Ep 7: Lessons from Bloomful's Seed Round
Dupe’s Fundraising Journey
Dr. Dupe Burgess is the Founder of Bloomful, a platform that delivers digital, holistic and therapeutic support for women’s gynaecology conditions. Since starting the company in 2021, Dupe and her team have closed a funding round and we’ll talk about how they achieved that in this episode of The Raise.
The problem: with women receiving less health monitoring, often being misdiagnosed and having their concerns dismissed within the reals of traditional healthcare settings, they are taking fewer visits to the GP and struggling to find an alternative.
The solution: Bloomful is a platform that delivers digital, holistic and therapeutic support for women’s gynaecology conditions. Bloomful delivers accessible care by matching women with best-in-class clinicians.
Dupe spent over a decade working within the NHS, before leaving medicine and moving onto one of the most well-known business consultancies in the world. Having been through a series of accelerators, getting backed by Google, and securing a series of grants Dupe and the Bloomful team have recently closed an Angel round.
In this episode, we cover:
[01:03] More about Dupe and why she started Bloomful
[06:35] What were some of the early decisions you made about the investment needed to get Bloomful up and running?
[09:30] What were the pros and cons of speaking to Angel investors first?
[13:58] How did getting backed by Google for Start-ups help with the business and fundraising?
[18:25] What are some alternative methods of fundraising that founders should consider?
[22:53] What have you added to your process to make grant application processes easier?
[28:12] How should founders evaluate whether what they're building is big enough for VC backing?
[32:55] What challenges do you and your team face as you were fundraising and how did you overcome them?
[36:59] What advice do you have for Founders who want to develop their pitch?
[44:34] If you could do it again, what would you do differently?
Some takeaways:
For Founders raising 💰
There are plenty of things to take into consideration before deciding whether you should go after VC funding. Think about the vertical you’re in, can it move fast enough to match the growth standards of VCs? Do you want an 8-9 figure business and all that comes with it?
If you do go after Angel investors, it will take longer to get the pot of money that you’re looking for. However, you can strategically look for well connected Angel’s that can be a signal to other potential investors and unlock more funding during the round.
Start by going for small grants (e.g. £5k, £10k) to understand the application process and refine and apply your learnings to new applications (and avoiding heavy fees from grant writers). Bloomful has an entire system dedicated to securing grants as this has been a huge impact on their ability to get non-dilutive funds. Remember that grants are a way to secure money without giving up equity, while this often comes with terms and conditions, they enable you to maintain control over the business, without the heavy demands that often comes with investors.
Become the master of your deck by memorising your pitch script. Dupe’s experience at medical school taught her a great deal about communication. While most of us won’t have been through the same rigorous training, it’s vital that every founder knows how to pitch in a room of strangers. Take the time to really memorise your content (and revise it in front of your friends and family) to make sure you’re over prepared for any conversations with investors.
For aspiring founders 🤩
Take advantage of all the initiatives for Founders. From accelerators specifically for your niche to those supporting female or underrepresented founders, these organisations can help open doors to a network and support that you, otherwise, may not be privy to.
Listen now on Apple, Spotify, Overcast, and YouTube.
Where to find Dr Dupe Burgess:
Where to find Jade Buffong:
• LinkedIn | Newsletter
Lightning round questions
What programmes/accelerators do you recommend?
I’ve done quite a few accelerators. Sadly many are no longer running, but the one I’d still recommend is the Antler programme - it’s great if you are at idea stage and are looking for a co-founder, and wanting to immerse yourself in the start-up landscape.
Note - I have done others but they either no longer exist, or I wouldn’t recommend them! Here they are, just so you know:
Founders Institute - I left within 2 weeks and would not recommend
Forward Partners - would recommend but no longer running
Black Valley - would recommend but no longer running
Femtech Labs - turned down as they were asking for ridiculous equity, so I never recommend
Accelerating Femtech - would recommend but very specific to women’s health + NHS focus
Where should founders go to get information about alternative funding?
I think there’s a real shortage of information about alternative funding routes!
Public funding bodies such as Innovate UK exist, and you can check out their website, but it can be quite overwhelming initially (knowing whether you’re eligible, how to apply etc).
Startup communities on Whatsapp and Slack are often a good source of information about upcoming funding competitions by private companies or corporate organisations.
I run a monthly Q&A Masterclass, giving away all the knowledge I’ve learnt on my start-up journey, including pitching, hiring, pivoting, fundraising and much more. We talk about alternative funding too, including grants: where to find them and how to apply. Anyone can join those calls - email me at dupe@bloomful.io and I will share the link!
What 3x books/podcasts should all Founders read/listen to?
Start with Why - Simon Sinek. This book helps you tune into your purpose and personal mission, and learn how to put this at the centre of everything you do.
Secret Leaders - Dan Murray-Serter. The first podcast I binged when I was beginning my start-up journey. It’s full of amazing insights and knowledge on building businesses. I was thrilled when Dan later became an investor in Bloomful!
Deep Dive - Ali Abdall. I found this one recently and really loved the episode with Daniel Priestly, which was a full hour of insightful education on validating and productising an idea.
Note - I have not read a book in years (actually since I read Start With Why, on holiday 2 years ago!). As a solo founder mum of three, it’s just not possible for me. So I have added podcasts instead, which I have a bit more success with!