Sam Simpson

FounderCatalyst

FounderCatalyst is an exciting and disruptive play into the UK legal tech sector, underpinned by our superb technology platform. 

Our mission is to create all of your funding legal paperwork quickly and professionally, with no compromise on quality, at a fixed low price.  

Our aim is to make your fundraising legal journey as simple as possible, whilst managing investor engagement, putting you back in control.

My role in FounderCatalyst is to ensure that our platform and customer service is exemplary, to build industry partnerships and to own and execute our service roadmap.

Founder

Forge Technologies Ltd

Forge Technologies is a digital IT services business focusing on three technology pillars; Future workplace, Cloud optimisation and Network transformation. Forge has no legacy infrastructure that it needs to deliver returns against; no costly office space, external investors or banking covenants and unencumbered from legacy working practices that have to be turned on their head to adapt to new working practices.

Within Forge Technologies, I am responsible for all aspects of commercial and back office services.

Co-Founder and CCO

University of Bristol

Quantum Technology Enterprise Centre (QTEC) is a world-leading incubator for quantum-based technology innovators, its vision is to educate and create the quantum entrepreneurs of the future. I'm mentoring two fantastic entrepreneurs as they develop their businesses.

Visiting Fellow and Mentor

Various Companies

Providing ongoing advice and support to the founders of incredible investees

Angel Investor and Board Advisor

Roc Technologies

I co-founded the business and successfully established the project and professional services delivery functions along with all back-office functions. This included finance, HR, IT, legal and corporate governance & compliance and vendor partnerships & accreditations.

Roc was recognised by the Financial Times as the 17th fastest growing company in Europe in 2017, and was the fastest growing IT Services business in the UK in 2016 according to the Sunday Times Tech Track.

Following a strategic review, I led a corporate finance process which resulted in a leveraged MBO and the acquisition of an IT Services business. At the time Roc had more than 200 people and run rate revenues of £25m. I subsequently exited my shareholding and Directorship as a part of this process.  The exit process was recognised by Business Magazine Thames Valley as Mid-Range Deal of the Year at the Annual Thames Valley Deals Awards 2018, held at the Madejski Stadium in Reading on the 19th April 2018 and subsequently as Tech Deal of the Year 2018 at the Thames Valley Tech Awards.

Founding Director

Daisy Group PLC

During my short period of employment at Daisy I was responsible for stabilising the Professional Services elements of the business following the acquisition of 2e2's managed services business. I also developed a repeatable process for integrating acquisitions.

Director of Project Services

Consolidated five disparate Project Services team into a single consistent directorate. Responsible for more than 150 staff across multiple disciplines and a portfolio of 500+ projects with a value in excess of £200m.
I also supported the sale of the company’s business units and assets to Daisy and O2.

Accountable for all delivery operations including management of a team of 90 technical engineers, consultants, project managers and PMO staff. My team delivered in excess of £110 million of customer solutions per annum.

Operations Director, Unified Communications Business Unit

Delivery of the company’s largest and most complex programme for a high security UK government client. Recruited and led a team of more than 60 technical and project management professionals. Successfully delivered the programme to time and budget.

Technical & Delivery Director

Prime Business Solutions

Management of pre-sales technical support and post sales delivery for IT infrastructure solutions based on Microsoft and Citrix.

Server and Client Line of Business Director

Evotree Limited

Evotree was an early cloud computing and Microsoft/Citrix Integrator startup. I established and managed all technical and operational delivery capability. The company achieved revenues of £1m in the first 6 months and was subsequently integrated into Prime Business Solutions.

Co-Founder and COO

Technical development, management and support in the Education and Insurance sectors.

Various Network and IT Operations Management Roles

You're seeking that all-important funding to catapult you to the next level.

YET despite how motivated you are and how good your business idea is, you may still struggle to…

▫️ Get funding because of the advance assurance needed
▫️ Afford the production of expensive legal paperwork
▫️ Know-how to find those elusive investors.

