' l Tech Angel.

Most founders can’t raise. Most founders can’t scale. Most founders fail. One in a hundred get to exit. Facts. Don’t be like most founders. 

You have to ask yourself – have you got ‘being exceptional’ in you? 

Only 4% of US companies surpass $1m annual revenue. A founder / founding team that scales successfully has cracked the connection between idea / solution, market, personal strengths and ability to execute. In my experience, founders concentrate too much on idea or product features and neglect scaling processes and their own self-development. Why is that? Too busy? Because it’s uncomfortable? Because they’re not as hungry as they need to be?  

I work closely with a handful of founders on their growth journey – the ones that really want to become exceptional. Support, challenge, provocation, learning. Whatever it takes to move you forward. 
My exact role is negotiable – but will almost always include goal clarity / growth aspirations, finding your strengths and accountability partnering. 

For startup success, I believe there is: 

-  no more crucial founder attribute than your determination
-  no finer obsession than giving value to customers
-  no other commitment more critical than your relentlessness
-  no more important aspiration than looking like a winner
-  no better image to have clear in your head than your vision
-  no mission more important than what you want to happen in the world
-  no more effective endeavour to follow than building an exceptional team
-  no greater use of time every day than building momentum


I've over 17 years of working with companies that put scaling first. 
Feel free to DM me. Opt in only if this is what you really want. Don't be like most founders.

OK - book plug. AngelThink was just the start - helping fundraising founders see the world through an investor's eyes. Highly acclaimed.  Read the reviews!

Paperback here: https://www.browndogbooks.uk/products/angelthink-phil-mcsweeney. 
Kindle here: https://www.amazon.co.uk/AngelThink-founders-guide-business-angels/dp/1839525371/ref=sr_1_1?crid=DANXPMUS0KAQ&keywords=angelthink&qid=1665354662&sprefix=%2Caps%2C52&sr=8-1
Also on Amazon.com and Amazon.In

Known to invest - tell me why you're exceptional.

Phil McSweeney

Some say a great way to help get over failure is to think how far you've come. 
I've only been made redundant once. I was a corporate level Director, top of my game. I was every emotion all at once - angry, depressed, betrayed, all of it.

I sat at home a few months, bruised. Wretched on a bad day. 

But I had assets I didn't know I had. A strong family. Good friends. Connections. Someone led me into contractor work. It was like panning for gold for a few years. 

Meanwhile, I started to properly use my executive coaching skills with founders I met at angel groups.

I discovered positive psychology - explored the importance of happiness and strength-building. CoachPositive Ltd was born. 

I tried writing novels. Getting published was hard - but I developed a love of storytelling, and connected that with my coaching / mentoring work. Such a key skill for founders.

I'd been angel-investing for over 10 years when lockdown arrived. Lots of meetings were off, so I wrote AngelThink to capture a lot of insights into what fundraising founders were getting wrong (and still are). 

I could have quit. Could have retired. Hard to do when you love what you're doing and you're sure you can still make a difference. Onward and upward.

(picture shows my wife and I at our 40th wedding anniversary party with close friends 2 years ago).

I make startups GROW! Growth Mentor/Coach /Advisory /Tech Angel. Creating exceptional companies with exceptional founders.

That feeling you get when you come out of a panel discussion about startups and no-one has mentioned founder investability.

I’ve spoken to innumerable VCs and they all say much the same – they might love the idea and everything about it – but 60% or even 80% of their decision is made on the founder.

The panel talks about the usual stuff – validation, traction, go to market, etc. and the tech, and the features and product-market fit etc. The audience are being given the tablets. 
 
But no-one, I repeat no-one, acknowledges in public that if you want to build a rocket you have to have an astronaut. 

The panel has a VC member on it. It has someone who runs an angel group. 
Founders are not being helped by blinkered perspectives of what’s needed for success in fundraising – that investors are backing a person who has assembled a team they can’t afford with the promise of some future gain and they need to trust that he or she can execute on the promise. The founder needs to compel!

It’s not rocket science, is it. Of course, the pain / problem / solution / financial projections etc. matter, but someone has to show the absolute relentlessness to build it. That’s the biggest risk that investors are underwriting. That's what will drive ROI. 

