SEIS is offering investors 78% tax relief against start-up investments of up to £150k. Ever wanted start your own business, do it now. This is what i told Manchester Business School's Entrepreneurship Club last night (slides attached). Also includes Reid Hoffman's A,B,Z plan from the Start-Up of You book.

1. “Leaping into Coffee”
“Why there TRULY has never been a better
time to start a business and how I did it”
Glyn Powditch, co-founder of DreamAgility.com and
JewellersArk.co.uk
18th November 2013, Entrepreneurship Club, MBS

2. Today…..
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Brief Intro
Leaping from the Comfort Zone
Planning the Leap
Funding the Leap with SEIS
£250k package vs. Life on Coffee

3. MBAs, jobs, family, hobbies………

4. Leaping From the Comfort Zone
• Co-Founded 2 companies in the
18months, each turning over six figures:
last

5. Dream Agility: the Dennis Waterman of
our industry
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Founded with my wife
We build digital platform & apps.
We build the campaigns & the feeds.
We do the analytics & take action.
And the reason we do all this is the very
reason we exist……

6. Why this is important:
• IT companies build websites and at best
dabble in online marketing (most don’t do
online marketing at all).
• Digital Agencies do SEO & Paid Media (a few
dabble in building non-transactional
websites).
• They then blame each other whenever things
don’t work out!!!!
• Sick of this and wanted a new approach…..

7. Dream Agility as a business
• Runner up in the Northern Tech awards in our
first year of business.
• “One of the technology jewels in the North
West’s crown” Software City 2012
• Consulted in the US with; Paul Muret (inventor
of Google Analytics), Larry Tesler (UX guru Apple, Amazon, Yahoo), Greg Lindon (inventor
of Amazons recommendation engine).

8. A Platform designed for online marketing
Traditional Silo Websites
Our Approach

9. JewellersArk.co.uk was our first full
service platform

10. JewellersArk.co.uk
• Funded with £150k under SEIS and
another £95k in cash and equity stake
• Shareholders are Independent Jewellers from
across England & Elizabeth and myself
• Members of the THJ buying group
• The fastest growing jewellery platform
in the UK right now.
• 25% of traffic now through mobile

11. Leaping from the Comfort Zone
Why would anyone quit £250k package roles?
• I began planning Dream Agility at
Webuyanycar.com.
• Our first client contacted me Jan 2011
• Jewellers Ark signed in Sept 2012
• Jewellersark.co.uk fully live Xmas 2012
• Jewellers Ark - six figures 2013
• Only just left Sky

12. Planning the Leap
• Reid Hoffman’s book
- Have an A, B, Z plan
- A – What are you doing right now (often a job)
- B – Alternative for when A inevitably fails
(‘pivoting’)
- Z – Lifeboat if something goes REALLY wrong

13. Funding the Leap
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Having a job (A) really helps (B) and (Z)
Build the business whilst in a job
Invest in Self – make better decisions
SEIS
Disclaimer – NOT qualified to give financial
advice

14. SEIS with Jewellers Ark
• Invested max. £150k under SEIS
• Can claim £75,000 back against their tax return in
the first year!
• Even better, cash shares or other investments
into fund the SEIS investment, they get a further
£42k back.
• £150k investment only cost £33K, split amongst
several Jewellers
• No brainer and far cheaper than each of them
paying for individual websites.

15. SEIS key points
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Limited to £150k total in a single project
£100k limit for any one individual
Some industries excluded i.e. property
Can apply before company formed
Only 2 pages of forms
HMRC very helpful.

16. £250k packages vs. life on coffee
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So is it worth it?
You pay a lot of tax in a job!
Yes but………
And there’s always Plan Z

17. Summary
• View a job as a pathway to entrepreneurship
not a barrier.
• Have an A,B, and Z plan.
• No matter how busy, you can always find time.
• SEIS – never a better time to start a business.
• Entrepreneurship beats a job in the long-term!