Investor-ready: how Barber + Blow and Loanable got backed

Clients: Barber + Blow, a premium London hair salon brand; Loanable, a UK lending marketplace
My role: Fractional Head of Marketing; Interim Marketing Director
What I launched: A partnership that took a salon brand to seven sites, and a funded seed round

Sound familiar?

• You know the business can grow, but you cannot yet show a partner or investor why.

• Your pitch deck describes the product rather than the opportunity.

The starting point

Two founder-led businesses at the point where growth needed someone else's backing: a partner for one, investors for the other.

How we worked

Barber + Blow: from two salons to seven

I worked alongside the founding team to refine the business model, then wrote the business plan that secured a partnership with 1Rebel gyms. That partnership took Barber + Blow from two salons to seven. Going further, I led the investor deck for its first fundraise and set up its partnership with Crowdcube.

Loanable: seed round closed

As interim marketing director, I researched and wrote Loanable's business plan: market context, competition, team, platform, customers, a SWOT and three-year forecasts. It became a 44-page investor document and a 14-slide deck, and the seed round closed the following quarter. Going further, I also improved the website's user experience with a new waiting screen and results page.

What both had in common

Neither plan started with the product. Both started with the opportunity, the evidence and why this team would win.

What changed

• Barber + Blow: two salons to seven, through the 1Rebel partnership

• Loanable: seed round closed the quarter after going to investors

What it means for your business

Partners and investors back evidence, not enthusiasm. Show them the market, the numbers and why your team will win, and the conversation changes.

Could you show a partner why you will grow? Take the free two-minute Growth Check and see where you score.