Simplifying and accelerating the early-stage investment legal journey, FounderCatalyst is the ONLY affordable fixed price method of funding round legals for start-ups.

WHO WE HELP
Pre-incorporation to start-ups in England & Wales that want expert AND affordable help with SEIS & EIS and the legal process and documentation required to complete their funding journey. 

3 WAYS WE HELP
1. Apply for SEIS & EIS advance assurance
2. Produce all legal funding round paperwork and manage investor engagement
3. Introduce start-ups to possible sources of funding.

Enjoy the relief all of the legal paperwork you need in as little as 30 minutes and your investor engagement managed through the process.  

PROOF WE HELP
✅  Complete fixed price service per funding round just £1,495 +vat
✅  99% success rate for advance assurance
✅  Legal paperwork produced in just 30 minutes.

YOUR NEXT STEP
Haven’t yet got your funding legals sorted and you’re determined to give your start-up the best and most affordable chance of success?

Book a chat at https://calendly.com/sam-fc/meet

Thanks for viewing my profile.

Sam

"Founders seeking to raise equity finance - use this service! It’s simple to use, reliable & secure, & provides unrivalled value for money. You're in complete control of your fundraising process & timescales." Jules & Charlie, Founders, The Nue Co

FREE RESOURCES
Because we’re here to help start-ups, we offer the following for free:

✅  SEIS/EIS advance assurance submission
✅  Customised Term Sheet
✅  Template Forecast Models
✅  Founder Collaboration Agreements

Visit: foundercatalyst.com to find out more and access the freebies.

SPECIALITIES: Start-up, Startup, Start Up Funding, Funding Round, Funding, Investment, Investor, Investor Engagement, Angel Investor, SEIS, EIS

This afternoon has been a great reminder of why I love doing what I do at FounderCatalyst.  3x back to back founder calls:

🚚 A founder with an amazing app in the foodie space.  As a passionate home cook, this chat really made me want to get out in the outdoor kitchen this weekend to cook up a feast.

💰 Telling a founder with an amazing luxury brand who thought that she was out of time for SEIS that she's still eligible - her reaction was a treat 👏

🎣 Hooking a customer from a competitor out of the blue always a treat too 🫢

Being a founder is a rollercoaster, but this has been a great end to the week 🎉

Serial Entrepreneur, Board Advisor ▫️ Founder at FounderCatalyst, the ONLY affordable fixed price method of funding round legals for start-ups ▫️ CCO at Forge Technologies

⏳ 48 hours to go - I’m looking forward to joining forces with Ivan Hoo for a live, practical breakdown of one of the biggest early-stage challenges: setting and defending your pre-seed valuation.

Whether you're raising your first round or preparing for investor conversations, this session will give you the frameworks and confidence you need.

Here’s what FounderCatalyst and Hubble will be covering:

✔️ The core principles behind pre-seed valuations — and how equity, control and fundraising strategy really fit together
✔️ The key valuation methodologies founders should understand (and when each actually applies)
✔️ An investor’s perspective on how valuations are assessed in the real world
And from Ivan Hoo (Fractional CFO & Startup Advisor at Hubble):
✔️ A deep dive into the Venture Capital Method (VCM) & comparables
✔️ Practical tactics for negotiating with investors
✔️ A live Q&A to tackle your specific valuation questions

🗓️ 3 December 2025

🕛 12:00 PM (UK Time)

💻 Free to join

👉 Save your spot: https://lnkd.in/eyESfp6x
Hope to see you there!

#StartupValuations #FundraisingTips #FounderCatalyst  #StartupWebinar #InvestorReady  #StartupJourney

👥 Building a Winning Startup Team

Equity, Legal Structures & Advisory Boards
A strong startup team goes far beyond just great people—it’s about setting the right structure, incentives, and agreements from day one.

In this practical session, Sam FounderCatalyst will be covering how to allocate equity and use share schemes effectively, while Patricia Wing (SuLe) will break down the legal and governance must-haves for co-founders, advisors, and NEDs.

