Lock-In by HappyStack 🥞 Matt Kelly - Scaling Spacegoods from Zero to £12 Million in 2 Years
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Jan 14, 2025 
Matt Kelly, founder of Spacegoods and a veteran in e-commerce, shares his extraordinary journey from dropshipping to creating Europe’s fastest-growing mushroom coffee brand. He discusses the importance of bootstrapping versus VC funding and reveals strategic insights into scaling businesses effectively. Matt delves into hiring challenges, his growth plans for Spacegoods, and the complexities of retail partnerships. He also reflects on past failures, highlighting valuable lessons learned along the way as he strategizes for the future.
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Raise Only To Amplify Unit Economics
- Raise capital only when it amplifies a clear return on investment like profitable CAC to LTV ratios.
- Prefer angels first for early rounds because they’re more personal and often more helpful than VCs.
Run Fundraising Like A Process
- Treat fundraising as a structured, timed process to create competition and reduce your time investment.
- Signal scarcity early: say you’re not raising until you’re ready, then set a firm deadline for offers.
Prefer Value-Adding Angels Early
- Start with angel investors who add mentorship and less punitive terms before pursuing VCs.
- Keep a mix of capital types to balance runway with operational flexibility.