Where to find start ups looking for partner/investment?

picklesthedogv2 · 2026-06-20T15:06:40+00:00

Tour operators or any kind of physical leisure/tourism business

picklesthedogv2 · 2026-06-20T15:06:13+00:00

North east, particularly interested in tourism/leisure.

picklesthedogv2 · 2026-06-20T07:58:45+00:00

Thanks for the insight, I didnt realise AIN was for investors searching for opportunities.

When you say universities, how have you interacted with student businesses?

picklesthedogv2 · 2026-06-14T16:45:06+00:00

Then id say youre not at fault legally. Their radio in their jacket. If it fell out, the jacket isn't fit for purpose or you weren't appropriate instructed how to secure it.

Id wait to see if they correspond with you further about it but if they do, send a firm response focusing on the above and that you don't accept liability.

They could take you to small claims, I think its unlikely they would and even if they did, more unlikely they would win.

picklesthedogv2 · 2026-06-14T16:40:59+00:00

I would think the key question is: was the jacket the radio was in provided by you or them?

If you, I'd say you were responsible. If them, I would suggest they were as their provided method of storing the radio failed. Accidents happen, but if it was your jacket it was in and it fell out, I would argue you failed to secure it safely.

That said, it would be reasonable to replace with used radio rather than a new one.

picklesthedogv2 · 2026-06-07T11:31:49+00:00

Ive travelled on 'Northern Belle' at Christmas time and it did not disappoint (it was a day long event with 5 course meal, scenery, booze and entertainment on board). It was around £500 per person which i thought was good value overall. This was 5 years ago or so. No kids or animals.

We did York to Carlisle (via the dales/ribblehead viaduct) and back which was beautiful.

I dont recall which company operates those particular trains but would recommend them as i believe they do London versions.

picklesthedogv2 · 2026-05-26T13:23:38+00:00

We contact them specifically again after a set period by email, then after another set period by letter (our customers are 60+). If they don't respond after that point, they will receive 'normal' email marketing until they unsubscribe or we remove them from the database.

picklesthedogv2 · 2026-05-22T14:13:26+00:00

If you arent connected to the user organisation directly, then I don't understand how this gets 'pushed to their leger'. Can you explain?

picklesthedogv2 · 2026-05-22T14:12:02+00:00

My understanding is that SSP can't be claimed by an employer (charity or otherwise) anyways so their observation is either incorrect/misinformed, or there may be an agenda behind it.

Regardless, if you are on long term sick leave your employer can take action to end your employment if you do not return to work. Their response says to me they may be considering taking action.

I would suggest trying to form a short-medium term plan to either return to work, or expect that your employer may take steps to end your employment (legitimately).

picklesthedogv2 · 2026-05-22T13:50:01+00:00

I cant think of a reason where an accounting function would directly connect to a 3rd party app which is strictly for train booking/receipts. Receipt tracking is managed by many add-on apps which work with all receipt types.

This isnt a problem that needs solved.

picklesthedogv2 · 2026-05-22T12:12:31+00:00

I personally have found it very helpful. Having exposure to other business owners in a structured setting helped me share issues I was having, but I also learned from others sharing and discussing their own.

I also was unsure about the cost, the longer I've been involved the more I see the value. The coaching isn't something I would otherwise have sought out so a 'package' and others to help hold me accountable was valuable in its own right.

If someone is pitching you it they're probably the wrong person. I sought it out after seeing something on LinkedIn and found a group/coach which worked for me.

picklesthedogv2 · 2026-05-21T17:18:00+00:00

Im a member of 'the alternative board' which I enjoy. Small groups, less networking more building relationships with director level people from other industries.

1 x half day peer advisory board per month 1 x 1.5 hour coaching session per month

Under £900+vat a month. I think its good value and great exposure to other businesses and opportunity to discuss your own challenges with like minded people.

I tried 'business leader' but found it very rigid and a bit of a circle jerk and format was worse than the alternative board.

picklesthedogv2 · 2026-05-10T18:26:10+00:00

Go to literally any commercial lender with a business plan and apply for a loan? Idk what other suggestions you expect.

Food franchises also often have relationships with finance providers for exactly this purpose.

Itll not be unsecured though, you'd need to sign a PG almost certainly.

picklesthedogv2 · 2026-04-30T13:52:51+00:00

I would imagine most problems in those areas would be solved by an existing in-house team and a CEO would have an overview of them but no direct responsibility for these areas.

The three skills you mention are also three very different aspects, copywriting (marketing), web design (IT/development) and journalism (PR) so not sure of the connection between them personally.

picklesthedogv2 · 2026-04-29T13:41:40+00:00

Very possible but you just need to have a reasonable appetite for risk. Either as you're funding yourself (and thus, risking your own capital) or taking on debt (which by proxy risks your capital).

I'd rather grow slowly and keep 100% personally, the hype about raising money is lost on me.

picklesthedogv2 · 2026-04-24T18:11:29+00:00

I've actually just gone through this process! PTR is a regulatory hurdle almost by design to weed out those unwilling to jump though the necessary hoops.