What you’ll learn:
✅ How to structure equity for co-founders and advisors
✅ SEIS, share options & funding round considerations
✅ Vesting agreements, legal protections & more
🎤 Plus live Q&A—bring your questions!

📅 09/12/25 @ 12PM (Zoom)

Register here for free:

Open article: Welcome! You are invited to join a webinar: How to Attract, Keep, and Reward your Co-Founders, Advisors, NEDs and Employees. After registering, you will receive a confirmation email about joining the webinar. by us06web.zoom.us

Welcome! You are invited to join a webinar: How to Attract, Keep, and Reward your Co-Founders, Advisors, NEDs and Employees. After registering, you will receive a confirmation email about joining the webinar.

⏰ 6 days to go!

Next week I’ll be hosting a free live session taking you behind the scenes of what really happens after you’ve defined your funding round — from inviting investors to signing, closing, and completing your raise on the FounderCatalyst platform. 🚀

I’ll also cover the key post-close steps that keep your company and investors aligned, compliant, and ready for growth.

Here’s what we’ll go through:
✅ Inviting & managing investors
✅ Signing and completing your round
✅ Closing actions on FounderCatalyst
✅ Post-close compliance essentials
✅ Live Q&A

🗓️ 17/11/25 | 12:00PM (BST)

💻 Free to attend — final spots available!

👉 Save your place here https://lnkd.in/e35Pkfwk 

#FounderCatalyst #Webinar #StartupFunding #SEIS #EIS #Fundraising #StartupJourney #AngelInvesting

Open article: Welcome! You are invited to join a webinar: From investor invites to closing the round: What happens next on FounderCatalyst platform. After registering, you will receive a confirmation email about joining the webinar. by us06web.zoom.us

Welcome! You are invited to join a webinar: From investor invites to closing the round: What happens next on FounderCatalyst platform. After registering, you will receive a confirmation email about joining the webinar.

British Business Bank

The British Business Bank is a government-owned development bank. Our mission is to make finance markets work effectively so smaller businesses can prosper, grow and build UK economic activity.

The UK Network Team has been established to help build British Business Bank’s regional capability, providing the British Business Bank with detailed insights in to each UK region’s characteristics, challenges and priorities, from a SME access to finance perspective. 

In addition the UK Network team support the delivery of the Bank’s demand strategy working with regional organisations, helping ensure that SMEs across the UK understand their finance options, know how to access sources of investment, and deepen the Bank’s engagement within each of the UK regions to identify opportunities that strengthen SME access to finance ecosystems throughout the UK

Senior Manager South West - UK Network

Innovate UK EDGE SW

Supporting and guiding businesses seeking investment on the do's and dont's when raising investment

Access to Finance Sector Lead and Investment Specialist

Business West

Providing Access to Finance support and information to innovative businesses wishing to raise finance or review their proposition and financial position prior to accessing finance in the South West.  

Coordinating and convening all Access to Finance stakeholders throughout the South West region to provide a succinct and uniform message to businesses about the options available to them when raising finance.

Access to Finance Sector Lead

Fully funded by Innovate UK and the European Commission, innovate2succeed (i2s) is a programme designed to drive business growth through innovation. This 2 - 7 day intensive support programme provides companies with access to Innovation and Sector specialists from the Enterprise Europe Network.  

Within the Innovation and High Growth department at Business West My role is to deliver the i2s innovation coaching programme to businesses. This includes performing innovation analyses; the development and implementation of a bespoke innovation coaching programme for a business; and, where appropriate, referring to other coaches to deliver specific innovation coaching expertise.

Innovation Specialist - Innovate 2 Succeed

As a Business Advisor in the Enterprise Services department at Business West I am responsible for a wide variety of services and offerings.  

I work as part of a team supporting pre-start, young and growing businesses and entrepreneurs in their journey to start a business.  Working on Government funded programmes we offer Business Model, Value Proposition, Business Planning and Financial support to our clients.  

As part of the support package I also help individuals and business source funding to start their businesses.  