Let’s tell the truth about what these decisions actually involve and help founders get better prepared to show their edge.

Let's stop pretending this entrepreneurship thing is a mystery.
I don’t do spells and magic formulas and (big reveal) - a playbook.
After decades of watching entrepreneurs succeed and fail, the ‘formula’ to entrepreneurship isn't a secret.

It's getting seven things right - consistently. 

Most founders can deliver on three or four. Only the rare ones can get all seven to collide, i.e. not quite so rarely as a planetary parade (visible this month apparently) but pretty rare.

Read on - find out which of the seven you need to get right. 

And do share the 'secrets' with other founders by reposting.

Thanks. 

(How well did you do?)

PLEASE can we stop pretending this entrepreneurship thing is a secret. I don’t do spells and magic formulas and (big reveal) - a playbook. After decad

Open article: The seven not-so-secret secrets about entrepreneurship. by Phil McSweeney • 3 min read

The seven not-so-secret secrets about entrepreneurship.

The founders always get the blame. 
“Sorry, you’re uninvestable.” 
And you think it’s your fault.

Many founders aren’t investable - for a host of reasons. No traction, no PMF, no GTM, no financial projections that stack up. 

But I’m not dwelling on that here. 

It’s the startup system – the ‘startupland’ circus - that often tells all these founders to start a company and misleads them into what ‘investable’ means. Investable means that you, emphasis on YOU, are going to deliver ROI. It means you know what that means for investors and, more importantly, for yourself. You can convince them you know how.

Some reasons for failing lie squarely with founders - like building a product no one wants, like kidding yourself that you should build it because that’s what your ego wants, like not knowing what to do with the funds even if you got them. 

But we don’t talk about the double standards - when the system says you need to present like ‘this’ but actually what it’s looking for is ‘that’. 

‘This’ means polished pitchdecks and knowing your financials. Essentially the universal entry ticket that doesn’t make you investable at all. 

‘That’ means knowing what compels investors to take a more detailed look at you - telling a compelling story, creating trust, having the right mindset, behaving like a winner (showing winning attributes like unshakable self-belief, courage, grit, and passion). Finding your edge.

The system invariably fails to set out for you what an exceptional entrepreneur needs to exhibit. It invariably misleads. 

So don’t go believing it’s all your fault. You’re being set a test that no-one tells you what the right answer is. And many people don’t even know what it is either - it’s just easier to label you. 

My advice? Grab yourself a coffee and dip into AngelThink.

If you're fundraising, this is such a great post. 
A reminder that it's more about the signals you send than the content of your slides. 

Founders, you need to get very clear about what investors are looking for, and it isn't always what you think. 

As Jonas Anker says, investors are not buying certainty at seed stage. 
They're buying judgement, clarity and signal. 

You're tempted to over perform when you should be: 
👉 focusing on why you're the right person to deliver this opportunity 
👉 proving out what you're proposing not planning exits 
👉 explaining why you've chosen that investor as the ideal partner. 

This post gets my #postoftheday accolade.

Seed-stage founders are losing funding over avoidable pitch mistakes investors see every week.

Most founders think they are increasing their chances by doing more, showing more, projecting more. In reality, many of these moves quietly reduce investor confidence before the real conversation even begins.

At seed stage, investors are not buying certainty. They are buying judgment, clarity, and signal. The fastest way to lose them is to perform instead of communicate.

Funding conversations are less about impressing and more about trust. The moment complexity replaces clarity, interest drops.

The takeaway: early-stage fundraising is not about proving the future. It is about proving you.

In practice:
• Bring only one founder to the call so real connection can happen
• Keep your personal story under 3 minutes and focus on the three defining moments that led here
• Do not discuss exit strategy, seed is about testing hypotheses with limited capital
• Leave long-term financial projections behind, no one can predict 2028 or model 2030 revenue with certainty
• When asked about timing, say: “We have been fortunate to receive a lot of interest but we want to work with the right partner.”

Which of these mistakes do you think founders make most often?

—-----
Let’s connect and exchange ideas.

Follow Jonas Anker to get more information

#Startups #Venture #Fundraising #Pitching #Leadership

I am a performance coach for founders. 
This is going to sound a little weird. Comfort zones. 
Comfort zones are a Brain Tax (a constant drag on performance). 

