Written by
Robert Hokin
Fundraising101™ Academy and FounderCatalyst unite to give pre-seed founders a seamless, end-to-end journey – from investor-ready pitch to legally closed funding round.
Glasgow, Scotland 20 April 2026
Fundraising101™ Academy, Scotland’s pre-seed investment readiness coaching practice, has entered into a partnership with FounderCatalyst, the UK’s leading fixed-price legal platform for early-stage funding rounds. Together, the two organisations are addressing one of the most persistent blind spots in startup fundraising: the chasm between getting investor interest and successfully closing a round.
Pre-seed founders will now benefit from a coordinated pathway covering both sides of the raise – the narrative, deck, and investor strategy that attracts capital, and the legal infrastructure, SEIS/EIS advance assurance, and data room management that closes it.
The Problem We Are Solving Together
Fundraising101™ Academy and FounderCatalyst unite to give pre-seed founders a seamless, end-to-end journey – from investor-ready pitch to legally closed funding round.
Glasgow, Scotland 20 April 2026
Fundraising101™ Academy, Scotland’s pre-seed investment readiness coaching practice, has entered into a partnership with FounderCatalyst, the UK’s leading fixed-price legal platform for early-stage funding rounds. Together, the two organisations are addressing one of the most persistent blind spots in startup fundraising: the chasm between getting investor interest and successfully closing a round.
Pre-seed founders will now benefit from a coordinated pathway covering both sides of the raise – the narrative, deck, and investor strategy that attracts capital, and the legal infrastructure, SEIS/EIS advance assurance, and data room management that closes it.
The Problem Both Partners Are Solving
Most pre-seed founders spend months preparing their pitch. Far fewer are ready for what happens when an investor actually says yes.
The legal documentation required to complete an early-stage funding round: shareholder agreements, articles of association, SEIS/EIS advance assurance, board resolutions, investor management, has historically cost founders between £5,000 and £10,000 in traditional legal fees, and taken weeks of back-and-forth. That friction kills deal momentum. It also disproportionately disadvantages founders outside London, who have less access to experienced startup lawyers.
FounderCatalyst was purpose-built to solve this: a structured, intuitive platform that generates all required legal documentation for a fixed price of £1,495, including SEIS/EIS advance assurance at no extra cost. Founders on the platform routinely receive HMRC advance assurance within days, not weeks.
Fundraising101™ Academy tackles the upstream challenge: ensuring founders arrive at that point with a compelling, investor-calibrated pitch, a clear raise structure, and the investor relationships worth closing. The partnership joins these two capabilities into a single, coherent founder journey.
“Getting raise-ready is about far more than a polished deck. I’ve seen founders work for months to get the right investor in the room, only to lose momentum and sometimes the deal, because they weren’t prepared for what comes next. FounderCatalyst solves that. It’s the legal infrastructure layer we’ve been waiting to plug into the Fundraising101 ecosystem: professional, fixed-price, fast, and built by people who’ve actually sat on both sides of the cap table. That matters enormously to pre-seed founders in Scotland and anywhere else who simply can’t afford to get it wrong.” – Robert Hokin, Managing Partner, Fundraising101™ Academy
“Robert’s work with tech founders is exactly the upstream investment readiness that sets deals up for success. By the time a founder arrives at the legal stage, they should already have a clear raise narrative, a credible deck, and a targeted investor list – not be figuring those things out while lawyers are on the clock. This partnership means founders reach FounderCatalyst already prepared, which makes the legal process faster, cleaner, and far less stressful. We’re excited to be part of a genuinely joined-up support system for pre-seed founders outside London.” Max Heal, CEO, FounderCatalyst
What the Partnership Delivers
Under this partnership:
→ Fundraising101™ clients will be referred to FounderCatalyst as the recommended legal infrastructure platform for their funding rounds, ensuring investment-ready founders can complete rounds at a transparent, fixed cost.
→ FounderCatalyst users looking to sharpen their pitch, investor narrative, or raise strategy will have a direct referral pathway into Fundraising101’s coaching, Raise-Ready Deck Review, and Bootcamp programmes.
→ Both organisations will collaborate on educational content, webinars, and resources addressing the full arc of pre-seed fundraising, from first investor conversation to signed term sheet to legal completion.
→ The partnership gives particular focus to founders in Scotland and the North of England, geographically disadvantaged ecosystems where access to joined-up, affordable, expert support has historically lagged behind London.
About Fundraising101™ Academy
Fundraising101™ Academy is Scotland’s specialist investment readiness coaching and education practice for pre-seed technology founders. Founded and led by Robert Hokin, Managing Partner, the practice brings over 30 years of UK venture capital and technology investment experience to bear on one of the most common failure points for early-stage companies: showing up to investors unprepared. Fundraising101™ works with over 100 ventures annually. Services range from the Raise-Ready Deck Review and Website Audit to full Bootcamp programmes for accelerators and universities. The Academy hosts the “First Money In” podcast, focused exclusively on pre-seed investment in Scotland and the UK.
About FounderCatalyst
FounderCatalyst is the UK’s trusted legal platform for early-stage funding rounds, serving founders, investors, advisors, and funding groups. Built by experienced entrepreneurs, angel investors, and lawyers, the platform generates all required legal documentation — shareholder agreements, articles of association, term sheets, and more — at a fixed price of £1,495 (excluding VAT), with SEIS/EIS advance assurance included at no extra cost. The platform’s structured process allows founders to complete legal paperwork in as little as 30 minutes, with HMRC advance assurance responses frequently achieved within days. FounderCatalyst is a member of the UK Business Angels Association (UKBAA) and the EIS Association (EISA).
For support enquiries: https://fundraising101.academy/partners/
Media Contacts
Robert Hokin — Managing Partner, Fundraising101™ Academy
Email: robert.hokin@fundraising101.academy
Web: fundraising101.academy
FounderCatalyst Media Enquiries
Email: max@foundercatalyst.com
Web: foundercatalyst.com
