Raising millions or mortgaging the house? The truth about startup funding!

In this episode of Seed to Success, Alastair is joined by his co-founder Luke Streeter and seasoned entrepreneur Stuart McLeod, who opens up about his journey of founding, scaling and exiting two companies - PayCycle and Karbon. Stuart sheds light on the unpredictability of entrepreneurship, the importance of resilience and introduces his latest venture, Waverly Studios. While discussing strategic opportunities, cap table complexities and all the challenges along the way, Stuart get candid about the setbacks and the moments of self-reflection. The trio discuss seizing strategic opportunities, funding challenges and the impact of AI, This episode is a must-listen for aspiring entrepreneurs and anyone navigating the complexities of start-up ventures!   _ Show notes:   00:00:00 - Intro 00:01:30 - Introduction to Waverly Studios 00:04:02 - Building and selling PayCycle 00:09:47 - Selling to Xero 00:13:33 - Building for exit 00:14:19 - Unexpected opportunities with Xero 00:16:31 - Learning from Xero 00:19:24 - Transition to Karbon 00:23:43 - Scale and confidence 00:26:59 - Funding and early days 00:28:34 - Challenges in raising funds 00:32:37 - Lessons from PayCycle 00:35:04 - Board composition and value 00:39:46 - Navigating tough decisions 00:40:48 - Cap table challenges 00:43:04 - Venture studio vs. accelerator 00:45:43 - Youth sports management platform 00:49:21 - Market sizing and purpose-driven ventures 00:53:33 - Studio operations and business scalability 00:55:59 - Diversifying ventures 00:59:59 - Angel investing and personal focus 01:00:46 - The power of data and metrics