Investor Circle

Stewart Noakes
  • 0.0 (0)
  • Investing
  • Updated Weekly

Building better relationships between founders and investors. That's the mission behind Canopy Community and the Investor Circle podcast. We believe great founders can come from anywhere. But too often, investment feels confusing, inaccessible or reserved for people with the right networks, introductions or experience. We're here to change that. In each episode, host Stewart Noakes sits down with angel investors, venture capitalists, family offices, fund managers and leaders from across the startup ecosystem to explore what really happens behind investment decisions. Together they uncover the conversations that rarely happen in public. - What makes an investor believe in a founder? - Why do some startups raise funding while others don't? - How do experienced investors assess opportunity, risk and character? - What does a great investment relationship actually look like? These aren't pitch competitions. They're honest conversations about trust. Every guest brings a different perspective. Some have built and exited companies before becoming investors. Others manage funds, support founders or shape the wider investment ecosystem.  Each conversation reveals how experience, judgement and empathy influence every investment decision. Our hope is simple. One conversation at a time, we want founders to better understand investors, and investors to better understand founders. Because raising investment isn't simply about finding capital. It's about building confidence. Building credibility. And building relationships that can last for many years. Whether you're validating your MVP, finding customers, preparing your first funding round, investing through SEIS, launching your own fund or simply curious about how early-stage investing really works, Investor Circle shares practical lessons from people who have built businesses, invested their own money and experienced both sides of the table. The conversations go beyond term sheets and valuations. They explore integrity, due diligence, storytelling, resilience, customer validation, exits, AI, governance, failure, and the decisions that shape successful companies long before the investment is made. Produced by Canopy Community, one of Europe's leading startup communities, Investor Circle is part of a bigger mission: To leverage entrepreneurship as a tool for social mobility by making investment more transparent, more relatable and more accessible to the next generation of founders and investors. Because every investment starts long before money changes hands. It starts with curiosity. It grows through trust. And sometimes, one conversation is all it takes for a founder to find belief, or for an investor to discover the person they've been looking for all along. 🎙️ Follow Investor Circle for new episodes as they drop. 🌱 Learn more about Canopy Community: https://www.canopy.community/ 👋 Connect with Stewart Noakes: https://www.linkedin.com/in/stewartnoakes/ 📺 Watch every episode on YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/@canopycommunity617 #InvestorCircle #AngelInvesting #EarlyStageInvesting #SEIS #FounderFriendly #StartupInvestment #FirstTimeFounder #StartupFunding #VentureCapital #CanopyCommunity #SocialMobility #Innovation #MVP #Validation #FollowYourDreams #IfNotNowThenWhen #Tribe

Episodes

  1. 1d ago

    How Equisy Turns Pitch Deck Stories Into Investor-Ready Evidence

    Send us Fan Mail We sit down with Ala Amar, co-founder and CEO of Equisy, to unpack why first-time founders struggle with fundraising and how a more structured process can change outcomes. We explore how valuation, pitch deck analysis, and organised evidence help founders and investors move from story to proof faster.  • Ala’s journey from accounting to startup CFO support and fundraising advisory  • Why non-financial founders often hit a numbers blind spot  • What Equisy does for founders, accelerators, incubators and investors  • Moving from narrative to evidence through a structured fundraising journey  • Valuation as education and negotiation support, including pre-revenue contexts  • AI pitch deck analysis informed by investor feedback  • Investor screening and due diligence support to save time at scale  • UK SEIS and why systemising the first £250k matters  • How Bristol and university-led ecosystems build stronger regional pipelines  • Practical advice on validating assumptions and defining the right ICP  ScribeFind and connect with angel investors in the UK Founded by Rob CossinsRevolut Business banking from RevolutSeedLegals The platform for Startup Legals including SEIS Advance Assurance.#TRIBECommunity Membership at Canopy Virtual Incubation at CanopyVirtual Incubation for new and emerging Founders. Zero to One.Disclaimer: This post contains affiliate links. If you make a purchase, I may receive a commission at no extra cost to you.Support the show Note: you can also watch these episodes on youtube.com/@canopycommunity617

