Bring the future forward
How great would it be to have a fast forward button to get back to a “normal”? Or would you be looking for the rewind?
Zooming out of the current crisis to look at our lives from a multi-decade view, the picture is clear. Metrics across education, health, freedoms and movements for equality show that we should be looking forward to the future. Both Steven Pinker (Enlightenment Now, 2018) and Colin Mayer (Prosperity, 2012) make strong cases for why the company - and more precisely capital - are instrumental in improving our lot.
Capitalise is built around this notion. The notion that given that, on balance, others will in general seek a better future, coherent with our own personal view. Bad actors, polluting companies and exploitative business models will be pushed out - perhaps not instantly but certainly over the long term.
Since the future is, in aggregate, better than today then why not bring that future forward to now? To get there we need access to capital to invest productively in taking those steps forward. Without capital there is stagnation. Hitting the pause button and ceasing all activity might feel tempting in times of crises but this would disrupt emerging innovations fixing today's challenges, be that a fossil fuel dependency or equality, leaving us unable to cope with generational challenges.
If capital enables change and the future is positive then access to capital is a fundamental need. This is why we’re passionate about providing access to capital to small businesses.
Capital? What capital?
In a fresh-off-the-shelf business it all starts with £0 assets, £0 liabilities (except of course some accountancy fees!) and £0 equity. The only way to get a business off the blocks is most likely to add sweat to the balance sheet. Since neither Jeff Bezos, Satya Nadella nor Sundar Pichai accept IOUs for their cloud services then chances are that some vital liquid capital will be required - cash.
Cash as a concept (diversion: one of our investor’s shows it really is just a concept) is the one form of capital you want in your business. Aside from machinery, buildings, IP, plant and other types of fixed asset which can be used productively, cash on the balance sheet is probably the most popular in our asset-light, knowledge economy.
As a result, the concept of bringing in liquid capital - cash - into a business to invest in people, assets, marketing or whatever offers the best return on investment (ROI) is central to our mission.
Whilst sometimes it may not seem that way, beyond customers there are so many places to go and get cash to open up investment opportunities...
Since all of the above can be converted into cash then each of them could be considered at any point. Any business which has a growth plan and knows where to put cash to work will certainly want more fuel.
But how to know where to turn? In the debt space alone there are 1,000 of grants, 360 lenders, 10,000s of consultants to help with specialist claims. At Capitalise.com we see our role in helping small businesses access all those products. We are working in opening up the capital marketplace.
Accountants. Are you their guide?
Considering the 18 different places to get cash above, which should a business owner choose? At Capitalise we believe passionately that
for many businesses, accountants have the best shot at finding the answer.
In a 2020 business survey run by Capitalise, 68% of businesses stated that it was important to seek advice regarding their financing needs, 65% also trust their accountant as this advice provider.
By knowing the numbers and with access to the market is a powerful combination to differentiate how accountants can offer help to their clients.