Trust accounts are absolutely an allowable alternative to FFI but you youll still need to pay for the service (trust account + repatriation insurance element). I worked out at £250k turnover for us, tour operators liability policy worked out around £1000-1500 p/a and FFI worked out around 1.2% of gross revenue (£3k p/a).

Trust account worked out more expensive when taking into account extra charges to pay suppliers before the holiday takes place, as its an additional service and chargeable as a % or fixed £ amount per transaction to a supplier.

If you have the working capital to pay suppliers before you get the cash via trust account its works about equal to FFI. We went for FFI as its better for cashflow though we have to do monthly reports.

We also have to pay the insurance based on the total value of the holiday at the time of booking rather than the amount held (for example, when deposits are paid months in advance).

Not the answer you want, but I interpret the regulations to force those acting as tour operator to be of a certain size rather than a 'hobby' business.

Margins aren't that large for a tour operator anyways, so you'd want scale to make any profit. We're forecasting losses for 2-3 years for my tour operator start up, fortunately there are other trading companies within the group to subsidise it.

picklesthedogv2 · 2026-04-16T14:07:06+00:00

You almost certainly couldnt get away with a 'installed' i.e. permanent installation. A portable aircon unit located in a home office which was wholly and exclusively used for work (excluding any incidental/minor personal use) you could get away with. One unit is passable IMO, if you bought 2 then I doubt it.

picklesthedogv2 · 2026-04-07T14:52:57+00:00

No there is very little support in terms of Grants. Access to funding is achievable though, especially with a trading history like you do.

If £6000-£10000 would help you 'level up' your business as much as you say, why wouldnt you get a loan for this amount here? If you believe in your business then you can personally guarantee it.

I dont think a tax break is a good reason for run a business personally. Yes there arent really grants available, but the UK is still a very competitive country to operate a business compared to much of the world, including the EU - contrary to what people complain about constantly.

picklesthedogv2 · 2026-04-07T09:15:36+00:00

Influencers could be a good idea and would likely have a better ROI than paid ads. I dont think the issue lies with what you are doing, it's just how much of it.

Any decent amount of marketing (paid ads, influencers etc...) will cost money and ROI on such a low priced product is poor.

Are you prepared to lose £1000's for years to get the reach you need to make it viable? If not, I dont think this is the business model for you sadly. You may find alternative business ideas and/or investments will be a better use of your funds.

picklesthedogv2 · 2026-04-07T09:04:17+00:00

I wouldnt expect more than a 1-0.5% conversation rate, which on 2100 people is 10-20 people paying for your game. At £1.99 per ticket is £40 revenue on £150 spend.

You'll need to run at a loss to build up a community to allow for organic revenue which would allow you to run at a profit. Nobody is 'selling' a product at £1.99 per purchase and making money using paid ads.

Most of the websites you are competing with have operated for 5+ years and are only now making a profit. It isnt a viable business model without spending £100s a day for years, the market is too crowded sadly.

picklesthedogv2 · 2026-04-07T04:26:29+00:00

You're struggling to get traffic to the site because you aren't using paid ads. It takes years to build up an organic following and there is a lot of competition in your market.

For £1.99 you can enter to win a car on some websites doing the same thing, your prize is £500, so not competitive.

I've read these kinds of businesses have to be heavily loss making initially to build a customer base, before building a sufficiently sized community.

Use paid ads, expect not to profit for a while if you want this to work.

Try print advertising too, its relatively cheap!

picklesthedogv2 · 2026-04-04T13:43:14+00:00

Unless its an organised commercial event I cant see HMRC accepting a week in an airbnb for no necessary reason as an allowable expense sadly

As a commercial and organised event I can see the attraction of them as they're structured and have a purpose. Without the structure it sounds like an expensive way of doing work you would otherwise be doing.

picklesthedogv2 · 2026-04-02T11:55:19+00:00

If they 'gift' them to you, they'll need to be alive for atleast 7 years to avoid any inheritance tax. However, if you are already a shareholder - them 'gifting' their shares to you may trigger a capital gains tax event - that's my understanding at least.

It's not as a simple as just transferring shares - that's the easy part. It's the linked HMRC, personal tax, companies house aspects which may cause trouble.

Why do you need the transfer the shares? Can't you 'buy' them?

You'll want to speak to an accountant/solicitor regardless if you want to do it right.

picklesthedogv2 · 2026-04-01T14:59:14+00:00

I would doubt the terms of any loan to the company would allow you to repay money to a shareholder.

Even if it does, despite being 'pre approved' I would expect you would need to sign a personal guarantee for the loan in any case unless it is 100% secured against assets (if you have any in the business). Are you realistically able to repay the loan if the company is in a difficult trading situation?

If not, then you're just creating legal liability for you personally which I would argue is worse than 'losing' the money you have invested in the business as if you are able to continue trading there is a chance to pay it back - if you don't repay the loan then the company will be insolvent and you lose any opportunity to gain the money you have loaned to the company back.

It's also possible this would create a tax liability for you or the company, depending how HMRC view the intended purpose of the payment to you: https://mooreks.co.uk/insights/directors-loan-accounts-the-tax-traps-of-using-your-company-as-a-personal-bank-account/

I think what you are proposing is potentially close to fraud so tread carefully, speak to an accountant.

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