    How Equisy Turns Pitch Deck Stories Into Investor-Ready Evidence

  2. Sep 11

    Great Early-Stage Investing Starts With Listening

    Send us Fan Mail We sit down with Jeffrey Faustin to trace how one of the UK’s longest-running SEIS funds is built, from the early days of the scheme to the realities of backing pre-revenue founders. We dig into what makes a founder investable, how follow-on EIS conviction works, and why fees and fund structure can make or break an emerging manager.  • Jensen’s origin story and why early SEIS was different  • why SEIS became a catalyst for UK startups and equity crowdfunding  • an agnostic thesis with a net positive filter  • why Jensen tends to lead rounds and how angels fit  • the two biggest founder deal-breakers: listening and domain expertise  • portfolio strategy across SEIS and EIS with follow-on discipline  • what exit rates and failure rates look like in practice  • the awkward trade-offs in SEIS management fees versus GPLP norms  • practical support for first-time founders through networks and guidance  • removing barriers linked to social mobility, trust and friends-and-family capital  SeedLegals The platform for Startup Legals including SEIS Advance Assurance.ScribeFind and connect with angel investors in the UK Founded by Rob CossinsDisclaimer: This post contains affiliate links. If you make a purchase, I may receive a commission at no extra cost to you.Support the show Note: you can also watch these episodes on youtube.com/@canopycommunity617

    Great Early-Stage Investing Starts With Listening
  • 2 Episodes

About

Building better relationships between founders and investors. That's the mission behind Canopy Community and the Investor Circle podcast. We believe great founders can come from anywhere. But too often, investment feels confusing, inaccessible or reserved for people with the right networks, introductions or experience. We're here to change that. In each episode, host Stewart Noakes sits down with angel investors, venture capitalists, family offices, fund managers and leaders from across the startup ecosystem to explore what really happens behind investment decisions. Together they uncover the conversations that rarely happen in public. - What makes an investor believe in a founder? - Why do some startups raise funding while others don't? - How do experienced investors assess opportunity, risk and character? - What does a great investment relationship actually look like? These aren't pitch competitions. They're honest conversations about trust. Every guest brings a different perspective. Some have built and exited companies before becoming investors. Others manage funds, support founders or shape the wider investment ecosystem.  Each conversation reveals how experience, judgement and empathy influence every investment decision. Our hope is simple. One conversation at a time, we want founders to better understand investors, and investors to better understand founders. Because raising investment isn't simply about finding capital. It's about building confidence. Building credibility. And building relationships that can last for many years. Whether you're validating your MVP, finding customers, preparing your first funding round, investing through SEIS, launching your own fund or simply curious about how early-stage investing really works, Investor Circle shares practical lessons from people who have built businesses, invested their own money and experienced both sides of the table. The conversations go beyond term sheets and valuations. They explore integrity, due diligence, storytelling, resilience, customer validation, exits, AI, governance, failure, and the decisions that shape successful companies long before the investment is made. Produced by Canopy Community, one of Europe's leading startup communities, Investor Circle is part of a bigger mission: To leverage entrepreneurship as a tool for social mobility by making investment more transparent, more relatable and more accessible to the next generation of founders and investors. Because every investment starts long before money changes hands. It starts with curiosity. It grows through trust. And sometimes, one conversation is all it takes for a founder to find belief, or for an investor to discover the person they've been looking for all along. 🎙️ Follow Investor Circle for new episodes as they drop. 🌱 Learn more about Canopy Community: https://www.canopy.community/ 👋 Connect with Stewart Noakes: https://www.linkedin.com/in/stewartnoakes/ 📺 Watch every episode on YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/@canopycommunity617 #InvestorCircle #AngelInvesting #EarlyStageInvesting #SEIS #FounderFriendly #StartupInvestment #FirstTimeFounder #StartupFunding #VentureCapital #CanopyCommunity #SocialMobility #Innovation #MVP #Validation #FollowYourDreams #IfNotNowThenWhen #Tribe

Information

  • Creator
    Stewart Noakes
  • Years Active
    2023 - 2026
  • Episodes
    2
  • Rating
    Clean
  • Copyright
    © 2026 Canopy Community
  • Show Website
    Investor Circle