I am solely responsible for the training and Entrepreneur Development workshops run through Business West designed to help and support individuals with their businesses.  Running up to 3 workshops a month throughout the South West they are open to individuals looking to start their business or seek finance.  

Finally, I am the lead Advisor for Business West on the Young Enterprise programme we are supporting.  The aim, to support young individuals, between the ages of 4-25, and equip them with the skills desired by employers which are not covered in the general curriculum.

Start-Up Business Advisor

•	Over the phone diagnostics/evaluations on the suitability and appropriateness of applicants.
•	Allocating a suitable coach to each company and coordinating their discussions.
•	Monitoring and following projects through from start to finish as companies follow the support process.
•	Representing the ‘Ready for Business’ scheme at events and highlighting the benefits and advantages to new entrepreneurs.
•	Advising and coordinating the team on the delivery and management of the Virgin Start-Up loan program.

Business Advisor

Marketing Assistant

South West Angel and Investor Network (SWAIN)

Operations and Communications Assistant Manager at the South West Angel and Inverstor Network.  Overseeing day to day activities, event planning, online marketing and presence and communications between companies and investors.
•	Identifying and understanding the needs of new companies when seeking funding.
•	Understanding and communicating the desired characteristics and features an investor is looking for in an investment opportunity.  
•	Identifying suitable investment opportunities and effectively communicating opportunities to the most appropriate investors.
•	Company marketing and online presence; including managing content for the website (www.swain.org.uk), designing promotional material and the greater utilisation of SWAIN’s social media platforms as a medium for investor discussion.
•	Sole responsibility for organising and running an extensive range of events. These include; launching new initiatives, presentation forums promoting investment opportunities to investors and educational seminars for new companies.
•	Post event analysis and evaluation of qualitative and quantitative data to improve future events.
•	Finance based tasks such as analysing the cost effectiveness of events. This can include the comparison 	between venues and prices, invoicing and purchase ledger.

Assistant Manager: Operations and Communications

SWAIN

Overseeing day to day activities, event planning, online marketing and presence and communications between companies and investors.

Research and Investment Executive

Jersey RFC

Professional Rugby Player

Rotherham Titans RUFC

Professional rugby player

Sale Sharks Rugby Club

On trial at Sale Sharks for a two month period

Rugby Player

2005 - 2008	John Lewis PLC

Worked in the Toy department of this busy department store
			- Responsible for the 'boys toys' section of the department which developed my problem 			solving and time management skills
			- I was in a customer facing role and received numerous commendations for 'going the extra 			mile' with customers.
			- I developed my communication, organisation, and cash-handling skills.

2005		The Swan Public House, Waiter
			- Worked part time at this busy local pub during my GCSE year

Sales Assistant

Senior Manager for the South West as part of the UK Network team at the British Business Bank. Working with British Business Bank delivery partners and intermediaries to help SMEs plan for and access finance for growth. 

Previously held roles within the private equity and public funding/finance at SWAIN and Business West as sector lead in the South West for Access to Finance activities through Enterprise Europe Network and Innovate UK. Helped and supported businesses of all sizes and types with Access to Finance queries rainding finance from £10k - £1M+.  

Ex-professional rugby player having represented my country at student level.

Edward Tellwright

British Business Bank's South West Deeptech Investor showcase... 
>30 investors attending.  Our last 5 investor spots will be gone soon... if you're a #Deeptech investor and want to see the businesses below pitch, EOI link in the comments!!  

Zero Point Motion, JET Connectivity, Siloton, Microsol, KETS Quantum Security, CellVoyant, Glaia, LettUs Grow, Lineat Composites, WASE, Kelpi, Perceptual Robotics and Astral Systems

Senior Manager for South West - British Business Bank (UK Network)

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Performance Score.css-goub6s{font-size:var(--chakra-fontSizes-md);font-weight:500;color:var(--chakra-colors-gray-600);display:block;margin-top:var(--chakra-space-1);}Sam Simpson's LinkedIn Performance

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