Coventry Business Startups

Coventry has a wealth of local attractions to inspire you. Whether your taste is for castles, family attractions, landscapes, organic gardening, motoring heritage, mediaeval guildhouses or outdoor art parks, in Coventry there is something for everyone.

Sports lovers will find plenty to do in Coventry. For football fanatics there is the First Division Football Club. Other sports include Ice hockey, rugby, speedway, ice skating and horse. Coventry has a great restaurant and café bar scene. The town caters for everyone’s taste from award winning Indian cuisine to Chinese buffets and traditional pub grub.

At the heart of the town there are 7,500 parking spaces which makes driving into the town to do shopping a joy. With regards to shopping Coventry will not disappoint. The town is easy to get around with a pedestrianised city centre all within walking distance to all high street chain stores or the more quirky independent stores. There are many specialist retailers particularly those of the fresh and exotic food and these can be found in the circular-shaped Retail Market.

If you are looking to set up a business in Coventry, it may be worth seeking investment from a Business Angel, rather than securing a normal bank loan / overdraft. This is mainly because Business Angels not only offer a capital injection, but also their own knowledge, experience and contacts within the specific industry, which is something no bank could provide. Whilst the Angel would not necessarily be involved in the day to day running of the business, they would certainly be involved in the overall management and decision making, using their market expertise to help guide the company on its path to achieving its growth targets as soon as possible.

Business Angels can operate alone, or as part of a syndicate made up of two or more individuals, often referred to as an ‘angel network'. Typically they will look to invest between £75,000 and £250,000, but again this number could be significantly higher if part of a network. Business Angels are not averse to a undertaking a large amount of risk with their investment - the vast majority of small, growing businesses fail within their first year, and to combat this they will look for companies/ideas to back where they can see clear potential for a significant return on their investment. The risk however is calculated; the money they invest is their own hard earned cash, and they are unlikely to throw it behind a project which has been poorly planned or thought through. You should be prepared for an intense grilling when you pitch your idea to a Business Angel, which means all of your estimates and cash flow forecasts should be accurate, with a clear idea of the objectives you hope to achieve with their backing. Of course one of the most important questions you will be asked is why you need their investment, and exactly where the money will be going once you seal it. It helps if you have evidence that you have spent a great deal of time/effort/money yourself, and that it is the end of the road in terms of what you can raise by yourself - this shows commitment, passion and rive for your company, which will undoubtedly rub off on the potential investors.