At this stage in our evolution a lot of people are searching for happiness. Our survival is assured (we think!) and happiness is the next higher order. Maslow simplified.

Many of us conflate happiness with hedonism – surrounding ourselves with all the creature comforts – and this self-absorption has the opposite effect. 

It makes us unhappy because we fall into the trap of comparison with others.
 
Roosevelt called comparison the thief of joy. It can cause envy and insecurity.

CS Lewis blames pride as the chief cause of misery in every nation and every family. 

Laura Gassner Otting argues comparison is not the root of all evil, but rather “the root of mediocrity”, since it leads to mimicking the middle, rather than fostering individuality. 

We have to find ways to stop - our only competition is with ourselves - doing better than yesterday. 

There’s a beautiful Zen saying I'll share – 
“A flower does not think of competing with the flower next to it. It just blooms.”

Comparison is a Brain Tax. It wastes our often-limited energy.

Burn your bridges! 
No! Don’t burn your bridges! 
Just another slice of 
conflicting advice I get from ‘gurus’ and the like on LinkedIn.

Here’s the ‘Burn your bridges’ argument:

Many investors say they want to see founders go ‘all in’, i.e. stop trying to keep a foot in both camps (or 3 or 4 or 5 etc.). Show some dedication and focus on a chosen path - the startup you want their investment to build. 

Sometimes people call that the 'no plan B' approach and I buy that. Relentless focus, relentless execution, is going to give you the best chance of getting anywhere. 

OK – here’s a contrary view. 
I mentor people that want to become Board advisers and mentors. Some want to get there fast and some are happy with slow. 

Most Board advisory work comes from who you know. Someone who can say 'Yes' or someone who can put you in touch with someone else who can. 

Most of it is never advertised. 

Most people don’t fully assess the ‘worth’ of the network they have. They risk losing the richness of that, built over time, just for the sake of a ‘Hello, how’s things?’ every few months. 

I’m always telling people to think about the people they’ve already met who could be of value, and try rekindling that. 

Your network is like a human bank account. Always worth being in credit.

I have a dilemma. 
I’ve been sent a pitchdeck. TBH I think it’s, well... 
dire. 

I said I wasn’t looking for investment but it was in a sector I’m interested in so I’d take a look. 

There’s a bit of gentle FOMO too – 30% of the round has gone already.
 
There’s so much needs putting right. So much I haven’t got a clue on – even who the customer is, who will pay, how, what and why? 

Validation absent.

The TAM is the size of Saturn and I can’t see most of the constituents being interested at all. 

The language is too complex.

I’ve not been asked for feedback (yet) and part of me prays I don’t get asked, and yet part of me says I should give it regardless.

Should I find the time? Should I risk an unwelcome reply?

What would you do?

We all hear voices. All the time. 
Constant chatter in our heads.
“Are you sure you want to do that?”
“It’d be safer if you just stayed in your job.”
“You’re not really cut out for that, are you?”

Every #exceptionalentrepreneur I know admits to it.

Sometimes these inner monologues are helpful – organising our thoughts, rehearsing our speeches with us, urging us on – but for some they act as a brake on our ambitions.

They’re how we hear self-doubt, imposter syndrome, our fixed mindset. 
They are the soothing balm to our comfort zone. 

We listen most to ourselves when we are telling ourselves we can or we can’t. We carry more weight than anyone else’s voice. One of Henry Ford’s well-known maxims is ‘Whether you think you can or you think you can’t – you’re right.’ It so succinctly captures your mindset. 

If we believe we can, we will more likely persist through challenges and find solutions. If we believe we can’t, we’ve already surrendered to the voices. We’ve made a negative outcome a certainty. 

Perhaps you didn’t realise your mindset has its own voice? Our demons, the monkey on our back, the millstone we carry – or our spirit, or wingman or Tinkerbell. 

If you’re going to succeed in life you need to have control of these voices. Maybe you need to shut them out, tell them to stop, they’re not helpful. Maybe you need to listen at times too – they are your instinct or gut talking to you. 

You know what it’s helpful to listen to and what not to. Just remember, you’re in control.

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The Battle

Robbie Crabtree

Phil McSweeney

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The Battle

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Phil McSweeney

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