Bill Morrow - Start Up & Finance Advisor
About Bill
Bill became an accountant at Virgin in The Good Old Days before computer systems and spreadsheets. I then moved into Investment Banking and was instantly disliked by all of the bosses. "They saw through me in 3 days", but the clients loved me, and I also managed to set up a start-up in my spare time. I lucked out and sold this business to a Wall Street Bank, retired and discovered I was terrible at retirement.
So, I set up Angels Den in 2007 with some bright people. Angels Den grew to become Europe and Asia's largest angel network and Bill to be named The World's most influential figure in Alternative Funding by City AM. Perhaps more importantly, 92% of all the businesses funded in ten countries are still growing.
He now runs 3 Family Office funds, investing $80m pa.
"Bills's desire, motivation and determination to change the way small and medium businesses are funded is admirable and will ultimately benefit a very large number of people. Underneath it all he is generous with his time, a pleasure to deal with and a fantastic advocate of UK SMEs."
- Director at Barclays
An interview with Bill
Tell us a little bit about your work and your role.
I was employee 33 at Virgin where I qualified as an accountant, but after seven years of low pay I left to make money in investment banking. Whilst there I set up a start-up which I sold to a Wall Street Bank. Since then, I have been investing and setting up start-ups, one of which grew to become the largest angel network in Europe and Asia.
What does your work with a client usually involve?
I review their business plan and tell them what they need to do to attract funding. I see over 120 plans a day.
How did you get into this field of work?
Bad luck.
What excites you about your role?
Understanding that founders often do not know what they do not know and opening their eyes to a new worldview.
What does your ideal client look like?
They would know what they are good at and have the humility to accept that they need mentors onboard.
What have your highlights been so far?
Convincing a middle eastern country to pay $1m to open my business with them.
What are the challenges currently facing your sector?
Too much dumb money chasing deals.
Do you find companies try to do this area of work themselves - and get stuck? What are the common issues?
They think it is just a matter of finding money whereas money, in isolation, rarely if ever solves the problem.
Should a busy entrepreneur prioritise this area of work?
How can they make time for it with everything else on their plate? They need to prioritise the raise, indeed it is pretty much a full-time role.
What's the best advice you've been given?
Learn from your mistakes. (As Given by Mr Branson to me after I had messed up a currency transfer and lost all of the money we had)
How do you see your work changing over the next ten years?
It will not change.
What do you do when you're not working?
2 daughters, dogs and villas in Italy keep me amused.
What are the benefits do you think of working together in a collective way like Runway Advisors?
RA encapsulates all that I spend my days preaching. Finding an investor is not about finding someone who just brings the money. Firstly, it is about the mentorship they bring and aligning that with the experience needed by the founder.
Secondly and thirdly, It is about their experience and contacts that they bring and then finally it is about the money. I spend a lot of my day talking people OUT of investing into deals where they do have the experience that is needed.